South Sulawesi shows that Aceh is not on its own

South Sulawesi shows that Aceh is not on its own

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami that ripped through Aceh
last month did not only get the attention of the government in
Jakarta and foreign governments, but also from regional
administrations across the archipelago.

One example is South Sulawesi, which has dispatched around 130
volunteers so far to the devastated province, along with
financial aid and supplies that are directly distributed to the
surviving victims.

"We realize that the recovery and rehabilitation process for
Aceh is far from easy and will take a very long time," the
coordinator of South Sulawesi humanitarian post, Andi Tenri
Gappa, said on Tuesday.

The South Sulawesi command post is one of several dozen that
have been set up in Aceh by governments, domestic and foreign
militaries, relief organizations and also regional
administrations.

The South Sulawesi command post occupies part of the Zainoel
Abidin General Hospital, which the group helped clean up when it
arrived. The hospital had been partially destroyed by tsunamis,
and many of its doctors and staffers are missing and presumed
dead.

Tenri, a banker by training, says the biggest problem with the
relief operation is still coordination, with a lot of overlap by
the various organizations.

"There are dozens of voluntary organizations here, but their
work is not being maximized because of poor coordination," he
said.

The first team sent by South Sulawesi included seven doctors
led by Hasanuddin University's medical school dean Idrus
Paturusi, who arrived here three days after the Dec. 26 disaster.

More teams of volunteers from the province later followed.

South Sulawesi is here for the long run too. After the first
phase of emergency relief operations in the first month, they
will move to the recovery phase.

During the emergency phase, it flew in 130 volunteers
comprised of 49 medical personnel, 30 workers to evacuate dead
bodies, clerics and workers tasked with distributing aid and
managing a public kitchen.

The volunteers were recruited through a screening process,
with priority given to physically fit people, who had experience
in disaster zones. They also went through a short training
program before being flown in.

For the recovery phase, South Sulawesi will send volunteers to
do medical, administrative and educational tasks. No specific
number has been determined yet as they are still waiting for
further information and coordination with the Aceh
administration.

South Sulawesi Deputy Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo, who is
overseeing the operation here, explained that his administration
would be ready to assist and provide more volunteers as needed.

The South Sulawesi volunteers have been working in two
locations: Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar.

The doctors have gone to work in hospitals and community
health centers. They also make routine calls on shelters for the
displaced people.

Also included on the team are Islamic clerics to counsel
traumatized survivors or to help open emergency schools in Lhok
Ngah and Kreung Raya.

Many of the volunteers had earlier helped the Indonesian
Military clean up the Zainoel Abidin hospital, the ground floor
of which was covered in 30 centimeters of mud and debris.

Today, the hospital has become the temporary home for other
aid groups including those from the North Sumatra administration,
the Jakarta administration, Australia, Belgium, Singapore, China,
France and Spain.

A public kitchen was also set up initially to cater to the
South Sulawesi volunteers, but later was opened up to volunteers
from other organizations and for the families of patients being
treated in the hospital.

Tenri said the South Sulawesi administration pays for all the
costs of the operation, including the cost of bringing in the
volunteers. The money will come from the administration's budget,
and not from funds raised for Aceh victims.

Humanitarian concern was their likely motivation, but there is
also another reason for South Sulawesi to be represented here:
Historically, the two have a tradition of strong ties dating back
centuries to the time when the archipelago was still made up of
groups of sultanates. Tengku Cik Di Tiro, a legendary leader in
Aceh, is widely respected in South Sulawesi because he helped to
bring Islam to the province. An Aceh king also once married a
princess from South Sulawesi, ensuring the ties that bind to this
day.