Empowering people leads to peace

The jetty at Pulo Aceh [Sarah Belson]

CAFOD's Heidi Thorsen is amazed at how trying to come to terms with the tsunami has sparked peace in conflict-torn Aceh, Indonesia, for the first time in a generation

More than three years on from the tsunami, if I had to describe the situation in Aceh in one word it would be “dynamic”.

In the wake of the devastation after the disaster a peace deal was secured in Aceh ending decades of conflict.

Long and lasting peace

In order to help ensure the peace would be strong and long lasting, a simultaneous effort was required by humanitarian and development organisations, the national government and civil society – groups who speak on behalf of ordinary people within Aceh itself.

On the one hand an enormous amount of work was needed to rebuild the province after the tsunami - and on the other hand reintegration and peace building work had to be done.

After a generation of conflict, anger, regret, confusion and fear had built up in the people. Left unchecked these emotions could lead to the conflict flaring up again.

So, it was acknowledged early on that there was a need to focus on more than just post-tsunami reconstruction for our efforts to be worthwhile.

Work needed to be done on the reintegration of former combatants into everyday life and reconciliating the different factions.

Human rights abuses from the conflict period also had to be dealt with and homes and livelihoods destroyed throughout the conflict period had to be rebuilt.

Over the past three years CAFOD has been working on both tsunami reconstruction and post-conflict issues in Aceh.

While the number of houses and schools rebuilt has received most of the media attention, some very exciting work has been going on in its shadow.

Speaking out

One of the big changes in Acehnese society has been the return of civil society – ordinary people getting together and speaking out.

Small organisations, often started up by students during the conflict, have blossomed into strong, local organisations working on a range of issues

At present, CAFOD is working in partnership with over 20 such organisations, helping them grow and become stronger and more effective.

Their work spans the entire spectrum from helping people make a living and helping children overcome their trauma, to speaking out on human rights and helping people access legal aid.

They are able to work with the government and can influence them through lobbying and campaign work to make decisions that will benefit ordinary people living in Aceh.

Activities such as investigating abuses and forced disappearances which took place during the conflict would have led to arrests in the past, but can now be carried out freely and openly.

Coping with trauma

Some partners carry out work which takes the conflict and tsunami into account, such as the children’s organisation carrying out activities with traumatised children.

As many of these children are experiencing peace for the first time in their lives, they are shown ways of dealing with what they’ve seen, as well as the importance of peace and human rights for their own futures.

CAFOD’s role in all of this has been one of helping and guiding where needed, as well as funding the actual activities carried out by these grassroots organisations.

The passion, hard work and determination of the staff working for these organisations is truly inspiring.

They themselves were affected directly by both the conflict and the tsunami with many of them losing relatives in the disaster.

Still, they have grabbed the opportunity provided by the peace deal with both hands and show incredible commitment to change and a better future.

They have faced challenges along the way, but there has been no return to fighting and the people are still strongly supporting the peace deal.

Three years on from one of the worst disasters in living memory things are not returning to “normal” in Aceh, they are on their way to something far better than what was “normal” before the tsunami - a true, lasting peace.

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