From the RSCJ in Jakarta, Indonesia

1 January 2005

Our community has just finished its observance of the passing of the old year by praying together and lighting candles on a map of Indonesia spread below the Blessed Sacrament. Like many groups in the country and southeast Asia, we had no new year's eve celebrations. City-sponsored concerts were cancelled and the money turned over to crisis centers; hotels changed their parties into fund-raising programs; there are no sounds of fireworks. The death toll has reached 80,000 and is expected to increase further.

You have probably read in the newspapers that although donations have been pouring in generously, the relief and food distribution have been slow and uncoordinated. The government is doing its best, but it is hampered by staggering difficulties. Infrastructure including government buildings have been destroyed; trucks that could have helped carry goods were swept away; it is estimated that half of the government personnel in Banda Aceh died in the tragedy. Moving mangled bodies and burying them are time-consuming and energy-depleting activities. Clearing the streets of debris and mud require heavy machinery. But finally today, the pace has begun to quicken. Aid, both local and foreign, is getting through, even if in many of the stricken parts bottled water and processed food like biscuits that do not need to be cooked, can only be dropped from helicopters.

In the midst of the suffering, there are many consoling news that are told and retold. There is the anonymous woman who chartered a Hercules plane so that Acehnese in Jakarta could go to Aceh and help locate their family members; and the brave 5-year old boy who survived two days at sea on a floating mattress who got reunited with his family. A newspaper article entitled “I am proud to be Indonesian” marvelled at the spontaneous solidarity shown all over the country. Elementary school children have their own drives and go to the crisis centers themselves to give their donations. And even though military operations against the separatists have not really stopped, army men and marines have touched hearts with their unflagging efforts to search and rescue victims, to attend to the dead, to bring in relief and distribute them

We ourselves have received so many expressions of sympathy from all over the international society. We were especially touched by a phone call from the Innsbruck community of three asking if we were all right. Some of you have asked what you can do to help. The strictly relief phase is expected to last a month, after which reconstruction and rehabilitation could begin. At present the government roughly projects that reconstruction could take at least a year, and rehabilitation at least six years. These phases would require a great deal of funding. Then there is the need for trauma counseling, for attending to the educational needs of children and young people, for viable employment and income-generating projects. There is the challenge to be creative, collaborative, and transformative in an interreligious context.

The archdiocese of Jakarta has decided to centralize its relief operations using the KWI (Indonesian Bishops' Conference) building as base. The KOPTARI (Association of Religious of Indonesia) is using the same organization, so all donations from parishes and schools are coursed through KWI.

We are in touch with these operations as well as with a women's network. It is still too soon to identify concrete reconstruction or rehabilitation projects to support. One that is in the offing is a joint housing project between KWI and Caritas Germany.

We are grateful that the Central Team is inviting us all to generate suggestions and concrete actions to manifest the love of the Heart of Jesus. We believe that the Spirit is indeed moving mightily towards a “transformation of the face of the earth.” Although we are a very small and limited group here, with your active support we all can make a contribution. We will continue to communicate with you on developments.

Lastly, we share with you the lines of a traditional song that was so appropriately sung at our parish Mass last night: “Wait till the darkness is over, wait till the tempest is done, Hope for the sunshine tomorrow… (“Whispering Hope”)

In Cor Unum,

The Indonesia Area