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.