Email 1 August 2005

There have been hundreds of separate stories regarding tsunami survivors, and all of those have been sad in there own ways. People's lives have now been exposed far more than before, because prior to December 26th 2004 they were just ordinary people who had their own problems like everyone else. We already know that Aceh was not the easiest place to live, but every now and then there comes a story with a happy outcome. Sixteen year-old Farida comes from Lamno district Aceh Jaya and was paralyzed before the wave came. Farida was in Lingke Banda Aceh when the earthquake happened and was unable to do anything when everyone else panicked and shouted that a giant wave was coming.

Lingke is only one kilometer from the sea and in a matter of minutes the place was deserted as people ran from the wave. In the deep silence that prevailed, Farida heard the booming sounds of the surging water and the noises of falling objects as the destruction took place. As the sounds got louder her hair stood on end because now she was all on her own and absolutely petrified. In that utter fear Farida miraculously stood up and began to run. Within a minute or so the water caught her up and she remembers reciting prayers as the water rolled over her.

Somehow she survived the wave and was later reunited with her friends and sister. So out of this tragedy came a miracle, as everyone stood and gaped at the fact that Farida could walk. Since that time Farida has become resolved to teaching people how to recite the Koran. Perhaps it is hard to imagine what those moments of fear were like for Farida, but when you look into the blood-shot eyes of many of the Acehnese survivors you can see that they were also more than frightened by this horrific experience. I think it matters not if you are religious, as people will believe what they want to believe, but there is no getting away from the fact that the fear was so intense that mind over matter took over – and Farida stood up and ran for her life.

For every good story there are of course thousands of sad ones and perhaps it is enough to say there is total of 35,000 orphaned children in Aceh. Although the vast majority of refugees are either in temporary wooden barracks or still in the original tents, there has been a lot of effort put into the schooling side within the tsunami-struck areas. Credit must go to a lot of Indonesian companies for generous funding that has seen most of the damaged schools repaired. Seeing children dressed for school and leaving the camp sites early morning was one of the first examples of returning to normality.

On a different subject, I watched the BBC World program on Ethiopia yesterday and how 20 years further on there are now twice as many starving people in that country than when Bob Geldoff and the Boom Town Rats did their famous fund-raising record. Then Band Aid was launched and the response again tremendous. There is little doubt that Geldoff nagged the politicians and indeed the 'iron lady' herself (Maggie Thatcher) until eventually they were all shamed for their lack of action and humanity, despite the political and leadership problems in that country.

I know in an earlier letter I complained about aid workers and the tremendous waste of funds – perhaps it would have been enough to say we've simply got it all wrong when it takes music to stir the world into doing something positive. But whatever happened to sustainability?

On a brighter note, three members of the European Union peace monitoring team arrived in Aceh this weekend. No matter the amount of money available for the rebuilding of Aceh, most of it will go to waste if peace is not established and maintained. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government are to sign a peace agreement on August 15 which is two days prior to Indonesia's official Independence Day. In all there will be a 200 strong peace monitoring team from the EU plus about 100 others from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines.

The foreign monitors will serve for six months with a further six months extension being possible. The main tasks will be to oversee the decommissioning of weapons that will be surrendered by GAM as well the peaceful withdrawal of non-local Indonesian troops from Aceh. It will also monitor compliance with the peace deal and define mechanisms for dispute settlement in case of violations. This conflict has been going on for three decades and this is the third time a peace agreement has come forward – this one does appear to be workable and successful. If all that goes well, then the restructuring of Aceh can go ahead full steam.

There is little doubt that the tsunami disaster has had a tremendous effect on these peace negotiations as Aceh on the 26th December 2004 plunged into the world headlines for the wrong reasons. The region suddenly became high-profile and was forced to open its boundaries to the world at large. We could be cynical here and say it took a tragic natural disaster to change the thinking of mankind – and some are saying other things on the same lines. But that aside, the prospects look more than good, and for sure a lot of Acehnese people will sleep far better when all the guns have been finally put away. Perhaps I see no more point in writing from this moment on, as people's minds are now clearly focused on re-building lives, families and living a peaceful existence. That at least is something well worthwhile to take away from this disaster despite the horrendous costs. Will we ever learn from history?

Email 17 August 2005

Perhaps a report on Aceh province would not be complete without a mention of the two day mass prayers that are being carried out as from August 14th in support of the signing of the peace agreement between the Aceh Free Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government. Probably something like 15000 people have lost their lives since this struggle began in 1976 which averages out to about 1.5 people per day. That may not sound a lot in comparison to the 250,000 people that perished in just 10 minutes with the Dec 26th tsunami, but this fight for independence has left far more scars on the Acehnese than the wave has done. The finer details of the peace agreement will soon be known and hopefully whatever is agreed will be honoured by all sides in this 29 year-old conflict.

Giant screens have been installed inside the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh to allow the Acehnese to witness the signing of the peace agreement in Jakarta. No less than 60 tents have been erected inside the compound of the mosque which will accommodate about 15,000 Acehnese. The drums have also been beating for two days and it would seem to me that this time a lasting and workable peace deal has been agreed – certainly there is greater optimism.

The problems (if there are any) will likely come from the remote areas although most Acehnese are tired of living within a conflict situation. The tsunami of Dec 26th 2004 finally and dramatically forced Indonesia back to the talking/negotiating table as that wave has devastated the entire west coast. It is all too much to bear and the cost has been considerable and almost unbearable for many. When a region is on its knees and badly beaten there is only one way to go and that is forward and upwards.  I will return to Aceh next week to work on reconstruction for five years – and hopefully see the province grow again in strength and character.

There are obvious dangers in this rebuilding of Aceh province as now peace has come so the lid will come off the big tin of aid money, and in amongst that will be a mixture of genuine concern, corruption and politics. The rest of Indonesia will also be looking at what Aceh gets in the way of living accommodation, roads, schools, hospitals and other facilities, for there are many regions elsewhere that will experience some envy towards what could be called the now favoured Acehnese. It's all about keeping the balance otherwise jealousies will prevail.