Trying to rebuild Aceh

Trying to rebuild Aceh

A'an Suryana, Medan

The Aceh aid distribution problem -- something that has confounded the government for a week since the tsunami disaster -- has for the most part been overcome, after more military helicopters were deployed into the disaster-stricken province by countries including the United States and Singapore.

The presence of more helicopters has helped tackle a backlog of logistics piling up at an air force base in Medan, North Sumatra, which has been the hub for aid distribution in Aceh. The helicopters pick up large amounts of food and medicines from Medan Air Force base and Air Force bases in Banda Aceh and then drop it to needy refugees throughout the coastal areas of Aceh. The helicopters have been indispensable in distributing aid to isolated areas that could not be reached by small airplanes or trucks.

Aid distribution will become better in the near future with the government and the Indonesian military (TNI) beginning to rehabilitate damaged bridges in several parts of Aceh's coastal areas. Bridge repairs will allow trucks and buses to reach areas that are currently isolated, including the city of Meulaboh in West Aceh regency.

After resolving distribution obstacles, the government is then expected to focus on refugee problems, and the rehabilitation of the social and economic fabric of Aceh, including infrastructure. Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Alwi Shihab, has said that the government will relocate refugees to better locations and provide them with better sanitation and medical facilities. This measure is important in tackling the spread of disease post- tsunami, including gastroenteritis, cholera and respiratory tract infections.

Besides tackling these and other diseases, which are quite common in refugee camps, the government's next goal should be to give attention to the psychological trauma suffered by many refugees as a result of the disaster.

Another agenda that the government needs to pursue seriously is infrastructure rehabilitation. The government has started to repair damaged bridges in order to smooth land transportation between towns and cities in Aceh. Efficient land transportation is not only important for aid distribution, but is also important to restore transportation of goods and people, thus reviving economic life in the stricken areas.

Improving the economy must be a prime priority as currently market distortions have been rampant in many areas of the province, not least in the more isolated areas. People suffer because prices of basic commodities and fuel rises sharply due to short supply. Whether the economy will return to normal in isolated areas in Aceh will mostly depend on the rehabilitation of infrastructure in the province.

However, besides caring for refugees and rehabilitating infrastructure, the government should also start thinking about the future of the Acehnese. Huge numbers of people are jobless and they have lost absolutely everything they owned. After healing the physical and psychological wounds, people will need jobs. People can not rely on food and medical aid forever, as the aid will run out someday. They need jobs in order to nurture their own lives.

This is not an easy task for any government to provide. Whilst less urgent compared to dealing with refugees and infrastructure rehabilitation, the government will need to confront the problem at some point. The unemployment problem has very wide repercussions. The absence of jobs -- a chronic problem in Aceh even before the disaster -- will create social problems. It will also exacerbate separatist sentiment in the province.

Besides creating jobs, the government also has to rebuild the institutions of government that were destroyed by the deadly tsunami. Government is not functioning in many areas of Aceh. The tsunami not only sweep away government offices, but it also claimed the lives of government officials, including teachers. In the meantime, the Indonesian military has taken over governmental functions in certain areas affected by the tsunami, including aid distribution.

However, the government should reclaim its functions of governing and providing services to the people as soon as possible.

Rebuilding government is a mammoth task for Jakarta. The government has to deploy or recruit new government officials to replace those who perished. They must also rebuild buildings that were destroyed by the tsunami, and this will be costly. It will take time to overcome governance problems in Aceh, but it has to be among the priorities of the central government.

Jakarta cannot pour attention into Aceh forever, and at a certain point the Acehnese have to take care of governance problems themselves. The central government must immediately provide the infrastructure and manpower required for the rebuilding of governance in Aceh.

Lastly, we should not forget that Aceh is still under civil emergency status, and the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police are still at war with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The government must take immediate action to resolve this issue and create certainty for Aceh residents and for those who are now working, and will continue to work, for the reconstruction of Aceh.

The writer is a journalist of The Jakarta Post.