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.