I’m back in Aceh, have been here about two weeks, seeing all the exciting things JMD has been doing since my last visit. I’m trying to make some headway with some donor agency reps as well, since we now have proposals in to both UNIFEM and the Multi Donor fund for projects totaling over $4 million! I have high hopes that we will become a key player in sustainable livelihoods here. Unfortunately, or perhaps what’s sadly fortunate, is that the UNIFEM funding can’t have been offered at a more crucial time in the history of the province. With the increased legislative support of enacting stricter applications of shar’ia (Islamic) law, the Indonesian government stands to negate a many of the great human rights strides it has made over the past several years, most notably with respect to women and their equal treatment/protection under the law. The UNIFEM grant would allow us to assist the government in implementing some of the very good human rights protection laws it has on the books, through a district-wide series of programming revolving around women’s centers that offer training, civic education, high school equivalency, health, nutrition, and pre/post natal assistance, and a voice in their community’s development.
So I’m glad I’m here for many reasons . . . and yet I don’t want to forget all the good things this agency has already done. So in my spare time this trip (ahahahahahaha) I decided to write a series of articles that could turn into something else in the future, describing in detail some of our more challenging and successful programs. The first one I’d like to share concerns a project funded through SERASI/USAID in the sub-district of Simpang Jernnil, in the Aceh Timur District. I think I want to call it The Road to Hope.
The district of Aceh Timur is the poorest in the entire province of Aceh --which is saying a lot. And Sempang Jernnil is the poorest sub district in Aceh Timur. It lies miles and miles from other villages and the only access, taking over 4 hours, is by 4 wheel drive vehicle, hoping it has not rained lately since you will not be able to traverse a 20 meters stretch of the road that one needs to get by before continuing on. Or, you can take a dugout canoe (motorized) for 5 hours up river and 3 hours back down (the current is with you). Either way it is an onerous trip, though it passes though one of the most beautiful areas of the province we have ever seen.
For over 64 years, the government has been saying that it will build a road connecting Langksa (the largest nearby city) to Sempang Jernnil). If such a road did exist then the travel time would be cut to 30 minutes at the outset. So it really opens up an entire new world for people living here. They can attend schools, trade, go out and get jobs and come home at night, etc. The road and our project there are their two symbols of hope. The government has started building it but it is very slow going. JMD had an idea: to video both the progress of our project and the progress of the road. It’ll be a race to the finish, and to see who will be the turtle and who will be the hare.
Our first visit to Sempang Jernnil took place in February, when we were assessing the Rohingya refugee camp. We had been invited by the government to assist with this camp, located in the village of Idi. In talking to the local government officials we were asked if we could help them by trying to encourage NGO’s to come to the District and help them. Not one NGO except for a few local ones had done anything to help the people of this very large district. The infrastructure in Aceh Timur is so bad that it is hard to maneuver around, and administering assistance of any kind is next to impossible. We told the local authorities we would try to raise money for a small project, and asked where in the neighboring vicinity they needed it the most. A few hours later, lo and behold there was the sub-district head coming to see us and telling us how much they needed help in Sempang Jernnil. He wanted us to go there the next day, and we agreed. If only we knew then what we know today! I have photos of that first trip that I’ll post here shortly--
We were lucky to have a four wheel drive vehicle. As I mentioned, Sempang Jernnil lies 5 hours by road from Idi and is totally inaccessible when it is raining or has just rained. Thirty minutes at the most by car if there were a road, but 5 hours in reality, on what could only be called a road if one had a very good imagination.
As we bumped along, Dina, my JMD program manager, and I were really curious as to what we would find. We had been to many isolated places before but this seemed to take the prize. We arrived to find the entire village waiting for us with a big feast. I was the first white person they had ever seen and we were the first non- local NGO who had ever come close to them.
Many of the people who have settled there are not Acehnese but are ethnic minorities like Gayo, transplanted Javanese and many other Indonesian from all over. All families have been there a long time and all are Muslim.
The sub-district of Sempang Jernnil is comprised of 8 villages; the capitol of this sub-district is also called Sempang Jernnil. Two villages are within 15 minutes of the capitol by the river or walking; the farthest lies 2 ½ hours by boat and motor bike. In 2006 a massive flood wiped out most of the houses in Sempang Jernnil and its neighboring villages. In the entire sub-district, 6 villages were destroyed and about 10 people died. The schools, hospitals and most of the homes were destroyed beyond repair. The government gave each family 15 million IRD, but a new house cost more than 30 million so families have been unable to rebuild. A few local NGO’s came to their aid but that was only for emergency relief. Today there is one school, a small clinic, the office of the head of the sub district (but he is only there 3 times a week), the police office, and 26 TNI families. This is very strange because none of us had ever seen TNI living in a village. We couldn’t get a straight answer when we asked what all these Indonesian military families were doing in this far-off place. But to an outsider it all looked very calm and orderly.
The government provides rice to the villages, and most men make their living in illegal logging or fishing so they can buy vegetables and necessities for substance living. It is a harsh example of rural poverty, even for Indonesia.
After lunch we met with the local officials to discuss what we could do. They were in desperate need of agriculture assistance, additional livestock, and technical education as well as basic literacy skills. Nearly everyone in the village is illiterate.
We assured them they we would make our best efforts to find funding for a project there, but we could not promise anything . . .
***
After returning from our first trip to Sempang Jernnil we decided that we would apply for funding to implement one of our typical projects there, but with a bit of a twist. The community had volunteered 10 hectares ( about 25 acres) of land for our project so we thought that instead of goats we would raise ducks since ducks are cheaper to buy, there is a great need for eggs in Aceh, and the eggs are far easier to transport than milk or goats. We also decided that since we didn’t need to grow feed for goats, we would increase our variety of cash crops and add some vegetables that we didn’t normally grow but which here were part of the local diet.
We submitted our proposal and 8 months later we received an award from USAID/SERASI. were We were so excited we called the local government immediately-- they were even more excited than we were!! We said we would be there shortly and started to plan our trip. At least now we were better prepared, since we knew where we were going and what we were getting into.
Off we went on our next adventure: me, Dina, Sarah, our Associate Director based in Banda, who had not been with us on the first trip, and Mirza our agricultural expert. We were told that this time we had to take the boat since there had been a lot of rain and the road was impassable. We all thought it would be a great experience and that we would see so much more of the landscape that surround Sempang Jernnil. It also would give us a chance to see just how isolated this area really was.
Since I had a bad back and was not sure I could make the 7-9 hours drive to Langska (the biggest city near the water), we flew to from Medan, and from there it was only 3 hours to Langska. So after a good night’s sleep in a nice hotel in Medan, off we went in a rented car. (Our agency car was arriving from Banda later that day). We had some appointments with local government people and in fact had a large meeting with the local heads of the Ministry of Agriculture and Education, some of their staff, and the District Head’s assistant.
The conversation was interesting but totally confusing since they thought we were going to set up a Cow Breeding Center and we kept trying to explain that we might have enough money in the grant for chickens but Cows and breeding centers where not what our grant was about. We must have explained what we wanted to do 100 times but nobody really understood except the representatives from the Ministry of Education, who gave us every assurance that they were behind us 100 per cent. They were very grateful.
During this meeting I made a tiny faux pas—looking back on it it’s kind of funny but it sure was embarrassing at the time. I had been told that the people in Sempang Jirnnel were an ethnic minority whose traditions included the raising and eating of pigs. I was so excited because I thought it would be a great addition to what we already do. I kept asking Dina to ask them about the pigs and she was very reticent about doing it but I insisted. So she took a deep breath, gave me a look, and then asked if there was any chance that we could raise "the forbidden animal." They asked which one that was. She said, swallowing hard, “Pig.” Everyone grew terribly pale and fidgety. Finally someone explained that pigs were absolutely forbidden in Aceh—even there. So much for that idea!! It had its humorous side to it.
When we had finally lost our patience with the Agriculture representatives who kept insisting that cows were on the menu, and finally told them straight out that if they wanted cows or goats or buffalo they should find an NGO that had the money since we did not. We then asked them very nicely if they would prefer if we found another village who wanted to work with us on a duck project. That was suddenly the end of that discussion, and from then on they were very happy with us and expressed pleasure that we had come.
After the meeting we decided to retire to our hotel, which although simple was very clean and had a/c--a must for me. We had just gotten there when the sub-district head showed up, wanting to meet with us. It seemed that there was so much excitement about the grant and our plans that he wanted to talk to us before the next day’s trip. He wanted us to know how much he appreciated our getting the grant and wanted to know what we had planned. We had spent quite a bit of time telling him and explaining it to him, when he told us that he had changed the plan and now the community was putting up 50 hectares (about 123 acres) of land and he wanted the entire village to be the beneficiaries. We tried to explain how hard that would be and that we had very limited funds, but he insisted that that was what he wanted. He did not want any jealousy among the people, he said.
What to do?
****
Showing posts with label BBF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBF. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
New York Times: Situation Seen as Deteriorating at Aceh Refugee Camp
My friend came through, bless him.
By PETER GELLING
Published: June 5, 2009
JAKARTA — Conditions at a refugee camp holding almost 200 men in Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh have deteriorated in recent months, leading to the escape of a known people smuggler and his nephew, according to a nongovernmental organization working there.
A combination of lax security, little funding and poor communication has led to food shortages, violence and an overall atmosphere of fear and distrust among the refugees, who are increasingly nervous about what their future might hold, said Sara Henderson, director of the Building Bridges to the Future Foundation, a small nongovernmental organization.
“It is more critical than ever to ensure timely and appropriate communication to the local authorities and the refugees. But this has not yet happened, and as a result there has been panic and tension in the camp,” Ms. Henderson said. “In addition the security at the camp has not been improved and could be said to have become worse.”
For the full article please go to the Times online at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/world/asia/06iht-indo.html
By PETER GELLING
Published: June 5, 2009
JAKARTA — Conditions at a refugee camp holding almost 200 men in Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh have deteriorated in recent months, leading to the escape of a known people smuggler and his nephew, according to a nongovernmental organization working there.
A combination of lax security, little funding and poor communication has led to food shortages, violence and an overall atmosphere of fear and distrust among the refugees, who are increasingly nervous about what their future might hold, said Sara Henderson, director of the Building Bridges to the Future Foundation, a small nongovernmental organization.
“It is more critical than ever to ensure timely and appropriate communication to the local authorities and the refugees. But this has not yet happened, and as a result there has been panic and tension in the camp,” Ms. Henderson said. “In addition the security at the camp has not been improved and could be said to have become worse.”
For the full article please go to the Times online at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/world/asia/06iht-indo.html
Sunday, April 12, 2009
As the Bali Process looms . . . the Rohingya gain a small (but important) measure of press
This week I've been writing an article concerning my experiences in Aceh with the “Rohingya Issue,” as they seem to be calling it for the April 14 Bali Process. I'm going to publish the article here first, but while I am editing it for excessive venom and name-calling (which, while making me feel better, doesn’t forge any lasting positive relationships—darn it all) I would like to reprint the following two pertinent pieces, that I think are good complements, in that the first is the journalist version and the second is the activist version of the current attention paid to this group of stateless people, 198 of whom we've been trying to help in East Aceh. It appears there’s activity afoot regarding these refugees, but there are so many little political, social and economic threads to this web it’ll be a miracle if political correctness doesn’t render us paralyzed to exercise any kind of compassion at all.
From the Jakarta Post (and edited for brevity):
RI [Republic of Indonesia], Myanmar discuss democracy, refugees –17 Mar 09
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with visiting Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein here Monday to discuss the contentious issues of the Rohingya boatpeople and democracy in the junta-ruled country. Yudhoyono emphasized the need for a “practical solution” to resolve the Rohingya problem, and urged Myanmar to prove to the world that its “road map to democracy” could work by holding “fair” and “inclusive” general elections planned for next year. “Prime Minister Thein Sein said the Myanmar government is paying close attention to the [Rohingya] issue. Basically it says it will accept back the Rohingya people as long as they can prove they are indeed from Myanmar,” [emphasis added] Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told the press after the meeting of the two leaders at the State Palace in Jakarta. He added some of the refugees may have come from Bangladesh.
Dino said both leaders had basically agreed the Rohingya issue needed to be resolved through the Bali Process, a regional mechanism aimed at combating people smuggling, trafficking and related transnational crimes, which was agreed upon by ASEAN leaders during the recent ASEAN Summit. Myanmar, however, wanted the Bali Process not to focus on the Rohingya refugee issue. Dino added Indonesia would extend the interim phase of humanitarian assistance for 400 Rohingya boatpeople stranded in Aceh province until a final solution to the problem was found. The refugees, believed to have come from Myanmar, were heading to Thailand before being stranded in Indonesia’s westernmost province. “The Indonesian government will establish bilateral cooperation with the Myanmar government, and will involve the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration to solve the problem,” Dino said. The two leaders also discussed the touchy issue of democracy in Myanmar. . . .[and] a range of other issues, including regional and international matters. . . . It is Thein Sein’s first visit to Indonesia since he assumed his present post in October 2007. This would be the time for Myanmar to prove to the world it would complete its seven-step road map to democracy. Erwida Maulia.
*****
And from the most recent post on the blog of the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) http://merhrom.wordpress.com
(edited for brevity, but the blog is a MUST READ for anyone interested in the history of the Rohingya)
10 April 2009
URGENT APPEAL TO THE ASEAN AND WORLD LEADERS TO SAVE ROHINGYAS
Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) is deeply concerned over the increase of the human rights abuses against Rohingyas in Arakan State of Burma in recent months. The situation of Rohingyas in Arakan State became worst after the International media highlighted Rohingya Boat People plight since December 2008.
The military regime continued to subject Rohingya and Muslims in Arakan State to harassment, arbitrary arrest, extortion, and religious persecution. In the current development, a Rohingya girl, identified as Hamida (16) was killed and hacked into three pieces by monks in Sittwe (Akyab), the capital of Arakan State on March 28, 2009.
. . . . The Rohingya villagers did not dare to file a case in the police station against the monks for fear of retaliation from the Rakhine community. . . . In the same month, it was reported that at least 10 houses belonging to Rohingyas were set fire and burnt into ashes by Rakhine mobs around Sindi Prang village of Buthidaung Township at night time. No action was taken against any culprits by the military regime. Further to this, the military regime has deployed hundreds of thousands of military forces into Arakan State which lead to excessive human rights abuses against Rohingyas.
. . . .MERHROM is deeply concerned over the way ASEAN countries have been handling the Rohingyas issue. There were suggestions from some ASEAN countries including Malaysia and Thailand to send Rohingyas back to Burma. This would only make our situation worst as we know exactly how we will be treated by the military regime once we are forcefully deported. This is a matter of life and death. The ASEAN countries cannot take peoples’ life for granted what more when the ASEAN have its own charter now that gives priority to its peoples.
We applaud the statement by the Singapore government that they will assist Rohingya refugees by providing humanitarian assistance so that they can depart for a third country. . . . We appeal to the Malaysian government . . . to make sure that the Rohingyas in exile will not be sent back forcefully to the place where they would face persecution and prosecution. Although most ASEAN countries did not sign Refugee Convention 1951 and its 1967 Protocol, the ASEAN countries are binding to the Non-Refoulement principle.
. . . [R]eturning Rohingyas to Burma seems to be the main agenda of the ASEAN Leaders. This cannot happen as there will be repercussion on Rohingyas. The military regime had announced clearly that Rohingyas are not the citizen of Burma. They further stated that the Rohingyas are dark skinned and “as ugly as ogres.” This is disgrace to the human being as we are the creation of Almighty GOD. The military regime stated that they will only accept Rohingyas if they admit that they are Bengali and their status are still non citizen. This cannot happen as the Rohingyas are not Bengali. Rohingyas has its own language and culture which is different from Bengali.
. . . .According to Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim, a total of 144 Rohingyas in Malaysia were sent to other countries between 2003-2008. This show the lack of commitment and political will of UNHCR and third countries. Resettlement countries though UNHCR and the World Leaders are fully aware the plight of Rohingyas in Burma and why we became refugees. The main reason remains Rohingyas are Muslim. [emphais added]
. . . . We recommend that the ASEAN Leaders to visit Arakan State and to get the accurate information on situation of Rohingyas from the Rohingyas themselves. We also recommend that the ASEAN Secretariat to consult the regional and international human rights organizations who have done many research on Rohingyas in order to get accurate and non-bias information.
The visit by the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres to the Arakan State on March 7, 2009 revealed the real situation of Rohinyas though he did not say much to the media about his visit. On the basis of his observations and the discussions held, the High Commissioner came to the conclusion that UNHCR’s current level of activities in northern Rakhine State does not correspond to the actual needs and a decision was taken to upgrade the program with immediate effect.
We welcome the move by the ASEAN Leaders to discuss the Rohingyas issue at the Bali Process scheduled for 14-15 April. However we would like to emphasize that the Rohingyas issue is not just relating to Human Trafficking but there is more to it. The discussion must be broader, especially focusing on the recognition of Rohingyas as citizen as well as addressing the ways to stop gross human rights abuses against Rohingyas. The ASEAN Leaders must recognize that Rohingyas are very in need of the International protection as refugees.
We also call on the UNHCR and the Resettlement countries not to discriminate Rohingyas in the Resettlement program as we are also recognized refugees who need the same protection. At the same time we call the ASEAN and World Leaders for more comprehensive and effective intervention in Burma.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani
President Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)
From the Jakarta Post (and edited for brevity):
RI [Republic of Indonesia], Myanmar discuss democracy, refugees –17 Mar 09
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with visiting Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein here Monday to discuss the contentious issues of the Rohingya boatpeople and democracy in the junta-ruled country. Yudhoyono emphasized the need for a “practical solution” to resolve the Rohingya problem, and urged Myanmar to prove to the world that its “road map to democracy” could work by holding “fair” and “inclusive” general elections planned for next year. “Prime Minister Thein Sein said the Myanmar government is paying close attention to the [Rohingya] issue. Basically it says it will accept back the Rohingya people as long as they can prove they are indeed from Myanmar,” [emphasis added] Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told the press after the meeting of the two leaders at the State Palace in Jakarta. He added some of the refugees may have come from Bangladesh.
Dino said both leaders had basically agreed the Rohingya issue needed to be resolved through the Bali Process, a regional mechanism aimed at combating people smuggling, trafficking and related transnational crimes, which was agreed upon by ASEAN leaders during the recent ASEAN Summit. Myanmar, however, wanted the Bali Process not to focus on the Rohingya refugee issue. Dino added Indonesia would extend the interim phase of humanitarian assistance for 400 Rohingya boatpeople stranded in Aceh province until a final solution to the problem was found. The refugees, believed to have come from Myanmar, were heading to Thailand before being stranded in Indonesia’s westernmost province. “The Indonesian government will establish bilateral cooperation with the Myanmar government, and will involve the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration to solve the problem,” Dino said. The two leaders also discussed the touchy issue of democracy in Myanmar. . . .[and] a range of other issues, including regional and international matters. . . . It is Thein Sein’s first visit to Indonesia since he assumed his present post in October 2007. This would be the time for Myanmar to prove to the world it would complete its seven-step road map to democracy. Erwida Maulia.
*****
And from the most recent post on the blog of the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) http://merhrom.wordpress.com
(edited for brevity, but the blog is a MUST READ for anyone interested in the history of the Rohingya)
10 April 2009
URGENT APPEAL TO THE ASEAN AND WORLD LEADERS TO SAVE ROHINGYAS
Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) is deeply concerned over the increase of the human rights abuses against Rohingyas in Arakan State of Burma in recent months. The situation of Rohingyas in Arakan State became worst after the International media highlighted Rohingya Boat People plight since December 2008.
The military regime continued to subject Rohingya and Muslims in Arakan State to harassment, arbitrary arrest, extortion, and religious persecution. In the current development, a Rohingya girl, identified as Hamida (16) was killed and hacked into three pieces by monks in Sittwe (Akyab), the capital of Arakan State on March 28, 2009.
. . . . The Rohingya villagers did not dare to file a case in the police station against the monks for fear of retaliation from the Rakhine community. . . . In the same month, it was reported that at least 10 houses belonging to Rohingyas were set fire and burnt into ashes by Rakhine mobs around Sindi Prang village of Buthidaung Township at night time. No action was taken against any culprits by the military regime. Further to this, the military regime has deployed hundreds of thousands of military forces into Arakan State which lead to excessive human rights abuses against Rohingyas.
. . . .MERHROM is deeply concerned over the way ASEAN countries have been handling the Rohingyas issue. There were suggestions from some ASEAN countries including Malaysia and Thailand to send Rohingyas back to Burma. This would only make our situation worst as we know exactly how we will be treated by the military regime once we are forcefully deported. This is a matter of life and death. The ASEAN countries cannot take peoples’ life for granted what more when the ASEAN have its own charter now that gives priority to its peoples.
We applaud the statement by the Singapore government that they will assist Rohingya refugees by providing humanitarian assistance so that they can depart for a third country. . . . We appeal to the Malaysian government . . . to make sure that the Rohingyas in exile will not be sent back forcefully to the place where they would face persecution and prosecution. Although most ASEAN countries did not sign Refugee Convention 1951 and its 1967 Protocol, the ASEAN countries are binding to the Non-Refoulement principle.
. . . [R]eturning Rohingyas to Burma seems to be the main agenda of the ASEAN Leaders. This cannot happen as there will be repercussion on Rohingyas. The military regime had announced clearly that Rohingyas are not the citizen of Burma. They further stated that the Rohingyas are dark skinned and “as ugly as ogres.” This is disgrace to the human being as we are the creation of Almighty GOD. The military regime stated that they will only accept Rohingyas if they admit that they are Bengali and their status are still non citizen. This cannot happen as the Rohingyas are not Bengali. Rohingyas has its own language and culture which is different from Bengali.
. . . .According to Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim, a total of 144 Rohingyas in Malaysia were sent to other countries between 2003-2008. This show the lack of commitment and political will of UNHCR and third countries. Resettlement countries though UNHCR and the World Leaders are fully aware the plight of Rohingyas in Burma and why we became refugees. The main reason remains Rohingyas are Muslim. [emphais added]
. . . . We recommend that the ASEAN Leaders to visit Arakan State and to get the accurate information on situation of Rohingyas from the Rohingyas themselves. We also recommend that the ASEAN Secretariat to consult the regional and international human rights organizations who have done many research on Rohingyas in order to get accurate and non-bias information.
The visit by the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres to the Arakan State on March 7, 2009 revealed the real situation of Rohinyas though he did not say much to the media about his visit. On the basis of his observations and the discussions held, the High Commissioner came to the conclusion that UNHCR’s current level of activities in northern Rakhine State does not correspond to the actual needs and a decision was taken to upgrade the program with immediate effect.
We welcome the move by the ASEAN Leaders to discuss the Rohingyas issue at the Bali Process scheduled for 14-15 April. However we would like to emphasize that the Rohingyas issue is not just relating to Human Trafficking but there is more to it. The discussion must be broader, especially focusing on the recognition of Rohingyas as citizen as well as addressing the ways to stop gross human rights abuses against Rohingyas. The ASEAN Leaders must recognize that Rohingyas are very in need of the International protection as refugees.
We also call on the UNHCR and the Resettlement countries not to discriminate Rohingyas in the Resettlement program as we are also recognized refugees who need the same protection. At the same time we call the ASEAN and World Leaders for more comprehensive and effective intervention in Burma.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani
President Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)
Friday, March 27, 2009
Report from the NGO Coordination Meeting in Aceh Timur
Thank goodness I have a great staff in Aceh. Before I left we coordinated a meeting between all the NGO’s involved in assisting the Rohingya refugees, the local leaders (camat, bupati, vice bupati), and various governmental bodies. We had to do some fast talking to convince everyone that we weren’t interested in “taking over.” What we do really well is respond, and we get a little impatient waiting for the wheels of bureaucracy to move. I’ve always felt that if there’s a vacuum and you can fill it, you jolly well go fill it, so we took up the slack regarding coordination and much of the early public information. This has been seen as muscling in, I guess, so my ever-so diplomatic staff worked with participants to smooth some feathers.
The meeting happened day before yesterday, and here’s part of their email report to me:
The meeting was well attended, local NGOs, gvt, TNI, police, and the local UNORC representative.
Each agency took turns to say its bit, and so we laid out our concerns. I think everyone was in agreement about why we were having the meeting and we all wanted the same outcome from the meeting, which isn't always the case. After a rocky start where they assumed we were going to take over, it all worked out well. We explained that we had no interest politically or in taking control. We only wanted to make sure that things were running smoothly enough on the ground so that outside NGO’s and other agencies would donate and feel comfortable helping. We explained that we were really there to help them use the correct reporting methods and to build capacity. They loved that idea and then it settled down to a good meeting.
It was interesting having so many different NGO’s in the room, and we were all sort of suspicious at first . . .I mean, everyone’s trying so hard and naturally there’s some defensiveness about what your group has done so far. It took a while to build some trust but at the end it was agreed that we all needed to work together, the camat acknowledged that accountability to donors was needed,
At first he felt that he was being accused of being dishonest. But when it was made clear that the reporting methods and record keeping were established to get more funding and donations, he cheerfully agreed, and the doctor from the hospital was happy to work with assistance. I think they’re actually all a bit relieved since it had been an extra burden on them.
We also worked on establishing a unified approach to refugee camp management, which was trickier, since it’s customary for the camat to be in charge of everything that goes on in his village. However,. He agreed to participate in a working group meeting on Tuesday, which will clarify roles and responsibilities of all parties. It will also establish some firm timelines and delegations of specific tasks and responsibilities The group was happy that we'd all met and had the chance to air concerns and suggestions for how to move forward. So D will begin teaching people about how to keep proper records on donations, inventory food in storage, etc. warehousing of food etc. She will be our regular representative at the meetings, especially during the time close to the election when foreigners shouldn’t really be travelling back and forth along the roads to Aceh Timur.
Regarding donations, there have been donations from a lot more people/organisations that we've been aware of. There is apparently enough rice for 2 months. FPRM buys fresh supplies on a daily basis (veg and fish) and other supplies when needed, like paraffin. FPRM estimates there is enough money for 5 more days’ worth of supplies.
******************************
Interview with a Refugee in the Camp
From another staff email that day (my responses are in blue):
I spoke to one of the refugees and he spoke broken English-- not good enough to translate but he knew some basic grammar and was able to tell her that they played volleyball, that there was one guy who was the volley champ, that the toilets were smelly and there wasn't always water to wash.
We are still having an awful problem locating a translator.
The toilets are full to choking and urgently need replacing with latrines with a bigger pit. I’m also extremely concerned about the lack of water for washing. It was 2pm when we were there and the water tank where they get mandi water was empty. So there isn't water to wash after they use the toilet, nor to wash hands.
Get in touch with the head of Muslim Aid who we met and tell him we are in serious need. He also has food but is going to wait till after there is proper reporting in place before he brings it (a good idea).
Over lunch we talked about the toilets (that sounds awful I know!) and agreed that what we should do is to put in semi-permanent toilets at the tented camp immediately, because it could be several weeks before there are barracks, if there indeed are. Just my opinion but I don't think shallow pits will hold much more, they are almost full. We will ask the camat if semi-permanents can be installed (hopefully by Muslim Aid). We have to ask him now.
Pemda are providing Mandi water free of charge, 2 times a day but its clearly not enough. I suggested to FPRM that we pay them for more but they didn't think that would work. An alternative is to drill a borehole . . . more expensive, not always successful and not a lot of space in my opinion.
Forget the borehole-- it is too much and by the time we hit water they will have moved. The cost is really high. Talk to FPRM and again tell them they we need water and that we have the funds to pay so please let’s get in more water or else having better toilets will not make a difference since without water to clean themselves the same illnesses will prevail.
Thank goodness I have a great staff in Aceh. Before I left we coordinated a meeting between all the NGO’s involved in assisting the Rohingya refugees, the local leaders (camat, bupati, vice bupati), and various governmental bodies. We had to do some fast talking to convince everyone that we weren’t interested in “taking over.” What we do really well is respond, and we get a little impatient waiting for the wheels of bureaucracy to move. I’ve always felt that if there’s a vacuum and you can fill it, you jolly well go fill it, so we took up the slack regarding coordination and much of the early public information. This has been seen as muscling in, I guess, so my ever-so diplomatic staff worked with participants to smooth some feathers.
The meeting happened day before yesterday, and here’s part of their email report to me:
The meeting was well attended, local NGOs, gvt, TNI, police, and the local UNORC representative.
Each agency took turns to say its bit, and so we laid out our concerns. I think everyone was in agreement about why we were having the meeting and we all wanted the same outcome from the meeting, which isn't always the case. After a rocky start where they assumed we were going to take over, it all worked out well. We explained that we had no interest politically or in taking control. We only wanted to make sure that things were running smoothly enough on the ground so that outside NGO’s and other agencies would donate and feel comfortable helping. We explained that we were really there to help them use the correct reporting methods and to build capacity. They loved that idea and then it settled down to a good meeting.
It was interesting having so many different NGO’s in the room, and we were all sort of suspicious at first . . .I mean, everyone’s trying so hard and naturally there’s some defensiveness about what your group has done so far. It took a while to build some trust but at the end it was agreed that we all needed to work together, the camat acknowledged that accountability to donors was needed,
At first he felt that he was being accused of being dishonest. But when it was made clear that the reporting methods and record keeping were established to get more funding and donations, he cheerfully agreed, and the doctor from the hospital was happy to work with assistance. I think they’re actually all a bit relieved since it had been an extra burden on them.
We also worked on establishing a unified approach to refugee camp management, which was trickier, since it’s customary for the camat to be in charge of everything that goes on in his village. However,. He agreed to participate in a working group meeting on Tuesday, which will clarify roles and responsibilities of all parties. It will also establish some firm timelines and delegations of specific tasks and responsibilities The group was happy that we'd all met and had the chance to air concerns and suggestions for how to move forward. So D will begin teaching people about how to keep proper records on donations, inventory food in storage, etc. warehousing of food etc. She will be our regular representative at the meetings, especially during the time close to the election when foreigners shouldn’t really be travelling back and forth along the roads to Aceh Timur.
Regarding donations, there have been donations from a lot more people/organisations that we've been aware of. There is apparently enough rice for 2 months. FPRM buys fresh supplies on a daily basis (veg and fish) and other supplies when needed, like paraffin. FPRM estimates there is enough money for 5 more days’ worth of supplies.
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Interview with a Refugee in the Camp
From another staff email that day (my responses are in blue):
I spoke to one of the refugees and he spoke broken English-- not good enough to translate but he knew some basic grammar and was able to tell her that they played volleyball, that there was one guy who was the volley champ, that the toilets were smelly and there wasn't always water to wash.
We are still having an awful problem locating a translator.
The toilets are full to choking and urgently need replacing with latrines with a bigger pit. I’m also extremely concerned about the lack of water for washing. It was 2pm when we were there and the water tank where they get mandi water was empty. So there isn't water to wash after they use the toilet, nor to wash hands.
Get in touch with the head of Muslim Aid who we met and tell him we are in serious need. He also has food but is going to wait till after there is proper reporting in place before he brings it (a good idea).
Over lunch we talked about the toilets (that sounds awful I know!) and agreed that what we should do is to put in semi-permanent toilets at the tented camp immediately, because it could be several weeks before there are barracks, if there indeed are. Just my opinion but I don't think shallow pits will hold much more, they are almost full. We will ask the camat if semi-permanents can be installed (hopefully by Muslim Aid). We have to ask him now.
Pemda are providing Mandi water free of charge, 2 times a day but its clearly not enough. I suggested to FPRM that we pay them for more but they didn't think that would work. An alternative is to drill a borehole . . . more expensive, not always successful and not a lot of space in my opinion.
Forget the borehole-- it is too much and by the time we hit water they will have moved. The cost is really high. Talk to FPRM and again tell them they we need water and that we have the funds to pay so please let’s get in more water or else having better toilets will not make a difference since without water to clean themselves the same illnesses will prevail.