Students brave war to return to school

Students brave war to return to school

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post,
Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe

On the first day of school on Monday in war-torn Aceh, an
elementary school teacher was shot to death, and more than
107,000 students had classes in emergency tents and small
mosques.

Elementary school teacher Ibrahim, 52, was shot dead by two
unidentified gunmen on his way to school in Matang Mei village,
Paya Bakung district, North Aceh. The resident of Arun Geulompang
Tujuh village was fatally shot in the head and stomach.

The military claimed the gunmen were members of the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM).

Early on Sunday, elementary school principal Saodah, 50, was
assaulted and killed at her home in Bangka Jaya village, Krueng
Geukeuh, also in North Aceh, allegedly by GAM members. Her
journalist husband Idrus Jeumpa and their daughter Yusniar
Octavia suffered serious injuries in the incident. Yusniar is a
teacher at the school and also a correspondent for Waspada daily
in Medan, North Sumatra.

Saodah, the principal of elementary school SD 3 Krueng
Geukueh, later died at a medical clinic belonging to the ASEAN-
Aceh Fertilizer plant.

The family was attacked as they refused to hand over Rp 20
million (US$2,439) to the perpetrators.

Because of security fears, most schools did not raise the
national flag, as is customary on Mondays.

Chadijah Rasyid, principal of state-run Islamic elementary
school at Krueng Baroh Babah Krueng, Peusangan district, Bireuen,
said that they would restart the ceremony "if the situation
allows".

Despite the terrible and sometimes life-threatening condition,
more than 107,000 elementary and junior high school students,
some of whom were still living in refugee camps, welcomed the new
academic year and attended classes with enthusiasm.

Uiskarni, student of state-run elementary school in Tanoh Abee
Seulim village, Aceh Besar regency, said that despite the
emergency situation, he would continue going to school because
this was his last year of elementary school.

Uiskarni, who carried several notebooks in a bag from Unicef,
said he and other students sat on the bare ground while teachers
conducted lessons.

"We don't have textbooks yet, and today we have several drills
to do and then we finish class," he said. Uiskarni wants to be a
doctor when he grows up.

He said his teacher was teaching three classes simultaneously,
as several teachers were still in their home villages.

It was not clear whether they were there by choice, or if they
were banned from leaving the villages by security forces.

More than 130 students at an Islamic elementary school in
Lampako 2, Tanoh Abee, Aceh Besar regency, started the new school
year at a small mosque. "Four classes are held in the morning and
two other classes are held at noon," school principal Badriati
said.

She regretted that the local administration had not paid any
attention to her school, and said she had received no aid since
the school -- along with hundreds of other schools -- was torched
on May 19, the day the military operation was launched.

She also said that some of her students had to transfer to a
state-run elementary school nearby.

Badriati said she was proud of the students who came to school
despite the war and the poor condition of the educational
setting.

"We don't want to disappoint them, and most teachers are
committed to holding classes in emergency tents and meunasah
(small mosques)," she said.

Nurul, who is in the fourth grade, asked the government to
"please rebuild our school and please help families in the
camps".

Hundreds of families across the province have taken refuge in
temporary camps, which are facing severe shortages of clean
water, lack of medical facilities, respiratory diseases and poor
sanitary conditions. The majority of humanitarian aid packages
from foreign NGOs have failed to reach the refugees.

A total of 583 schools have been deliberately set on fire
since the government launched the military offensive to crush the
separatist movement.

Spokesman for the martial law administration Col. Ditya
Soedarsono said on Monday that the government had "restored 542
schools that had been burnt down by rebels over the last two
months".

"But, many schools that were damaged by rebels have yet to be
rehabilitated because of the difficult situation," he said
without elaborating.