Vi proponiamo un articolo (in lingua inglese) inviatoci dall’amico Fabio Scarpello. Fabio è giornalista e analista politico che vive, dal 2003, in Indonesia. Fabio, che collabora con numerose pubblicazioni asiatiche e internazionali, è attualmente corrispondente dell’agenzia italiana AKI-Adnkronos International e corrispondente dall’Indonesia per il China Morning Post. L’articolo qui proposto è stato pubblicato il 14 febbario 2007 da China Morning Post, e ci offre uno sguardo sulla regione indonesiana di Aceh, diminutivo di Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, situata nella punta nord dell’isola di Sumatra. Aceh è stata inoltre il punto territoriale più vicino all’epicentro del terremoto che ha provocato lo Tsunami il 26 dicembre 2004, devastando gran parte delle coste occidentali della regione, inclusa la capitale: Banda Aceh. La popolazione di Aceh è costituita da quasi quattro milioni e mezzo di abitanti, quasi il 3% della popolazione indonesiana, principalmente di religione musulmana. Aceh è inoltre un territorio ricco di risorse naturali, in particolare petrolio e gas, provvedendo al 13% della produzione petrolifera dell’intera Indonesia. Aceh è stata il campo di battaglia nel conflitto tra il governo indonesiano e i separatisti armati del Free Aceh Movement (GAM - Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, che dal 1976, con una dichiarazione d’indipendenza emessa dal suo leader Hasan di Tiro, ha rivendicato la totale indipendenza della provincia). Secondo alcune stime il conflitto trentennale sembra abbia causato la morte di oltre trentamila persone. Il 15 agosto 2005 è stato firmato un accordo di pace, dimostrando che anche i conflitti più lunghi possono finire. L’8 febbraio scorso, in seguito a libere elezioni, Irwandi Yusuf, ex-guerrigliero e portavoce del Gam, stato eletto come governatore della provincia.
A false dawn, di Fabio Scarpello. South China Morning Post – 14.febbraio.2007.
It is late evening in Banda Aceh’s Jalan Simpang Surabaya and the place is buzzing. Dozens of food stalls and coffee shops are open, catering to locals who regularly meet here after work. Chicken satay and fried rice seem to be the favourites among the mostly men who come and go until the predawn prayer. A similar buzz is apparent in Jalan Diponogoro, next to Baiturrahman Mosque, Banda Aceh’s main Islamic house of prayer. Here, during most of the night, street sellers display their merchandise, and pedicab drivers doze while waiting for the next customer who is ready to go home. The noise of TV sets – found in some warungs, or street restaurants – and the excessive lighting hanging from every food stall, adds to what seems a festive mood. To the casual bystander, Jalan Diponogoro and Jalan Simpang Surabaya’shustle and bustle were signs of a healthy economy and evidence that Aceh had recovered from the devastating December 2004 tsunami, which killed nearly 170,000 people, left half a million more homeless, and destroyed up to 70 per cent of the local infrastructure. Yet, local experts differed, saying that the scene was at odds with the worrying reality starting to emerge in the strife-torn province. “The apparent wealth is derived from the booming post tsunami reconstruction business, and by the inflated wages paid by international organisations to the few locals who have managed to get temporary employment as drivers, translators or security guards,” said Nazamuddin Basyahsaid, professor of economics at Banda Aceh’s Syah Kuala University. “What we have in Aceh is a bubble economy that will burst. But even at present it is creating problems, as not everyone is benefiting from the injection of money.” Others warn that once the international organisations leave, the downturn could have devastating effects on the province’s peace process. Until recently secluded from the rest of the world, Banda Aceh is today home to the third highest number of foreigners in the archipelago, after the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and the resort island of Bali. More than 1,500 foreign members of international organisations and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) rushed to the province to help after the tsunami. Two years later, most of them are still in Banda Aceh and involved in what is the largest reconstruction project in the developing world. The area was the main beneficiary of the global outpouring of relief aid that was sparked by the images of the tsunami beamed around the world on the day after Christmas in 2004. Just over US$7 billion was pledged for the province, whose economy and social equilibrium was altered overnight. The aid money – which would be disbursed gradually until 2008 – doubled Aceh’s pre-tsunami annual gross domestic product, which before the disaster stood at about US$1.4 billion, or US$350 per capita. Now, Banda Aceh is in the middle of a construction frenzy. Houses are sprouting up everywhere, with some of them being more suitable for a wealthy suburb in Switzerland than for Indonesia’s fourth poorest province. Despite the province’s distinct Islamic tint, hotels and restaurants have also started to appear. Foreign dignitaries visiting Banda Aceh to assess their countries’ projects have little to complain about with the comfort offered by the 161-room Swiss-Bel Hotel, which also boasts a ballroom big enough for 500 people. The construction drive also improved the living conditions of those employed in the building trade. According to some local sources, unskilled local construction manual workers earn about 60,000 rupiah (HK$51) a day, more than double the national average. Even better off are those employed by one of the international NGOs. A translator’s basic pay is about five million rupiah a month – equivalent to the wage of a top professional in the country’s capital. But, as Professor Nazamuddin said, not everyone was benefiting from the injection of money and most locals were struggling with inflated prices of goods and services, which had skyrocketed since the aid influx. Among those less fortunate was Cecilia Tri Susetyorini, 29, who worked for an Indonesian NGO. “It is hard to live in Aceh now. Prices have become very expensive and not everybody earns big wages. For example, those who work for local NGOs are struggling,” said Ms Tri, who was transferred from central Java following the natural disaster. “Accommodation is the most expensive thing. I pay 700,000 rupiah for a room that in Java would cost me about 200,000 rupiah. But food is also very expensive,” she said. “In truth, things are simply out of control.” Life also got much tougher for school teacher Rosman, who like many Indonesians has only one name. “I earn 1.5 million rupiah with my job. It used to be enough, but it no longer is,” said the 46 year-old. “I now work as a pedicab driver every evening as well. I need the extra money to support my family. I think prices must have gone up at least 15 per cent during the last two years,” said the father of two. Yet, according to the local authorities, the inflation rate for the January-October 2006 period was 8.2 per cent, a drastic decrease in comparison with 2005’s 41.11 per cent. Inflation was not what most worried Aguswandi, 29, a local analyst and human rights activist, who said the peace process could be the main victim of the bubble economy. Banda Aceh was the battlefield of a bloody separatist war that lasted nearly three decades and killed about 30,000 people. The war was ended with a peace agreement signed by the rebel group, Free Aceh Movement, and the Indonesian government in August 2005. “Besides the wish for independence, the Aceh conflict was fuelled by the revolt of marginalised and unemployed young males. The current bubble economy has brought some money and given temporary employment to some of these young people. But what will happen after all the NGOs leave Aceh in the next two or three years?” said Mr Aguswandi. “To safeguard the peace process, we need to ensure that the boost from the aid sent to Aceh is used to stimulate a meaningful and sustainable economic reconstruction.” Professor Nazamuddin said the key for the future was Banda Aceh’s ability to attract investment. “We need investments. We need money coming in to increase the real economy,” he said. “That is a sustainable economy based on industrial production, agriculture and fishery. These are the real sectors that can ensure a prosperous future for Aceh.” But investments were still lacking in the former war-torn province where, according to the local chamber of commerce, “the little money coming in is being invested in building hotels”. Rufriadi, a spokesman for the Aceh Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency, the government body entrusted to supervise and co-ordinate the province’s reconstruction, said the lack of investment was closely linked to the past conflict and to the abysmal state of Banda Aceh’s infrastructure. “We have to bear in mind that Aceh was a conflict area for almost 30 years. So there is nobody who dares to invest his money here, right now. The situation was worsened by the tsunami that destroyed so much of the province’s infrastructure,” he said. “Peace and rebuilding of the infrastructure are therefore essential to create a good investment climate,” said Mr Rufriadi, putting a lot of faith in Aceh’s newly elected governor. We have great hopes that the needed security environment can be created by the new leader of Aceh.” Former rebel Yusuf Irwandi, 47, was elected as the province’s new governor in a landslide victory in the first direct vote, held in the province on December 11. Mr Yusuf’s economic vision earned the nod of Professor Nazamuddin, who said: “It is not easy, but it is a step in the right direction.” Mr Yusuf acknowledged the existence of the bubble economy, but while he said he was aware of its risks, he stressed the need to “have a plan on how to overcome it”. “Maintaining peace is my number one priority. But I know that peace is closely linked with economic recovery,” said the leader. To improve the living standards of the 4 million Acehnese, Mr Yusuf promised a “pro-poor” economy, focused on improving local productivity and access to foreign markets for local agriculture and fishery products. “The post-tsunami reconstruction is offering us the perfect opportunity to improve our ports, airports and roads. I also plan to allocate land to farmers and provide soft loans for fishermen who may need fishing nets or boats,” he said. “Money will come. Investors from Malaysia, Europe and the Middle East have expressed interest in investing in Aceh.” However, Mr Yusuf said it could all be pointless if Acehnese didn’t snap out of the feeling of complacency that had set in since the tsunami. “It has been over two years since the disaster and people’s mentality has changed. “Acehnese are now used to being helped. They have become addicted to being assisted. They wait empty handed. They have become lazy,” Mr Yusuf said. “We have to change this mentality sooner rather than later, because this could be the biggest factor in avoiding the burst after the boom.”
