Ex-GAM prisoner Syafiie still haunted by the past

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."