'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.