The week in review: Indonesia United in crisis

The Jakarta Post | Sun, 11/07/2010 10:25 AM, Editorial

This seems to have been one of Indonesia’s darkest weeks for quite sometime. For those living in towns and villages around Mt. Merapi, including Yogyakarta, it has literally been an ash-gray week.

More than 100 people have died since the fiery volcano in Central Java began erupting last week, not only spewing molten lava, but sporadically expelling deadly hot clouds of volcanic dust that has descended on villages within the immediate 20-kilometer radius.

More than 100,000 people have been moved out of the danger zone. Yogyakarta — the capital of Javanese culture and the host to many centers of excellence — has been crippled beneath layers of volcanic ash. No matter where you look, the venerated town has turned completely grey.

Friday’s eruption was the largest recorded at Merapi in a century. Whether this means the worst is over is anyone’s guess. But it is best to prepare for worse. Eight other volcanoes around the Indonesian archipelago are showing increased activity, some already belching out smoke and dust.

One of them is Mt. Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait, the closest to Jakarta. They are powerful reminders that we all live in the Ring of Fire.

But, as with any crisis of this extraordinary scale, we find bright spots amidst the grayness. One of these is the response of the people nationwide. Although spontaneous and without any government direction, the people’s response gives the sense that the nation is united in dealing with the crisis. Those affected would find comfort in feeling they are not alone.

This happens in every crisis involving large human casualties. We saw this after the Aceh earthquake and tsunami in 2004, and again after the quakes in Yogyakarta in 2006, and in West Java and West Sumatra in 2009. And we are seeing this now, following a series of disasters that have occurred over the last three weeks, from the flashflood in Wasior, Papua, to the tsunami that struck the Mentawai Islands off West Sumatra, and the Mt. Merapi eruptions.

Each major crisis almost always brings the best out of any nation. Indonesia may be deeply divided by divergent ideological, political and economic interests, but today, it is once again united by Merapi.

This is not to take away from the role the government plays. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), supported by local governments, has had it’s organization’s capacity stretched very thin, having to simultaneously run emergency relief operations in Wasior, Mentawai and around the Mt. Merapi area.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has visited all three locations to ensure that help is on the way.

On Friday, he elevated the chair of the BNPB to the level of minister, to give the office more power. He ordered the military to join the emergency operations, particularly in rescuing and assisting with the evacuation of people in the greatest distress.

Earlier in the week, Yudhoyono sanctioned the use force in the evacuation process, after dozens died the previous week for refusing to move from their residence out of fear of losing their cattle and their belongings. To help ensure strict and effective leadership, the President will run the Indonesian government from Yogyakarta over the weekend.

Yudhoyono may have spoken too soon, however, when he turned down offers for help from leaders he met at the ASEAN summit in Hanoi the previous week. He said Indonesia was capable of handling emergency operations, and any help from foreign governments should be directed at the reconstruction phase.

But then, how was he to know that Merapi would erupt again?

Because of the scale of the disasters, and in the case of Mentawai and its difficult terrain, many people living in temporary shelters are still not getting the food and medicine they need in time.

The emergency relief operation is the most important part of disaster management, because it can immediately save lives once the initial impact of the disaster has passed. While Indonesia is never short of relief supplies, it does not have sufficient transportation facilities to move and distribute aid quickly.

No matter how much the government may be doing, it is never enough because of the scale of the crisis. This is where private initiatives come in. Many organizations are collecting funds to buy food, medicine, blankets and clothes for people in need.

Young men and women of all professions are rolling up their sleeves to work as volunteers. The campaign to send nasi bungkus (packaged rice meals) to those living in shelters is well appreciated.

At a time like this, Indonesians know they can count on the help and generosity of their compatriots, as well as their foreign friends.

Is Indonesia really united in crisis? Well, almost.

The governor of West Sumatra, Iwan Prayitno, left for Germany this week even as the relief operation in Mentawai experienced major problems. While the rest of the nation witnessed a major humanitarian crisis, the governor saw the investment campaign in Germany as more important than the lives of a few thousand islanders. Would he still have left if the tsunami had hit mainland Sumatra? There are always bound to be a few bad apples.

— Endy M. Bayuni

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