Nias Online

Friday, April 01, 2005The herculean task of reconstructing Aceh had not even begun when another catastrophe struck again on Monday in the same area of northern Sumatra.

More than 200,000 Indonesians perished in the Dec. 26 tsunami and it is estimated that at least 1,000 more died this week as local and foreign volunteers search for survivors on Nias Island. About half a million people lost their homes in Aceh and thousands out of a population of 400,000 in Nias are now homeless.

The generosity of neighboring countries is very touching with many people flocking to Nias to help just three months after the Dec. 26 disaster. Some of those good people were on their way out of Aceh or nearing the completion of their humanitarian work in devastated Aceh, when they found themselves badly needed again in nearby Nias. Notable among them is Malaysia, and despite its ongoing dispute with Indonesia over two oil blocks off Borneo island, the Malaysians are sending hundreds of volunteers and medical personnel at this very moment.

Although it could be considered a lesser disaster relative to the apocalyptic tsunami, the Nias earthquake will nevertheless have an affect on the recently issued blueprint for reconstructing Aceh. Although the blueprint did include Nias, which was affected somewhat by the first catastrophe, the government promptly announced its decision to review its blueprint on reconstructing Aceh to also include the latest devastation on Nias.

It is not clear at the moment whether the time frame in the blueprint — rehabilitation work from April 2005 to April 2006 and reconstruction work up to 2009 — will also be changed. The same question can be posed for the total cost of reconstruction, which exceeds Rp 40 trillion (US$4.2 billion), mainly funded by international donations.

While we commend the blueprint, which is now being disseminated around Aceh to allow public input, the reconstruction of Aceh still appears to be problematic. There were problems prior to these two disasters, occurring the day after Christmas and the day after Easter, respectively. The government has been focused on trying to deal with a dilemma on reconstructing Aceh. This is not to ignore the need to look beyond physical reconstruction or the need to heal the massive psychological wounds suffered by the Acehnese.

One of the key questions concerning the reconstruction of Aceh will be, whether or not the government should allow the reconstruction work to carried out by foreigners as demanded by the Acehnese, or take on the task wholly on its own?

Apart from their inherent distrust of the government, the Acehnese are well aware that Indonesia is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It would be unfair to the Acehnese, however, to say that other provinces do not harbor the same distrust toward Jakarta; the sentiment seems to be quite similar throughout the nation. The difference is, with its separatist history, the Acehnese can afford to say so more openly where other provinces cannot. Other provinces seem to have less alternatives when it comes to development in their respective provinces directed from Jakarta.

Without belittling any effort forged by the government in reconstructing Aceh — some agencies like the social affairs ministry are taking care of thousands of orphaned Acehnese children — the government would do well to accommodate the aspirations of the people of Aceh.

There are two key reasons why this should be so. One, Aceh is not a typical Indonesian province. It is a special case. Its deep distrust toward the central government is not without justification. A foremost and staunch supporter of a free Indonesia in 1945, Aceh has since been disappointed by Jakarta too many times to count.

This is partly because of a flurry of broken promises by the government since day one of the nation's independence. Two, there is still an armed conflict going on between Aceh separatists and government troops. Aceh is one of two provinces in the country with a significant separatist problem.

This does not mean that the government should stand back and let the foreigners do their work together with the Acehnese. It is not a viable option as the Acehnese are likely to be less than equipped to do the massive reconstruction work. On the other hand, the foreigners need a capable partner in the field. A middle way has to be found out where all parties, including the Acehnese, the foreigners and the government, have a stake in the work. The government may well do the planning while the Acehnese could be given access to monitor the use of the funding.

Friday, April 01, 2005 Ridwan M. Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

U.S. Embassy in Jakarta expressed its deep concern over the latest earthquake tragedy, and stated that the U.S. government was committed to supporting the recovery and relief efforts in Nias and Simeulue, two islands greatly affected by Monday's earthquake.

"The United States has good ties with Indonesia… We are still coordinating with the Indonesian government on what kind of relief we can deliver immediately to the affected areas.

"We have provided US$100,000 in preliminary emergency aid to help children and for other purposes in the two islands. We have been coordinating with two international non governmental organizations and sent a five-member medical team to help injured survivors," U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Lynn B. Pascoe said.

He added that the U.S. government would likely provide heavy equipment such as helicopters, communications, logistical support and resources if the Indonesian government needed them to conduct the relief and recovery operations.

Pascoe confirmed that USNS Mercy left East Timor on Wednesday bound for Nias if it was needed to provide medical aid to injured survivors in the area.

Over the last three months since the tragic tsunami, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other U.S. government agencies had been working closely with the Indonesian government to provide relief and other assistance to disaster victims in Aceh.

The Navy hospital ship conducted a wide range of medical and dental assistance programs ashore and afloat. To date, USAID has provided more than $52.1 million in emergency food assistance, relief supplies, shelter, water and sanitation, health and other support for affected communities in northern Sumatra.

The U.S. had deployed 16,000 military personnel, 26 ships, 58 helicopters and 43 fixed wing aircraft in that relief and recovery effort.

Meanwhile, the AFP reported from Washington that the U.S. had dispatched naval and medical ships in a bid to help stricken victims of the latest killer earthquake in Indonesia.

"Today, the U.S. naval ships and the medical ships, Niagara Falls and Mercy, are proceeding to the region, should their assistance be necessary," U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.

The Australian and Singapore militaries are helping Indonesia with relief and recovery efforts while the United States and Japan had offered military assistance and awaiting the green light from Jakarta.

Just before the latest disaster, Indonesia had urged all foreign militaries that had been providing aid to victims of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia's Aceh province to leave.

Friday, April 01, 2005 The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Crucial aid was headed toward Nias island on Thursday, but severely damaged roads and ports were slowing down efforts to get help to thousands of people affected by Monday's earthquake.

Relief agencies are forced to use helicopters to ferry food, medical supplies and tents to the island, because the runway at the island's only airport was badly damaged in the quake, leaving it unable to serve large aircraft. Most of the roads on Nias are also impassable.

"I have received 100 tents for the residents of Nias, most of whom do not have roofs above their heads. But so far I have only been able to transport a few to Nias," Second Lt. J. Hutauruk, the head of logistics at the Air Force base in Medan, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

"One tent weighs 65 kilograms, while a helicopter from the Singapore military can only carry a ton. We also have to prioritize the transportation of medicine, doctors and paramedics. So we can only load two or three tents per flight," he said.

The base has received food aid, potable water and power generators from various donors. However, most of the bottled water, water purifying plants and generators are sitting on the base waiting to be transported to the island.

The United Nations World Food Program estimated 200,000 Nias residents will require food aid for about two months. According to government data, there are more than 422,000 residents on the island.

"Please, sir, help us, we are starving," said a man in the Nias capital of Gunung Sitoli, as dozens of people looted a government store while the police looked on.

The grim search for survivors trapped beneath the rubble continued on Thursday, but badly needed heavy equipment failed to get ashore due to damaged ports.

Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said there were four large excavators aboard naval ships, but they were still trying to get the equipment ashore.

Officials have said the death toll from Monday's earthquake could be as high as 2,000. The United Nations said on Thursday it had recovered some 624 bodies, including 600 on Nias island and the remainder on the neighboring islands of Simeulue and Banyak.

"We do anticipate that figure is still going to go up," UN Development Program spokeswoman Imogen Wall said.

French and Norwegian rescuers pulled a boy and young woman alive from two separate buildings overnight, both relatively unscathed despite spending more than 50 hours trapped in the wreckage.

"They suffered from bruises and cuts all over their bodies, but other than that they were in relatively good condition," said Florent Dalmon of Pompiers Sans Frontieres, or Firefighters Without Borders.

Dalmon said his team used sledgehammers and bolt cutters to free the 19-year-old woman, while Olaf Lingiaerae of the Norwegian Support Team said the boy, 15, was hauled from the third floor of a collapsed five-story building.

Aftershocks continued to cause alarm among islanders and relief workers, with around 700 aftershocks having been recorded since Monday's major quake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale.

Thousands of Nias residents are still taking refuge in the mountains because of fears of a tsunami, while others are sleeping in makeshift shelters.

Hundreds of injured people are being treated at a makeshift hospital on a football field in the center of Gunung Sitoli, and aid workers on the island say more help is needed.