Ex-GAM prisoner Syafiie still haunted by the past

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

With his four-year-old son Salman al Farizi sitting on his lap, Teungku Syafiie bin Syamaun, a member of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who was recently released from prison, feels a complete man.

With amnesty granted to all GAM members following the signing of the peace deal in Finland on Aug. 15, he has been reunited with his family. He had not seen his youngest son since the boy was 15 days old.

"I'm so happy that I can be with my family again. We've been separated for over four years," Syafiie told The Jakarta Post in his home.

Syafiie, GAM's Sagoe Kutaraja commander, was arrested on April this year and incarcerated at Jantho Penitentiary in Aceh Besar regency. He was granted amnesty before being put on trial.

Now that he's back home, his traditional Acehnese house is filled with guests and relatives who have come to visit him.

"At night, we don't know where to sit because the house is full of guests," said Syafiie's wife Nurfina.

Apart from visiting, the guests also held an Acehnese peusijuek ritual to welcome him. The ritual is performed to bring luck to someone who has been through a difficult time.

"I've been back two days and I've been treated to the ritual three times," Syafiie said.

After over three decades of conflict and the loss of thousands of lives, trust does not come easily.

Amid his newfound freedom, however, Syafiie does not feel completely free and safe. "Once, when I went back home to see Salman, when he was 15 days old, our house was surrounded (by security personnel). I was lucky to escape," the father of two recalled.

At night he feels ill at ease, afraid of being rearrested and interrogated. "Even now I still coordinate with friends every hour to ensure everyone is safe," Syafiie said.

Being a GAM member not only separated Syafiie from his family but also put them at risk. Plus his wife was left to raise their two children, Ismundar and Salman, alone. She also had to report at a security post three times a week for four years.

"My husband's activities left me being regularly yelled at by security personnel. Our house was even once sealed off," Nurfina said. "And then I heard he had been arrested."

Syafiie does not know what the future holds for him. "One thing's for sure, I want to see how peace will hold up in Aceh," he said.

He has no plans to return to his old job at a gas station. "Let's just see," he said.

For now he is enjoying the moment. Being reunited with his family feels like a dream come true.

"I can still remember being asked during interrogation what my last wish was and I replied that if I died I wanted my body returned to my family."