Honor your guests, regardless of who they are!
Honor your guests, regardless of who they are!
Imanuddin Razak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
"Honor your guests! If they arrive at lunchtime or dinnertime,
invite them to dine with you no matter how plain the meal is that
day," said a father of a friend of mine when I and a number of
friends dropped in to visit one evening at dinnertime in the late
1980s.
The advice stuck with me as it came from a retired civil
servant who lived in a simple house. And we, guests of his
daughter, could not reject his sincere invitation for dinner even
though there was only a plate of telur balado (boiled eggs fried
with grounded chili) served with rice.
It was a personal experience, but perhaps such a noble
principle of honoring guests could be applied by security
authorities and caretakers for rescue and relief operations in
the tsunami-hit province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, and to
Indonesians in general, who are hosting "special guests" of some
3,000 foreign aid and medical workers and foreign troops
currently on Aceh soil and seas helping with the operations.
In the wake of heated controversy over the restrictions on
the movement of the foreign aid workers and troops issued by
Jakarta, the need to serve our foreign guests well, especially
when they have been invited to come and help with the operations,
is a must-do and urgent task of both civilian and military
authorities in Aceh and Jakarta.
Seemingly unprepared for the visits and poor coordination
among our officials, and between our local and foreigner
officials, the government (including the Indonesian Military) has
been criticized for incidents of misunderstanding and
uncoordinated movement of foreigners in the province, which was
opened to foreigners only after the tsunami.
Criticism and expressions of concern were raised, ranging from
issues of Christianization, promoting separatism and allegations
of intelligence activities of visiting foreigners.
Such an expression of concern was raised by Smita Notosusanto,
director of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro). She said, as
quoted in a Jakarta magazine, that the presence of foreigners
reminded her of the situation prior to the August 1999 referendum
in East Timor, the result of which was East Timor's separation
from Indonesia.
Meanwhile, former Army deputy chief Lt. Gen. (ret) Kiki
Syahnakri said Aceh soil, seas and air were prone to foreign
military penetration now that the province was open to
foreigners, especially aid and medical workers.
Cause for concern has yet to be proven. However, the arguments
put forth by critics are not completely baseless. After all,
William Nessen, a U.S. freelance journalist who was expelled from
Indonesia due to his alleged support for the separatist Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) has entered Aceh.
It's true that we may not be suudzon (Arabic term meaning an
overly suspicious manner), but extra caution should be practiced
as there is a possibility that some may take advantage of the lax
control and monitoring in Aceh.
In reply to the criticism and to provide protection for
foreigners, Jakarta and Aceh authorities issued regulations
requiring all foreigners in Aceh and those wanting to enter Aceh
to register and secure an Indonesian liaison officer escort prior
to visiting sites outside the Aceh capital destroyed in the Dec.
26 tsunami.
It is the duty of Indonesian officers to serve and accompany
any foreigner so as to avoid misunderstandings between local and
foreign aid workers as well as foreign troops and at the same
time protect our guests from potential attack by armed groups.
As for the foreigners, they should not damage the universal
spirit of unity that emerged following the tsunami, nor abuse
Indonesians' trust in them, by pursuing individual or group
interests instead of providing assistance for rescue and relief
efforts for tsunami victims.