Newsletters and Updates

Current Articles Indonesia Seminar 2009 (February 2008) Little Rock Cities Program (February 2008) Restorative Justice Work (February 2008) Interfaith Dialogue Initiative (February 2008) Ghost Ranch Workshop (January 2008) Local Training Opportunities (April 2007) Hong Kong/China Seminar 2008 (April 2007) Hartford Seminary Course (February 2007) Truth and Friendship Commission Update (January 2007) South Africa Seminar 2007 (January 2007) Aceh Peace Project Prospers (December 2006) Plowshares Celebrates 25th Anniversary (November 2006)

Reflections on Fact Finding Trip to Aceh, Indonesia
May 2005

Preface: Plowshares Institute Directors, Bob and Alice Evans, were asked by the Human Rights Protectorate of the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights to research and consult on effective approaches to building long-term peace in Aceh.   This request is related to the aftermath of the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh Province  and the current negotiations being held in Helsinki to reach a permanent cease fire in the nearly three decades of civil war in Aceh. 

The request led the Evans in April and May, 2005 to meet with Indonesian government officials, university scholars, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and with residents and human rights staff in the provinces surrounding Aceh and in the Acehnese capitol of Banda Aceh which was the most severely damaged area in December. More than 250,000 Acehnese were killed and almost an equal number are still homeless four months later.  The following personal reflections come from the Evans’ early May visit in Banda Aceh.

----------------------------------------------------------------
May 5, 2005

As we were leaving Banda Aceh by the narrow, lonely road to the airport, I asked to stop at the mass gravesite we passed on the way into town early that morning.  A great swath of rough earth reflects the indifferent tread of bull dozers. Although the lush green canopy of trees surrounding the site is steeped in heat and humidity, the broken earth is still barren.

The gravesite has a simple roadside fence, only a few meters long, flanked by bright red and white flags waving incongruously in the stillness.  I am unable to read the two Indonesian banners set between two poles- but the one smaller sign in English is unforgettable: This project is supported by international aid for disease control.

As I prayed and felt hot tears stream down my face, I sensed the more than 800 souls lost to their families – only to be imagined by their wives, husbands, mothers and fathers to be buried here. Their unidentified bodies were finally scraped from beaches, buildings and rice paddies after frantic days of searching for loved ones – in a final act of desperation and concern for the health of the wider community.

Our visit was hosted by the Ministry’s remaining human rights staff  - 14 of their 18 staff members were killed in the tsunami.  Throughout the day, as we viewed the incredible devastation of the December 26 earthquake and tsunami, I could only imagine the terror as 12 meters of raging ocean swept over homes and families.  Massive buckled sections of pavement are heaped by the roadside along with blocks of concrete, twisted metal and mangled trees, leaving gaping potholes of dirt and sand for trucks and cars to slowly maneuver. 

One of our first stops was at the shell of the “new” two-story prison, now only three jagged upright walls and two concrete slabs of the first and second floors. This is a painful stop for our hosts, as many of their colleagues in the Ministry of Law worked in one of the seven Acehnese prisons which were swept away in December along with almost all of the prisoners and guards. We learned from our hosts that in early January three prisoners who had escaped the waves turned themselves in.  Only in Indonesia!  All three were given reduced sentences.

We later stopped at the Banda Aceh power plant – a  250 foot barge filled with diesel engines which provide electricity for the city’s more than 100,000 people.  The barge resides in a bare field – once the center of a bustling community - almost a mile from its original berth in the harbor.  We could see the path of destruction made by the hull as it swept through homes, businesses, roads and trees.

Signs of hope emerge in unlikely places.  To the north of town, past rice fields still filled with toxic salt water and debris, we drove along the beach, detouring around a gigantic Singapore coal freighter ensconced absurdly in the middle of the roadway. A small patch of shaded beach beneath the listing stern of the freighter revealed the remarkable resilience of humanity.  An enterprising family had built small wooden stools and tables from broken lumber, hooked up a propane stove, and were busily selling snacks from their “beach-front restaurant” to workers restoring the shattered cement factory a quarter mile away.  

We passed fields with volunteer groups of as many as thirty women from other provinces working with local farm women to clear the fields which are slowly being transformed from garbage dumps to vegetable gardens.  A Japanese development program has already planted thousands of tiny palm trees to retain the debris-strewn beaches and promise a future of cooling shade and renewal.  Oxfam trucks were delivering fresh water to temporary multi-family shelters.  The bright blue of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees tents glow in the afternoon sun as far as the eye can see across a bleak landscape dotted with the few resilient palm trees which miraculously survived the raging waters.  One USAID site is busting with activity as local builders put finishing touches on a growing fleet of fishing boats. 

Our hosts tell us that the basic survival need for food is now secure.  The current challenges are clean water, sanitation, and shelter for the more then 100,000 homeless in Banda Aceh and another 125,000 in other parts of this small province. Although international service organizations are providing secure shelter and care for hundreds of orphans, there is still deep concern for children and women who are subject to abuse and trafficking. Police vans are evident throughout the destroyed areas, and looting has significantly subsided – not only because of police presence but because there is little left to salvage.

The human spirit is alive in Banda Aceh, but grief is a palpable presence as well. When asked about their greatest need, the human rights staff members were consistent in their request for trauma healing.  In the words of the director, “I have a good staff of committed, capable people.  But they are still overwhelmed with the losses of families, homes and a way of life.  They are still unable to focus on their professional roles and to think creatively about the future.” 

Plowshares will have a number of recommendations for the Ministry, but our first priority will be trauma healing and conflict transformation workshops for the HR staff and community and religious leaders. We hope this will be followed by “training of trainers” to equip leaders to work with their own communities. In these endeavors Bob and I will support teams of Indonesian friends we have previously trained in conflict transformation and of colleagues in the psychology departments of two Indonesian universities who are specialists in post-conflict trauma healing. It will be a privilege to work with these skilled and compassionate peacebuilders.

Support Plowshares in this New Aceh Peace Initiative

Make a Donation to Support Relief Efforts-
Church World Service