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Banda Aceh,
14 Feb 2005
Dear Mark;
Life in the city has returned to some semblance of
normality...the coffee shops are full of men, the streets are congested with
vehicles and motorbikes, most debris has been cleared or burnt, and the lack
of rain has caused the mud to turn into dust. The strong winds and the
smoke do the rest, and many people, especially the very young and the very
old, suffer from infections of the upper respiratory tract.
As we walk around, we can see an occasional person
sitting on the pavement or steps, looking into the distance as if all they
could see was a black wall of water.
People talk about “it” all the time. Every
conversation eventually leads to “where they were at the time” and “how many
people they lost.” People who went to Jakarta are beginning to return.
There was a frail, sick old woman sitting next to me on
the plane. She lost 25 members of her family and was taken to Jakarta by her
daughter. But after a month, she said she needed to be with her
grandchildren, and that she wanted to die on Aceh soil. Family ties are very
strong.
Almost
two months after the tragedy, local newspapers still carry at least two full
pages a day of “have you seen them?” ads with photographs of dispersed loved
ones.
Photocopied photographs with names and addresses are
still posted at strategic places, such as public facilities and hospitals.
Hope is the last to die and rightly so -- a child feared dead was reunited
with his family yesterday after almost two months. These are the good
stories, but as I drove out of town to the beach area yesterday, I could
still see bodies being recovered from the rubble.
Other kinds of ads are also appearing all over town,
offering houses, cars, drivers and interpreters. With the influx of world
aid into Banda Aceh, the price of hired accommodation has blown out of all
proportion. A house that in the past would have fetched at the most
$5,000/year can now be rented for up to $100,000!
Transportation with driver is Rp 700,000/day. In
Jakarta, it is Rp 300,000! Only large international organizations can pay
these prices.
Working with IDI
I took a taxi on arrival in Band Aceh (prices still
high) and met the IDI doctors at one of the refugee camps, where the women
immediately surrounded me and asked for money. Two IDI doctors spent two
days at the airport trying to depart but were unsuccessful (we know
something about that!) because of conflicting information about the need for
doctors. The local authorities say there is no need while IDP camp
coordinators say they need them.
The IDI doctors still maintain a room at the military
hospital and use another room, too, when a military man is not there. That
is where I stayed. I slept on the floor, as the mattress did not look too
hygienic, but at least I had water and a toilet.
The doctors and nurses continue to occupy the Pidie
students’ home free of charge. But, with students, doctors and the
occasional displaced person, space to stay is becoming very limited. There
is large 10mx25m room on the first floor. Half of it is taken over by
storage of our medicines, with the space in the middle used by the
pharmacist to make up the daily boxes needed by the doctors in the field,
and to update stock information. All this is done by hand, crouching on the
floor, as there is no computer and no furniture. The other half is taken
over by large mats donated by Saudi Arabia. Here the doctors have their
afternoon clinic and meetings. It is also the place where the male doctors
and students crash in the early hours of the morning after a full day on the
run and an evening of coordinating meetings.
By the end of this week, the doctor and nurse
contingent will be up to 32, and there is just no space! The IDI
coordinator is negotiating with camp coordinators to have an IDI ‘stay camp’
in the furthest IDP camps they service to alleviate living conditions at the
student house. They plan to have a total of 42 medical locations so they
need 42 tents urgently.
I followed the IDI coordinator in one of his typical
days. 118 (the Indonesian counterpart of 911) has temporarily donated the
use of a number of ambulances and drivers that collect the doctors going out
to the coastal communities at 8:30 a.m. and then picked up again at 3:00 in
the afternoon. Another car goes around delivering their lunches. A TV
station, Indosair, made six cars and drivers available to the doctors until 1st
March, and they are all put to good use. The coordinator is in telephone
contact with the drivers and food and medicine logistic coordinators, who
use donated hand-held radios to coordinate their activities.
Drivers rush to the airport to pick up doctors coming in from remote places
and to take others who are departing. Food and medicine coordination is the
same throughout the day. It is busy, busy, busy all the time, and all this
with very little sleep and mugs and mugs of local coffee. I have never seen
so much activity! There must be something in the coffee...!
:-)
When the doctors return at 4 in the afternoon, they
rest for a couple of hours and by dusk prayer time, they have the completed
report forms ready for the evening meeting. They have free time to eat, pray
and wash until 8:30, and then they have a meeting until about 11, where they
report on their daily activities, what medicines they used (so the kit can
be replenished for the following day), what they need, how many patients
they have treated, and how and what are the prevailing ailments. All this
data is entered and analyzed (by hand) to map the situation in order to plan
ahead. I was very impressed with the synergy, openness and relevance of
their comments.
Nobody complains about conditions; they all accept it.
In addition to doctors and nurses, there are a couple of pharmacists
assisted by local students. The students do work that otherwise would
require transporting people from Jakarta. So, by using them, locals get to
work and learn, and costs are kept down. In fact, students help so much with
coordination and logistics, that the coordinator is now looking for ways to
assist and empower them.
The other night a family came from Lhokseumawe. The
father was ‘delivering’ his daughter (a newly graduated doctor) to work as
a volunteer with the IDI doctors and declared himself very proud that his
daughter could be part of the team and help her people.
I saw a lot of kindness, respect and efficiency. There
is an old man at the house. He lost everything and everybody and is being
treated for depression. He hangs around there because the young people are
kind to him and feed him. He returns the favor by guarding the entrance.
Everybody is put to work and volunteers arrive all the time. There is a job
for everyone.
Yesterday we had lunch in a small street warung.
The woman doing the cooking there said she had lost all her family and
wanted to make herself useful. She has skills that the doctors can use, and
so she was recruited right there and then.
I had thought that local people did not care, but it
seems that they did not know where to go to offer their help. When they see
somebody they feel comfortable with, and can chat informally, they come
forward. We got two people like that yesterday.
The IDI coordinator is also very good at sourcing
equipment. His ear seems permanently attached to the telephone, where he is
wheeling and dealing all the time. Such energy!
We picked up 60 stoves from the Department of Social
Affairs warehouse to deliver to the families in the camps, because he got
this info from the doctors. While there, they told me they need women’s
underpants (new please, not used), bras, sanitary napkins, towels, soap and
detergent, toothbrushes/shampoo, long sleeved clothing for women, required
clothing for prayers (I might be able to source this), and milk for babies.
We met army engineers in the camps and along the
coastal road, cleaning up and building bridges (3 built already) in order to
open up the access road to Calang and Lamno. IDI intends to follow their
trail to provide medical services as the road opens up.
The IDI coordinator tends to come to me for solutions,
because we speak the same language -- one of action! By the way, the
Indonesian army is doing a great job but I see very little recognition
there. I wish somebody would convey what an excellent job they are doing,
because they get nothing but criticism.
I have spoken to many people -- women, men, nurses,
people in bars etc -- And there is a general opinion that they need foreign
help, and want us to stay! In fact, a man in the hospital told me not to
leave so I asked him to say it to the Boston Globe journalist, and
while I translated, so he has it officially!
They want us there, they want help. People in camps
also ask that we do not go. Long term investment is the name of the game!
I need to say that I was most impressed with the IDI
teams in the field; they are young, dynamic, innovative,
problem-solving-oriented and committed. With our new network of people in
IDI and with the help of the students I am sure we can organize good
programs for Aceh!
Regards,
Luci
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