JP/6/NASIR

JP/6/NASIR

Asian Tsunami
The pain of Aceh, the pain of Indonesia, the pain of the world

Sudirman Nasir
Victoria, Australia

The catastrophic Asian tsunami has not merely destroyed
countless cities and villages and killed over one hundred and
fifty thousand people, but has also stimulated a genuine
spontaneous desire among people to help. Such a spontaneous
willingness to help the victims can be seen in many cities
worldwide. The international community has given its full
attention and shown a universal will to overcome this disaster.
It is such a candle in the dark.

As an Indonesian currently studying in Melbourne, I witnessed
the generosity of many people in this country. Many, many people
are donating cash. Many readers have expressed their sympathy
toward people affected by the disaster through this newspaper. My
neighbor, a charming old lady, knocked on my door and asked
sympathetically whether my family back home were alright. I know
the Australian people and Australian government are playing a
leading role in helping their Asian neighbors and that makes me
very proud studying and living in this wonderful city. The
Indonesian community in this city are also trying their best to
collect funds for the victims.

As a former student activist in Indonesia, many friends
informed me through e-mail and text messages that university
students, NGOs, religious leaders and religious institutions and
the media have played a key role in collecting aid from the
people to help the tsunami victims in Aceh and North Sumatra.

In many cities in Indonesia, students standing on the streets
with a box in their hands are appealing to people to donate. At
the same time, the press is reporting the rising death toll,
inspiring people to help, lobbying government agencies to assist
in distributing the aid, providing transparent reports about the
usage of people's donation, and becoming watchdogs of
government's performance in helping those victims.

There are many people; ordinary people, big and small
companies who are willing to help. One student studying at the
Islamic University of Indonesia in Makassar city told of a beggar
who gave his daily earnings to the student to be delivered to the
affected people.

Many friends said that the solidarity and genuine desire to
help was even stronger than the solidarity experienced during
the "May 1998 revolution" that ended Soeharto's 32-year rule.

Aceh, the province at the tip of Sumatra Island has suffered
the most in the Asian tsunami with an estimated 100,000
fatalities. However, the exact figure will never be known. One of
Indonesia's leading actors, Slamet Rahardjo Jarot, who played
Teuku Umar, the legendary Acehnese hero who fought against the
Dutch, in the acclaimed epic film Cut Nya' Dien, said that such a
genuine outpouring of concern for the Acehnese was a strong
indication that most Indonesians, especially the ordinary people
deeply love Aceh.

Therefore, the pain of the Acehnese people is the pain of
Indonesians as well. So far, Aceh is still under civil emergency
rule, and the role of the Indonesian Military is very strong in
this area. Thousands of Acehnese have died in the conflict
between the Indonesian Military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Furthermore, Emha Ainun Najib -- a moderate Muslim and one of
Indonesia's most prominent writers -- said that the long
suffering of Aceh, not just due to this natural disaster, but
also the chronic political conflict, is another reason why many
Indonesian people feel great empathy for Aceh. He also maintained
that the Indonesian government must learn from the disaster and
from the genuine concern of the ordinary people to better serve
their people.

Beside the emergency aid; to treat the injured, to provide
food and shelter, to bury the corpses, to build facilities for
drinking water and sanitation, to prevent infectious diseases and
to release trauma -- Indonesia also needs long-term aid to
rebuild infrastructure and facilities, to provide employment in
the affected areas, and to establish an early warning system and
disaster risk-reduction strategy.

In the context of Aceh, it is urgent to continue efforts for
conflict resolution and peace building. Many Indonesian NGOs
concerned with human rights issues are asking the government to
acknowledge that the separatist movement in Aceh is the result of
economic and political injustice. Many Indonesian NGOs also
maintain that it would be hypocritical for the government to
allow international involvement to provide aid for Aceh after the
tsunami but prevent international involvement in conflict
resolution and peace building in the province.

Hopefully, this natural disaster will be a blessing in
disguise in the form of a genuine desire from the Indonesian
government and the GAM to resume dialog. Besides emergency aid
due to the natural disaster, it is apparent that the primary
needs of the ordinary people in Aceh now and in the future are
peace and prosperity. Conflict, violence and corruption will only
prolong their pain.

The writer is currently studying at the University of
Melbourne. He can be reached at s.nasir@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au