Helping Aceh -- What helps and what doesn't

Simon G. Bell Jakarta

A team of international scientists studying the effects of the tsunami in Banda Aceh recently reported in a Seattle newspaper that the initial announcements relating to the height and speed of the tsunami were significantly understated.

The team found the tsunami's height along the coast south of Banda Aceh, the area closest to the earthquake and worst hit by the disaster, was about 24 metres above sea level, with "run-ups" on inland slopes exceeding 30 metres. The average speed of the waves on shore was 13.7 metres per second.

This new information certainly helps to further explain the widespread devastation seen in Aceh.

We are now moving into the seventh week of the international response to support Aceh and North Sumatra. Throughout this time, both the domestic and international response to this tragedy has been inspiring.

Unfortunately, however, sometimes goodwill can create more problems and can hinder the effort to stabilize a disaster rather than assist the very people it has been sent to help. Due to a lack of clear communication by the government and international relief agencies as to what is actually needed, we have frequently seen the reports of clothes rotting in the rain and hundreds of boxes of instant noodles still in warehouses because there is insufficient fresh water to cook them.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) through the Indonesian Red Cross has been in Aceh for the past six years and is one of the international agencies that has made the biggest impact to the emergency situation. Recently, upon his return from a one-month trip to Banda Aceh, Martin Unternaehrer (spokesman for the ICRC in Aceh) gave a first-hand update on the situation in the field.

Primarily there are two directions corporations and private individuals can take with regards to contributing to the disaster recovery and rebuilding of the island. The simplest way is to choose an international organization that is already working in the province and donate funds directly to this organization. If, however, there are concerns a large percentage of the funds donated may be lost in administration costs or there is a strong desire to be more directly involved in the effort to support the Acehnese, Unternaehrer made the following suggestions to ensure the aid and donations collected can be distributed with minimal disruption:

o Food, clothing and sanitary packs should be pre-packed in suitable portions (family packs) for immediate distribution and be packaged not only for transportation to Aceh but ensure the packaging is sufficiently durable to withstand being loaded and unloaded into trucks or boats several times.

o Basic professional kits to provide tools to assist in rebuilding economic activities such as fishing kits, hairdressing sets and sewing kits are extremely useful. The important issue here is to ensure the kits are very basic and can be packaged and distributed in bulk easily.

o Ensure the food and clothing collected is appropriate. There have been significant donations of Western clothes with sizes that are too big for the Acehnese. Also check that the food you are sending is actually part of the diet of the Acehnese or at the least can be eaten without requiring clean water or cooking utensils.

If individuals or companies decide to be directly involved, the most effective way of moving forward is to find a knowledgeable and trustworthy partner already operating on the ground. Once you have chosen your partner you will also need to consider the following issues:

1 Find a location or individual village that you want to assist that has not already had assistance from other international or domestic agencies.

2 Meet with the community leaders or head of the village and find out what is needed and coordinate all activities.

3 Keep the authorities informed of all your activities and ensure that your intentions are clearly stated and understood.

4 Verify all your information through your own people. Although, the "posko system" that is already established has been a reliable source of information and coordination because of the massive loss of government employees, information and coordination has been extremely difficult to obtain.

5 Distribute the aid you bring as fairly as possible to ensure a sense of natural justice within the communities you are helping.

6 Ensure you keep track of all aid provided and be able to report who, where and how the community has benefited should the need arise.

7 Ensure that any construction or building projects you fund or develop do not add to the confusion or have the potential to add conflict to the community you are operating in.

8 Remember that not just physical buildings and infrastructure have been lost. There have been massive human losses and capacity in areas such as education. Aceh has lost many thousands of teachers and trainers; it is therefore equally important, to develop the human resources Aceh so desperately requires.

There are two groups of survivors among the people of Aceh. The first group, have adopted the negative opinion that the tsunami was sent by Allah to punish the people for their sins. The second group has adopted the more positive view that they have been chosen by Allah to survive because of their good deeds. Whatever rationalizations are made by the Acehnese what is clear is that they must be involved in the re-development process but should not be the only party involved.

An issue that has been consistently discussed over the past six weeks is how the conflict in Aceh between the Indonesian government and GAM will be affected by the relief and reconstruction effort.

The planned establishment of the Aceh Authority Board to oversee and coordinate the reconstruction of Aceh was intended to begin functioning on March 26 according to presidential spokesman Andy Mallarangeng. The Board would have included both formal and informal Acehnese leaders to ensure Aceh's reconstruction was inline with local values and culture It appears, unfortunately, this plan will not be implemented because it is seen as an unnecessary addition to the local government already in place in Aceh.

This is a significant setback in the effort to reunify the country and to work with the Acehnese in creating a peaceful solution to past conflict.

Perhaps it is best to dwell on a final point briefly mentioned earlier in this article; the need for short-term emergency aid that helps the needy with immediate effect has predominantly been handled by the Indonesian and international agencies already operating in Aceh.

I would, however, like to re-emphasize that the longer-term aid currently being planned, needs to focus on children who have lost their family, education and employment. This is one of the harder challenges which may be neglected if it is not specifically focused on by the various aid organizations and the Indonesian government.

The writer is currently in Indonesia conducting a short-term research assignment for SAGRIC International, an Australian-based aid consultancy operating in Indonesia. He can be reached at s.g.bell@lycos.com.