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.