People´s Social Condition After The Conflict

    Untitled Document

    YAPPIKA Research in ten districts in NAD, including East Aceh (Peureulak and Darul Aman sub-districts) identify powerlessness in village Government. These powerlessness stemmed from the New Order policy of applying uniform village governance in Indonesia and from mutual distrust and fear amongst villagers. In an armed conflict, village heads could not exercise their roles and functions effectively because of fear towards TNI or GAM. For the latter (TNI and GAM), villages became the arena to play out their political interests, by demanding loyalties and imposing their political and ideological interests. This essentially put villages in the intersection of GAM political interests (strengthening Aceh culture and traditional political structure) and TNI interests (New Order economic development and centralisation). Fear and military strategy that limited civilians movements also put a limit on villagers ability to conduct village meetings, resulting in less opportunities to discuss important village issues. Additionally, in a number of villages distrust of village authortities is high, which is manifest in accusation of corruption levelled against village administrators.

    The most pressing problem in the post-Helsinki period is the reintegration of former GAM soldiers into civilian lives. In general, receiving communities welcome former GAM members as most of these communities know them personally, except in a number of villages where no-Aceh ethnic groups (Gayo, Javanese) are dominant ethnic groups, for example in Serba Jadi Sub-district. During armed conflict, these communities became victims of GAM violence and many residents had to flee from their villages. These communities are highly suspicious of former GAM members and are psychologically traumatised by the latter.

     

    Strategy

    Building togetherness, trust and solidarity sounds very simple, but it did not at all when it should be applied in a place where social institution had been destroyed for long time by civil conflict. Various village development programs  would never be optimum when social institution was not rebuilt. Social solidarity and togetherness must be rebuilt. In terms of rebuilding disfunction social institutions, SHEEP applied some following efforts:

    • Under oppression feeling and distrust amongst people was very dominant, where during the conflict people felt unsecured in any way they did in terms of village-based activities. A discussion althoug amongst small group of people was not possible due to military’s control. In order to resocialize dialoge habit winthin people, SHEEP innitiated People to People Meeting, where some representatives of villages came to visit other villages and lived in for couple of days. Throug that intens interaction, people could exchange their experiences on how people from other villages rebuilt their social institution and developed their villages.  
    • Trans-national People to People Meeting Program, where some people representatives from other post conflict countries (Sri Lanka and Cambodia) and were directly affected by the conflict visited East Aceh and lived together with people for couple days. The presence of friends from other country who also faced same experience of conflict proved that Acehnesse are an open and respectful community, which respect differences of people (in terms of religion, tribe, group, etc).  Trans-national solidarity within conflict survivors who had been rebuilding their social institutions was built. 
    • Training of Active Non Violent which emphasis on peaceful and non-violent ways in any problem solving was always be applied as a session during village meeting.

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