Women and Children in Aceh€¦ · 2005-05-06 · Research in 8 camps in Banda Aceh(7-17 Jan...

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Women and Children in Aceh after the tsunami: disaster, survival, relief, reconstruction

Suraiya Kamaruzzaman(Research Fellow, Southeast Asia Research Centre,

City University of Hong Kong;Founder and Chairperson, Flower Aceh;

Chair of National Committee, Women’s Solidarity for Human Rights, Indonesia)

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1. Introduction, Overview of the situation in Aceh2. Gendered impact of the disaster3. Conditions of women and children as survivors

and in the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs)

4. Relief and re-building work of women's organisations in Aceh

5. What does the future hold for the Children in Aceh?

Flow

Southeast Asia Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong

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Introduction

� Report based on work and field document (3 Jan - presesnt)

� In Aceh: coordinated setting up of Women's Crisis Centre: PoskoRelawan Solidaritas Perempuan danFlower Aceh

� Leading coalition of 6 local women's NGOs + 1 mixed NGO + individuals

� Project coordinator of project by Southeast Asia Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong: monitoring, evaluation, recommendations


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Where is Aceh?


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conflict zone

� Aceh is a province located in the northern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia.� The total area of the Acehnese province is 55,392 km2, or about 2.8% of the

size of Indonesia� Since 1989: Aceh has been under martial law.� Officially, to suppress the armed opposition group called Gerakan Aceh

Merdeka, GAM (Free Aceh Movement), established on December 4, 1976� Women raped systematically at least more than 150 documented cases.

Many jailed for being GAM members or relatives of GAM member � Aceh: one of the poorest provinces� But Aceh provides the Indonesian government with 31 billion rupiah (about

US$3.4 billion) per year from natural resources (gas, minerals, etc).


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Before and after: satellite photos of Banda Aceh


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Offices destroyed

� Picture 1: the office of the NGO Flower Aceh, 16 Nov 2004

� Picture 2: after the tsunami, 4 Jan 2005


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Many corpses on roads, mass graves and collapsed buildings

� Graves in Camp Kadju, in Lampineung mosque� Incredible stink all over the place� Slow process of burying the corpses� Some mass graves located next to survivors’ houses� Inaccurate data


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Many villages destroyed

� Village of Alu Naga –

women who used to be members of Flower Aceh have all died

� The remains of Kadjuvillage: the main road which used to have houses on both sides


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Looking for lost family members

� Looking for lost family members: putting up notices with photos and contact details – in many places

� Picture 1: on the side of Surabaya road

� Picture 2: on the gates of the building for social welfare


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Internally displaced persons everywhere

� Finding shelter in relatives’ homes, trying to save remaining possessions

� Camp for internally displaced persons on the grounds of Al Faizinmosque, Lampeunerut: often flooded


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Population of survivors: Need for gender-disaggregated data

� There is still no clarity about the exact death toll; various government ministries have put out different figures; after 2 months, there is no 'single source' of data

� No gender-disaggregated data in official figures

� Uneven numbers of males and females

� Even among NGOs, more male members have survived

� Women survivors: few in number, at risk from neglect and violence


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Tsunami killed more women than men

� Our current research now has extended to 14 camps, showing the same patterns of survival.

� Research in 8 camps in Banda Aceh (7-17 Jan 2005): among survivors aged 18-55 - number of males re at least double number of females

� Mesjid Alfaizin (Lampeuneurut): 698 males, 210 females� Aceh Jaya (Lampeuneurut): 516 males, 203 females� Gedung Sosial: 635 males, 274 females� Neheun: 761 males, 358 females� Cot Gue: 259 males, 83 females� DPRD Tingkat Saut: 283 males, 104 females� TVRI: 881 males, 189 females� Seubon Ayon (Lhoknga): 240 males, 138 females


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Tsunami killed more women than men

� Data from sub-district - Lampuuk (8 Jan 2005):Total inhabitants of 5 villages: 5,500

� Survivors: 750 persons, only 40 females:� Mesjid Village: 15 females;� Cut Village: 1 female;� Blang Village: 10 females;� Lambaro Village: 7 females;� Balee Village: 10 females

� Data from sub-District - Pekan Bada (Serambi Indonesia, 26 Feb 05_Meunasah toha village: Total inhabitants 1.428, Survivors: 217 persons, only 40 females


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Why did more females die?

� The force of the tsunami swept away more of those who could not hold on - women, children, the elderly, the disabled.

� Many women were holding elderly relatives: there are females corpses holding corpses of older people.

� Many women cannot swim, due to traditional customs.� Many women wear traditional long dresses and sarongs, which

make it difficult for them to move quickly. According to Islamicshariah (in force since 2002), women are forbidden to wear men's clothes, including trousers.

� There, gendered impact of the tsunami - more women than men died.


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Conditions for women survivors (general)

� Many suffering from trauma� Female heads of households (e.g. mothers, grandmothers, sisters):

no equal access to resources� Women under-represented in decision-making and distribution of

resources� No income: apart from food and water, they need jobs� coordinators in charge of relief work: not gender-sensitive. They

think giving cooking utensils and washing detergent = meaning women's needs. They don't think of women as having their own needs, e.g. needs of women for safety, privacy, pregnancy, menstruation, care of children


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Conditions specific to women in Lamrehand Aceh Jaya


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Women washing things that were saved from the tsunami, cooking, feeding their children


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Conditions of women in the camps

� No facilities or care for women and children in several camps:� mixed bathrooms with no enclosed walls� allocation of space in tents according to heads of households, assumed to be males� no recognition of female heads of households� no privacy for women to change clothes� Many women are reluctant to take shelter in the mosque because they don't have the prayer

clothes.� Neglect of women's specific needs: e.g. each woman is given only two sanitary pads (not

enough)� Women's burden is increased in the camps: they still have to look after their families - get

water, cook food, wash clothes� After our Women's Crisis Centre gave a press release, some attention is now given to pregnant

women, but still no attention given to mothers who breastfeed, e.g. fainting because of malnutrition

� Camp Pidie: parents are concerned about daughters' safety. They did not know what to do to protect them - so married off 616 young girls, aged below 20, so that they would have husbands to 'protect them'


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Camp Lampeuneurut

� Activities of women at the well, photographed on 7 Jan 2005

� For 940 IDPs: only two wells that are used by both males and females, with one of these wells open to the public

� Many children have no clothes.


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Children at Camp Lampeunereut


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Policy recommendations:

1. we must focus on needs of women survivors both for practical & strategic needs; acknowledgment of civil-political rights and economic, social and cultural rights of woman victims (no forced relocation, acknowledgment of woman as head of the family, right to adequatehousing and healthy environment, access to public services, etc.)

2. we must ensure demographic imbalance of sexes will not lead to negative effects, e.g. trafficking of women from other areas (this idea had already appeared in conversations)

3. involvement of Aceh people, including the women to the decision making processes on the reconstruction Aceh. UN and multilateral financial institutions involved in Aceh have to assure rights of the IDPsto live and to choose how they want to live


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Victimisation of women by fundamentalist elements

� Fundamentalist Islamic cleric, media, groups 'campaign' against Acehneseswomen (alive and dead) as 'cause of tsunami

� More women's corpses are naked than men's corpses because the women were wearing sarongs and dresses, while the men were wearing trousers.

� But there are Islamic cleric who blame the dead women for 'causing' the tsunami, because they were not wearing the head cover and veil.


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Fundamentalist groups entering Aceh from Java

� Majlis Mujahidin Inodnoesia (MMI) ' Mujahidin Council of Indonesia' & Front Pembela Islam (FPI) 'Islamic Defenders Front'

� Known to raid discos & nightclubs, attack women, insist on women being submissive

� But supported by Indonesian army: brought in on Indonesian warship, met with head of the army, Defense Minister, Vice-President.

� GAM opposes presence of MMI & FPI in Aceh, because they want 'Islamic state'


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Policy recommendations

1. this 'campaign' must be stopped by other progressive Islamic cleric, media, groups, who must speak up

2.Voice of MMI, FPI and other fundamentalist groups entering Aceh be balanced out

3. the Indonesian government and the military must stop their support of these groups.


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Rehabilitation and compensation for women prisoners who died in jail

� All women prisoners in Banda Aceh died from the tsunami.

� But many were jailed because their relatives were suspected of being GAM members, not because of anything they did themselves.

� Policy recommendation: These women should be rehabilitated: their names should be officially cleared and their families should be compensated.


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Women's response

1.Women's Crisis Centre set up by SolidaritasPermpuan Aceh and Flower Aceh

2.Formation of women's coalition - planning for the recovery and re-construction

3.Continuous advocacy for attention to women's rights ->media, government, IGO's, NGO's, funders

4."Trust Fund for Women"


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Addressing specific needs of children's education: a proposal

� Initiative to expand a surviving school: a combined religious and secular school - a Modern Muslim School, Pesantren Al Falah Abu Lam U (secondary and upper secondary school)

� Has tack record of educating orphans and children suffering from trauma (e.g. from previous military conflicts)

� Expanding its infrastructure, teaching staff, computer facilities, library � Repairing damaged equipment� Setting up a new trauma counseling unit, hostel facilities for students and teachers

who have lost their houses� Obtaining vehicles to pick up students and teachers from distant places � Proving training for teachers to enable them to address the needs of survivors

among the children� Regular workshops to empower the women and children who have lost self-esteem

as a result of the tsunami


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What happens next?

� Recovery and reconstruction� Education, economy, building public facilities, health care (including trauma counselling), public housing, etc.

� Cooperation with many sectors of society: government, national NGOs, international NGOs, multi-lateral organisations (e.g. UN), religious organisations, ethnic groups, professional organisations, educational institutions, etc.


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Women and Children in Aceh€¦ · 2005-05-06 · Research in 8 camps in Banda Aceh(7-17 Jan...

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