'Give Aceh a chance to decide for itself'
'Give Aceh a chance to decide for itself'
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It has been 100 days following the tsunami, and Hasballah M. Saad
-- a former state minister of human rights under Abdurrahman "Gus
Dur" Wahid -- cannot hide his disappointment over the progress of
the government's emergency relief efforts in Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam.
A life-long rights campaigner and champion of justice,
Hasballah, a native Acehnese, said survivors might have received
better facilities if the state institutions had better
coordination.
"Emergency relief management and coordination is very, very
bad. I am afraid this condition will reemerge in the recovery
process to come. People still question the goodwill of the
government," he told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
A prominent Acehnese leader and member of the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Hasballah also
criticized the delay in the establishment of a special autonomous
agency to oversee the recovery program in Aceh and on the island
of Nias, which were hardest hit by the tsunami.
This delay, he said, had prompted suspicions among survivors
that an intense internal struggle was happening over the agency's
chairmanship -- that while the Acehnese people might want the
agency to be headed by an Acehnese, Jakarta might be trying to
retain a hold over the agency.
In addition, the people of Aceh fear that the development
program will not run properly if the agency is headed by someone
who knows nothing about the province.
Hasballah said the office of the
State Minister for National Development Planning had once invited
him to discuss a blueprint of the Aceh recovery program. But this
blueprint had no clear vision as to Aceh's present condition, nor
had a view of its possible future.
"The blueprint has no value. It only focuses on physical
development. It simply plans the construction of buildings, but
forgets to encourage the Acehnese people," he added.
He emphasized that Jakarta should give the Acehnese a chance
to design and to plan the recovery programs themselves.
But Hasballah is no mere critic, and aside from calling upon
the government to give more to the Acehnese people, he has also
embarked on his own initiative to do what he can do for Aceh.
He and several other like-minded individuals have already
started to build dormitories in the towns of Lambaro, Blang
Bintang and Darussalam. They have built one school for orphaned
survivors as well as a clinic and library.
Hasballah is now planning to build an institute of Acehnese
culture -- a facility designed to replace the Center of Aceh
Documentation and Information that was completely destroyed by
the tsunami.
"We have lost literature and knowledge on Aceh," he said.
This loss and the loss of thousands of students and teachers
who were killed in the disaster has been devastating to academic
and scholastic morale in the province -- so much so that students
and lecturers have been reluctant to resume classes.
Hasballah emphasized that the recovery program in Aceh should
thus include programs to encourage Acehnese students to return to
their studies, by offering more counseling services to meet their
needs.
Asked if the government had failed to identify all this,
Hasballah was careful to give credit where it was due.
He said while the government had done something, the poor
coordination and unclear planning had seriously disrupted the
efficacy of its emergency relief efforts.
"Even if we ask the government how many foreign organizations
are now working on Acehnese soil, no clear figure is available,"
Hasballah said.
He estimates that at least 10 areas in Aceh alone were
severely affected by the tsunami: West Aceh, Southwest Aceh, Aceh
Jaya, Aceh Besar, City of Banda Aceh, Sabang, Pidie, Bireuen,
North Aceh and Simeulue.
These regencies are all located along the northwestern coast,
and the majority of victims were fishermen.
Hasballah is deeply concerned about the future of the
fishermen, particularly as many of them have been relocated to a
place far from the coast.
He underlined that fishermen could not be forced to start
their life anew as farmers.
"Fishermen go fishing at night and return home in the morning
with their catch and money (from selling the fish). Farmers enjoy
the fruits of their harvest months after planting season. The
cultures are totally different," he said, indicating that this
was proof, yet again, that while the government was making an
effort, their activities were not founded upon an understanding
and knowledge of the Acehnese culture.
As the relief effort moves gradually into a recovery phase
over the next few weeks, it can only be hoped that Hasballah's
viewpoint is heeded, and that the Acehnese people, as a whole,
are able to be an active part of reclaiming their own lives.
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It has been 100 days following the tsunami, and Hasballah M. Saad
-- a former state minister of human rights under Abdurrahman "Gus
Dur" Wahid -- cannot hide his disappointment over the progress of
the government's emergency relief efforts in Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam.
A life-long rights campaigner and champion of justice,
Hasballah, a native Acehnese, said survivors might have received
better facilities if the state institutions had better
coordination.
"Emergency relief management and coordination is very, very
bad. I am afraid this condition will reemerge in the recovery
process to come. People still question the goodwill of the
government," he told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
A prominent Acehnese leader and member of the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Hasballah also
criticized the delay in the establishment of a special autonomous
agency to oversee the recovery program in Aceh and on the island
of Nias, which were hardest hit by the tsunami.
This delay, he said, had prompted suspicions among survivors
that an intense internal struggle was happening over the agency's
chairmanship -- that while the Acehnese people might want the
agency to be headed by an Acehnese, Jakarta might be trying to
retain a hold over the agency.
In addition, the people of Aceh fear that the development
program will not run properly if the agency is headed by someone
who knows nothing about the province.
Hasballah said the office of the
State Minister for National Development Planning had once invited
him to discuss a blueprint of the Aceh recovery program. But this
blueprint had no clear vision as to Aceh's present condition, nor
had a view of its possible future.
"The blueprint has no value. It only focuses on physical
development. It simply plans the construction of buildings, but
forgets to encourage the Acehnese people," he added.
He emphasized that Jakarta should give the Acehnese a chance
to design and to plan the recovery programs themselves.
But Hasballah is no mere critic, and aside from calling upon
the government to give more to the Acehnese people, he has also
embarked on his own initiative to do what he can do for Aceh.
He and several other like-minded individuals have already
started to build dormitories in the towns of Lambaro, Blang
Bintang and Darussalam. They have built one school for orphaned
survivors as well as a clinic and library.
Hasballah is now planning to build an institute of Acehnese
culture -- a facility designed to replace the Center of Aceh
Documentation and Information that was completely destroyed by
the tsunami.
"We have lost literature and knowledge on Aceh," he said.
This loss and the loss of thousands of students and teachers
who were killed in the disaster has been devastating to academic
and scholastic morale in the province -- so much so that students
and lecturers have been reluctant to resume classes.
Hasballah emphasized that the recovery program in Aceh should
thus include programs to encourage Acehnese students to return to
their studies, by offering more counseling services to meet their
needs.
Asked if the government had failed to identify all this,
Hasballah was careful to give credit where it was due.
He said while the government had done something, the poor
coordination and unclear planning had seriously disrupted the
efficacy of its emergency relief efforts.
"Even if we ask the government how many foreign organizations
are now working on Acehnese soil, no clear figure is available,"
Hasballah said.
He estimates that at least 10 areas in Aceh alone were
severely affected by the tsunami: West Aceh, Southwest Aceh, Aceh
Jaya, Aceh Besar, City of Banda Aceh, Sabang, Pidie, Bireuen,
North Aceh and Simeulue.
These regencies are all located along the northwestern coast,
and the majority of victims were fishermen.
Hasballah is deeply concerned about the future of the
fishermen, particularly as many of them have been relocated to a
place far from the coast.
He underlined that fishermen could not be forced to start
their life anew as farmers.
"Fishermen go fishing at night and return home in the morning
with their catch and money (from selling the fish). Farmers enjoy
the fruits of their harvest months after planting season. The
cultures are totally different," he said, indicating that this
was proof, yet again, that while the government was making an
effort, their activities were not founded upon an understanding
and knowledge of the Acehnese culture.
As the relief effort moves gradually into a recovery phase
over the next few weeks, it can only be hoped that Hasballah's
viewpoint is heeded, and that the Acehnese people, as a whole,
are able to be an active part of reclaiming their own lives.