Soldiers work to build mutual trust with tribes people

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)