Soldiers work to build mutual trust with tribes people

YETTI, Jayapura (JP): "Esther, what is that you're carrying?"

The little girl beams in response as her inquirer walks past her.

It may be simple question, but it is a meaningful one when posed by a company commander in this remote area of Irian Jaya. More importantly, the company commander is operating in the border area where members of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Free Papua Movement -- OPM) are still active, and the presence of Indonesian troops often causes trouble among villagers.

As Indonesians, it is the Yetti's duty to help the troops. But as native tribesmen of Irian Jaya, they feel they cannot betray the OPM rebels, their own flesh and blood. The relationship between troops and villagers is often clouded by suspicion, with neither side feeling they can trust the other implicitly.

But Esther's sweet smile reflects her trust of the man, and his jungle fatigues and gun do not intimidate her.

Capt. Veri S. is well-liked by Yetti villagers. Friendly but firm, he is extremely patient and understanding. He is very persuasive, too, and genuninely cares for the people. More importantly, he sets a good example for his troops, who treat the villagers with respect.

On May 27, Capt. Veri gathered the tiny Yetti community and briefed them on their trip to Wembi for the general election. He reminded the villagers that they would be leaving at 7 a.m. the following morning.

At the appointed time on May 28, most of the village was awake, but none of the people seemed ready to start the long walk. Patiently, Capt. Veri and his men went from house to house, calling the villagers to hurry up. Still, at 7:45 a.m. not all of them were ready. Only 15 minutes later were they finally set to leave. During the whole wait, not a single harsh or angry word was heard coming from the troops. They teased the villagers, chatted with the kids and checked they had not forgotten anything as they waited for everybody to get ready.

The attitude sums up the slogan of their battalion.

For Infantry Battalion 731/Kabaresi stationed in Irian Jaya, success is not measured by the number of rebels they capture or kill. Success comes when they are able to persuade rebel members to lay down their arms and return to society.

Seeing members of Infantry Battalion 731/Kabaresi at work is like watching superheroes juggling their military duty with other roles. Yet this adapatability to extraordinary circumstances is not unusual for an Indonesian infantryman.

They are trained to defend the country against both internal and external threats. To kill or get killed is their motto. A closer look reveals Indonesia's infantrymen play a far wider role than just bearing weapons to safeguard the nation.

In remote areas off the civilian administration limit, members of the Armed Forces (ABRI), infantrymen in particular, serve in those functions usually occupied by civic administrators.

House building

In Yetti, infantrymen helped villagers build their houses and other public facilities, including their church and village meeting hall. They show the Yetti people how to farm, to rear animals, as well as teaching them to read and write. They also play doctor when villagers get ill, providing them with medicines after consulting their battalion doctor by radio. They even take care of more mundane matters, such as advising the people on good hygiene of bathing twice a day.

"It is especially hard to tell them to take a bath in the morning," Capt. Veri sighed.

In short, infantrymen are expected to be superheroes who can fire their guns and not miss, but who can also be everything else in serving needs of the community they live in.

"How can we see them like this and not do anything?" said a private when asked whether he liked teaching the children in a remote village of Wamena, Jayawijaya regency.

He said he had never trained to be a teacher.

"I'm a soldier, I am trained to do battle, not to teach," he said. "But I cannot just stand quiet seeing these kids. I feel it is my duty to help them."

Who would not be touched seeing the isolated tribes of Irian Jaya living in ways unthinkable in this age of information? Most of them have runny noses, their tummies bulging from malnutrition and their skin scaly from lack of contact with water and soap.

How do the tribespeople feel about the troops?

"We work hand in hand with ABRI," a villager said. "They help us, something the civilian administration has never done."

It may sound like a set answer, and there may be the suspicion that he has been instructed to roll off these sentiments. Yet Esther's spontaneous reaction proves that emotions, and good ones at that, do come into play in the relationship. (lem)