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In Their Eyes...I See Hope 
Alice Evans, February 2006

The changes in Banda Aceh since our last visit in May are both exciting and sobering.

Where we had earlier seen the overwhelming devastation of barren fields, broken houses and broken people, we saw cleared primary roads and hundreds of tidy new homes on the horizon. A small fleet of new fishing boats chugged its way out of the harbor into the open sea, promising both food and renewed employment.

There is also a dramatic shift in energy.  In May the Oxfam water trucks, World Vision staff, and bands of volunteers from other Indonesian provinces were industriously delivering emergency aid and clearing rice fields smothered by tons of debris.  By December hard-working Acehnese were repairing buildings, selling fresh vegetables in vibrant open markets, and vying for the best corners to sell kitchen supplies and hardware. Small sidewalk venders and restaurants bustle with business as customers buy spicy noodles and crack open hot boiled crabs. In place of Indonesian military forces, local police direct bustling traffic.

A pervasive optimism about the August 2005 peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement [GAM] after 30 years of bitter warfare undergirds a growing sense of promise about the future. Aceh’s imams also offer words of hope in contrast to religious leaders who see natural disasters as God’s punishment for what they identify as human sin. A prominent Muslim leader shared, “The Koran teaches us that Allah loves his children – but at times also tests us.  Allah’s love will see us through this test.”

The sobering elements of this exciting transformation are multifaceted. While the massive influx of international aid personnel has opened the previously cloistered conservative Muslim province to a greater understanding and appreciation of the outside world, this sudden introduction of cultures and outside funding may be “too much of a good thing.” The local economy is now fueled by, and increasingly dependent on, short-term international employment.  Catering to foreign residents has raised the cost of local food and housing and filled the Banda Aceh “supermarket” with four aisles of Cheetos, marshmallows and Swiss chocolate bars. A lack of understanding of local customs often conflicts with traditional values, and the introduction of hundreds of foreign-owned vehicles fills the heavy tropical air with exhaust fumes and strains the capacity of local roads.

Another more significant concern for the long-term future of Aceh province is the dependence of the peace process on forces outside of Aceh. In a private meeting, local GAM leaders shared with us their deep suspicions that “powerful elites” and members of the Indonesian government who oppose the current president will try to block parliamentary confirmation of basic elements of the peace agreement.  These include the agreement that GAM members could run for public office and that a significant portion of revenue from Aceh’s valuable natural resources remains in the province to support reconstruction efforts from the war as well as the earthquake and tsunami. One leader shared his deepest concern: “We support the agreement and are fulfilling the terms.  However, we cannot predict what will happen if the government does not fully comply as well.”

Nevertheless, negative aspects of the “international invasion” and the threat of nullification of critical aspects of the peace agreement have not quelled the optimism of the Acehnese people and their strong faith in God’s goodness. After Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, appointed by the Indonesian president to direct the reconstruction efforts, had shared with us a number of the challenges he faced, we asked what kept him motivated. He responded softly, “I look into the eyes of the Acehnese people, and I see hope.”   

Our return to Aceh in December, almost a year after the tsunami, was to begin honoring the promise of a two-year series of intensive workshops to meet expressed needs of Acehnese for trauma healing, greater understanding of human rights, and skills of constructive conflict intervention  as well as equipping local Acehnese leaders to lead these workshops for their own people. An additional goal of our partner, the Directorate General for Human Rights Protection, prompted by the peace agreement, is the re-integration of GAM soldiers into Acehnese society.

Following the tragic loss of fourteen of their eighteen members to the tsunami, the newly expanded human rights staff based in Banda Aceh energetically worked with our local co-hosts from the State Institute of Islamic Studies to select and invite 40 participants from Aceh Province to the two intensive courses on trauma healing and human rights/conflict transformation. As we looked around the room on December 8, the first day of the course, we saw the fruits of their labor: a remarkable cross-section of Acehnese society including school teachers, Muslim imams, members of GAM, journalists, rural community leaders, representatives from NGOs and women’s organizations, health workers, police, local government employees, and tsunami victims.   

Bob and I knew of Aceh’s tragic history of human rights violations from 300 years of resistance to Dutch colonialism to often brutal oppression by the Indonesian government during 30 years of warfare. We were still struck by the responses that first morning from our workshop participants when we asked for their most immediate images of the term “human rights.”  The unchecked images poured forth – “stealing the right to live,” “what the government does to people,” “anarchy and violence,” “losing freedom,” “interrupting our life, our dreams and visions.” The course that followed included information and discussions about human rights enshrined in their constitution, energizing case study analysis of a post-tsunami conflict, games, role playing, problem solving, and times for small group sharing. The group accepted intimate personal sharing from former GAM soldiers about military torture as well painful words from Acehnese citizens brutalized by GAM troops. On the last day of class when small groups developed lists of what they considered the three most important human rights, their compiled responses included “freedom of religion,” “the right to education,” “the right to legal protection,” “political rights” and “the right to security.” They had begun to move their own mountains as positive visions for the future surpassed violent negative memories. 

On the last day, a participant from the trauma course, facilitated by colleagues from the University of Indonesia psychology department, offered us a ride from the workshop venue to our hotel. As Annah skillfully drove through the winding streets, we learned that she had been in the hospital for surgery on December 26, 2004. It took five agonizing days for the news to reach her that her husband and two children had been killed and their home completely destroyed by the tsunami. During the past 11 months she had learned to drive a car and felt she was doing well in her first “paying job.” Nevertheless, like other members of the course, she had been plagued by months of nightmares, anxiety, and guilt that she was alive and her loved ones were dead. Another member of the trauma course spoke for himself as well as Annah: “These past five days have changed my life.  Last night I slept without nightmares for the first time in nearly a year, and together we have learned that we are not crazy.”

I return often to Kuntoro’s inspiration – “I look into the eyes of the Acehnese people and I see hope.” Bob and I return to Aceh in late February for the second round of courses. We are looking forward to working with the six Acehnese selected from the first workshops to become coaches and trainers.  We are also looking forward to being blessed again by learning about faith, courage and determination from extraordinary Acehnese people who are transforming tragedy to renewal and reconciliation.