Another sneak preview

This article will be published soon in Backstage, the Journal of Trainees for the European Commission

----

Aceh, Indonesia, 4 years on
By Meinke Lignac

Romi Fartia (25) was still fast asleep on the early morning of 25th December, 2004. The night before he had gone to a party, and he been staying at his friend’s place. At first he thought his friend was trying to wake him, but when he realised it was not his friend but an earthquake shaking him around he sprung up and rushed outside, afraid the house would collapse.

Once awake and outside, Romi decided to go home straight away. This decision saved his life. Fifteen minutes later, the first giant flood-wave of what later became known as the Indian Ocean tsunami completely destroyed his friend’s house, along with large parts of the rest of the city. Romi’s own house was still standing, but had become uninhabitable as the flood had washed inside debris and dozens of dead bodies.

Most of us still remember well what we saw when we unsuspectingly switched on the news on the day after Christmas in 2004. The images of the immense destruction that first reached us mostly came from the famous tourist destinations in Thailand. Only gradually it became clear that the less accessible strife-torn province of Aceh, Indonesia was even worse hit.

Here, it turned out, an estimated 168 000 people were killed by the waves of the tsunami, which in some places were as high as 15 metres and had reached 7 km inland. In the provincial capital Banda Aceh alone 60 000 people were killed. Countless others had lost everything they owned. Around 800km of coastline was flattened – roughly the distance from Paris to Berlin. From the beginning it was clear that rebuilding would take many years to come. How has this province fared over the past four years?

Gallows humour
In the Christmas atmosphere of charity and generosity, the world community donated big-heartedly, which led to one of the largest humanitarian relief efforts ever seen. Hundreds of international organisations (INGOs) and dozens of UN organisations flocked to the disaster areas. The European Commission played an important role in the overall international response: it committed € 123 million in humanitarian aid and € 350 million in rehabilitation and reconstruction for the tsunami-hit areas in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Overall, the initial relief effort in Aceh is seen as a success. Given the enormous logistical challenges, aid reached the affected populations relatively quickly and outbreaks of diseases such as cholera have been prevented. Two days after the tsunami, Romi received the first aid from NGOs. With the thirty chicken his grandmother kept, he had enough food to survive the first weeks after the tsunami. “We could use the chicken to get additional food. You can well imagine the price of chicken during the first weeks when food was hard to come by. In those days full of misery, my grandmother and me used to joke that we must be the richest survivors of Aceh, because we could eat rice and chicken.”

Another major achievement during the first year after the tsunami was the signing of a peace agreement between the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Government. This made an end to 30 years of conflict and paved the way for the true rehabilitation of Aceh. The EU played an important role in consolidating the peace with by leading the Aceh Monitoring Mission.

Building back better?
The phase of rebuilding and rehabilitation proved to be less straightforward and more difficult. Lack of money was not the problem here, most organisations had more funds than they could dream of and were wondering how they could spend it all within the given timeframe. The Government Reconstruction Agency (BRR) had ambitiously adopted the slogan ‘Building Back Better’.

The large reconstruction and rehabilitation effort also helped to create employment an revive the economy. Along with tens of thousands of others, Romi has been working for NGOs since the tsunami. His average wage went up from 1,5 million Rupiahs (around € 65,-) to as much as $ 450,- (around € 455,-) “You can imagine, for a young boy like me, this seemed like a big treasure.”

But the combination of virtually limitless availability of money, the scale of the disaster and the presence of hundreds of NGOs created an enormous pressure to deliver tangible results quickly. This led a lack of coordination and even to competition between aid organisations. The result was that in some cases the quality of the reconstruction left much to be desired.

Housing is a notorious example. Many of the houses built by NGOs were of inferior quality and already started crumbling only months after they were delivered. Romi had also lived in one of these ‘NGO houses’ for 1,5 years when he was working for a relief organisation in one of the disaster areas. He doesn’t think that the NGOs were the only one responsible for the poor construction of his house: “I think corruption on the part of the contracted construction companies played a large role in this,” As a result, many survivors simply refuse to occupy these houses, leaving them uninhabited.

Challenges
Despite these problems, after four years the reconstruction of Aceh has come a long way. Almost all people have moved from their temporary shelters to permanent housing. Slowly but steadily, normal life is returning in villages that have been completely rebuilt, in some cases even on a different location.

Challenges still remain. Many wonder how the economy of Aceh, now largely booming on aid money, will cope after the departure of the aid organisations. A total of 20 000 people, mostly construction workers, will reportedly be out of work when organisations wrap up and pull out. Some fear that the Acehnese have become too dependent on aid and that the economic bubble will burst after most aid organisations leave the province.

Worries also remain about the fledgling peace process. There are many hopeful signs that Aceh has left its violent past behind and is developing vibrant democratic institutions. But over the past months in the run up to elections next year - the first one in which local parties are allowed to take part - tensions and violent incidents have been on the rise. Fears are that one such violent incident could spark up the conflict again.

Hopes for the future
The INGO Romi is currently working for will close its doors in December. He will have to start looking for another job in a climate of rising unemployment and inflation. But he remains optimistic about finding a new job: “I have a good education, I speak English and I have gained valuable working experience with the NGOs over the past years. I’m pretty sure I will find a new job.” It will be harder for people with little or no education, such as the drivers and the construction workers. “Many of them are thinking of opening up their own business,” according to Romi. Some NGOs provide trainings on how to set up a small enterprise as part of their exit strategy.

Others emphasise the unique opportunities that the disaster has offered to Aceh. Decades of bloody conflict between separatists and Indonesian security forces had left the province isolated and inward-looking. But some believe that the exposure to the “outside world,” a new world created by the humanitarian and aid efforts, has cultivated a sense of openness and, most importantly, a stronger desire for progress. Romi’s has high hopes for the future: “I believe that there is a chance for Aceh to be in peace forever. No more war, no more disaster and no more political intrigue. Last but not least, I hope some time I can go to Europe even if it was for only a brief moment.”

Meinke Lignac has worked for HelpAge International in Aceh, Indonesia from March 2007 until September 2008.

Sneak preview

This article will be published soon in Backstage, the Journal of Trainees for the European Commission

Dairy of a stagiaire

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
My umbrella didn't even survive its first morning in Brussels. The storm already tore it apart before I arrived at the Madou tower where the first meeting of my traineeship (or stage as I believe it is called in Eurospeak) was taking place.

Today, I was acquainted with the bureaucratic side of the Commission. My stage started with a long talk on rules and procedures. Next, we had to stand in line to get all the paperwork concerning our application sorted out and then in another line to get a bunch of other papers with yet more rules and procedures. That was my first day at the Commission. Standing in those long lines I couldn't help but wondering how I would be able to adjust in my new working environment, after having worked as a development worker in a nice and warm tropical country with little or no rules that could not be bent.

But this afternoon brought back some colour. A friend who's working as an assistant of a member of the European Parliament gave me a tour around the enormous building. Amidst the ocean of serious-looking people in grey suits, the hallway of the European Socialists was refreshingly colourful. Here, the dress code was jeans and sweaters, and the walls were full of protest posters in dozens of languages. I'm curious what the people at my DG will be like!

Tuesday, October 7th
I've got almost 600 new friends, instantaneously!
Over the past two days there was a Welcome Conference for all new Stagiaires. During the speeches we learned that the European Commission is even more energy-inefficient than the average European, had a small peek behind the scenes into the workings of the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions and learned about the worries within Euroland about where it's heading with our Union after that annoying little country in the north-eastern corner of Europe spoilt the party. But, more importantly, the Conference brought nice and long lunch breaks and… drinks!

This evening I hardly felt the cold wind anymore when I walked home with a great smile on my lips, happy about all the nice and interesting people that I had met and talked with. What an international crowd! I have already discovered that you're really not cool if both your parents come from the same country, and you might as well pack your stuff and go if you’re in a relationship with someone from the same country as well. I think I’ll fit in quite well in this new working environment after all! :-)

Thursday, October 9th
Great fun with my roommates at the 10th floor of this huge Commission building today. All four of us are still facing some difficulties settling into Brussels and our new working environment. I myself had come in late today, because I had been waiting 1,5 hours at my Commune to register, only to get a letter stating that I should come back in three weeks.

When I came in one of the other stagiaires in my room was making bewildered phone calls to her bank, because when she went to the ATM this morning to withdraw money, the machine swallowed her money. The third girl in our room had gotten married since she applied for the stage, and wanted to use her husband's name at the Commission. She will have some more bureaucratic walls to conquer before that can be achieved!

Our male roommate then had just heard that his accommodation in Brussels was cancelled and was searching hard for a new place. The only thing he had found so far was located in a street called Rue de Facqz. The poor guy was wondering how to on earth to pronounce this, and how he, as an Italian would ever be able to explain his address to a girl. Of course this immediately became the running gag of our room.

Wednesday, 15 October
What to choose?! So much nice stuff to do! Teach my language, learn another language, write for the journal, prepare the Who is Who book, parties, movies, sports, excursions, conferences… waah, when am I going to sleep during the coming five months?!

My Italian roommate is still lost in translation. Today he came back from lunch with new football shoes for the Stagiaires' football competition. Looking at the shoebox, he was shocked to find out that he had been shopping at Place Cocq!

Saturday, 24 October 2008
Fog, great fog and big pounding hammers in my head this morning, or actually I’m afraid it's already afternoon. I remember lots of wine of different kind's yesterday evening, and cheese as well. I had a great evening, or at least I think I did…

Oops, an embarrassing memory pups up from the clouds in my head. A nice fellow stagiaire offered me a ride home, a gesture I didn't refuse after I almost got mugged in that creepy area on my way to the party. Although his face looked vaguely familiar to me I didn't think we had been introduced yet. Gosh, was I wrong... Turned out we had a very interesting conversation during drinks at the Welcome Conference, the contents of which he managed to reproduce flawlessly at 3am this morning… Damn, what an impression I must have made. Too many new faces, information, drinks, parties, meetings… I think I need a few more hours of sleep now…

Thursday, 13 November
I'm one of the lucky few who managed to get on the list for the trip to NATO! Actually, all you get to see of NATO is a conference room, the rest is inaccessible because of security restriction. But of course we didn't tell that to our poor jealous roommates who had to stay behind in the office! They were incredibly happy with the NATO-pens and other goodies we had bought them.
Can’t believe it’s not even 1,5 months since the stage has started. Adjusting to my new working environment turned out to be a lot less hard than I feared that first windy day at Madou. Already I have seen and done so many new and interesting things, and then to think that the fun has only just started!

Bird's-eye view of the past eight months

Already more than one year has passed since I’ve arrived here in Aceh. By now, many things that I found extraordinary when I arrived here have become normal to me. I’m no longer excited whenever I see a palm tree, or a whole family on a motorbike, or a traditional market, or a colourful sarong, and many of the other things that strikes a European when he first sets foot in this country. Now some weeks are also passing by with ‘nothing special’.

There are also things that I still haven't managed to get used to. The urge a lot of people feel here to start shouting whenever they see a white face is something that keeps startling me. The astounding beauty of the countryside just outside of town keeps amazing me. The immense resilience of people who have been hit by one of the biggest natural disasters in human history ever keeps striking me.

Many things have happened since Ramadan last year, the last time I posted a story on my previous blog. I'm going to try to provide an overview of the hightlights in my life of the past eight months.

During the Eid-holidays (the week-long holiday to mark the end of Ramadan, which fell in October last year) I went on my first ever ‘business trip’ to Thailand. Me and my colleague Samantha had to leave the country in order to get a new visa, and this opportunity was used to pay a work visit to the regional office of my organisation, conveniently located in Chiang Mai.

We travelled to Chiang Mai with a brief stop over in Bangkok. A bizarre coincidence had it that one of my best friends from back home, Laurie, was also in Bangkok for a few days at that time. She had come with a friend who worked as a stewardess for KLM. This Dutch airline always puts up its personnel in the most fancy hotel in town. So I found Laurie and her friend pampering themselves in the most luxurious hotel room I had ever seen, overlooking the immense city of Bangkok. Over a delicious breakfast (croissants, dark whole wheat bread!), and while cruising through town in a tuk-tuk, the Thai version of a rickshaw, Laurie and me tried to catch up as much as we could on the developments of the past 6 months. I had a quick peek at the Wat Pho, an enormous golden Buddha, and also a glimpse of Khau San Road, the backpackers street of Bangkok. Generally such overcrowded spoiled tourist areas are not my thing. But now, coming from lifeless Banda Aceh, I got all thrilled in this street bustling with young and energetic crowds, the beats and the atmosphere.

Chiang Mai is fantastic. This city really combines the best of Asia and the West. Fantastic Thai and Western food. Beautiful calm avenues and lanes. An impressive number of Buddhist temple complexes. And then the shopping… During our five days in this city, me and Samantha transformed into true shopping maniacs. We even went to work earlier (it was after all still a work visit) in order to get off early to go to one of the shopping malls, heavenly night markets or massage places. And of course the cinema. It had been over six months since I’d been to the movies, and I was so excited by it that the poster of Stardust was the wallpaper on my laptop for weeks after. It’s really funny how such things work. When I’m in Aceh I really don’t miss the malls, the bars, the western food and all that. But as soon as I enter ‘the free world’, as some of the expats like to call it, I’m like: yes, I needed this!

Following Chiang Mai was over two months of uncertainty over whether or not my organisation’s programme in Banda Aceh would be extended or not. Only two weeks before our office would be closed the word finally came through that indeed our programme could be continued into 2008. Although at some point it really wasn’t funny anymore not to be able to tell my friends and family if I was going to be able to make it home for Christmas, the whole process did give me a very interesting look into how decision making on funding, initiating and extending programmes in the development sector takes place. And of course Aceh offers enough distraction: the beach, the tropical nature and a nice bunch of friends to hang out with. On the picture you can see us enjoying a few drinks at Lampuuk beach, where we often go during the weekend.

In the end, I did make it home for Christmas. And it was the ultimate coming-home-for-Christmas experience: it was snowing when I arrived! This hardly ever happens in The Netherlands, and certainly not around Christmas time. It was weird to come home in my own country for holidays, knowing that I would be going abroad again after just a few weeks for work. Normally it’s the other way around! But it was great to be back for a few weeks, and I managed to find a good balance between trying to catch up with as many friends and family as possible, and trying to recuperate from a busy and stressful period at work.

In January I returned to Aceh with renewed energy. We started the new year with moving our office to the same compound where I am living. Now my room and my office are just a 1-minute walk apart, only separated by a small road, which is psychologically a very important barrier for me to keep work and leisure time separated. From our new office we are working to strengthen the projects and advocacy efforts that HelpAge International has initiated here over the past two years. I've been explaining a little bit about what it is that I am actually here for in my previous story on this blog.

I had already travelled accross Sumatra, Java and Bali during the holiday with my family last August. But outside the tsunami-hit areas where we are working, much of Aceh was still unexplored territory for me. That was to change in March, when I went on a short trip to Takengon. This is a small town situated at a beautiful lake high up in the Gayo mountains. This area was one of the hotbeds of the seperatist conflict, which had only recently come to an end in 2005. Only two weeks before I was to head out there the most serious violent incident after the signing of the peace agreement had taken place not far away from Takengon. A violent mob had attacked a rival group and brurally slaughtered five of its members. It was a gruesome reminder of the fragility of the peace and the major unsolved issues that still remain.

Us tourists didn't notice much of all these tensions that are still brewing just below the surface, apart from some banners on the road sides calling for the splitting up of the province (one of the causes of the recent rise in tensions). We enjoyed the cool weather, the total absense of other tourists (the few tourist that make it out here were probably scared away by the recent incident) and marvelled at the beautiful lake surrounded by pittoresque hills with incredibly grean ricefields.


After four months at a stretch in Aceh without a single trip to ‘the free world’ I went to Yogyakarta in May for a short course of Indonesian. I had already been taking language classes here in Aceh and picked up quite a bit of the language. But during the intensive course in Yogya many things fell in place. I came back to Banda all motivated again to master this language and started pressing my colleagues to speak only Indonesian to me. This didn't work out at all, since they all want to practise their English on me :-)


Next time: Banda Aceh's party scene uncovered!

Work

Last Friday I had my debut in the Indonesian media, and found myself quoted on improving health care for older people. I had prepared an article on primary health care for older people in Aceh, and sent this to a few web-based discussion groups widely read amongst the NGO community here. This story was picked up and published by a local newspaper.

This unplanned media attention was a nice boost for the morale at our small office on this late Friday afternoon. An advocacy project aiming to encourage other institutions to take better care of older people in their programmes is largely dependent upon the actions of those other organisations for its success. Although the environment we are working in is getting more and more receptive to our message, at times it still requires a lot of patience and diplomacy to get seemingly simple things done.

Sometimes I find it difficult to explain HelpAge International’s programme, and my role in it, to people who ask me how I fill my days at work. Our achievements aren’t as tangible as those of most other organisations working here. We don’t have numbers of houses, schools or roads built to boost with. But I will try to give it a shot.

HelpAge International is the largest worldwide network organisation working for the rights of disadvantaged older people. During and after emergencies, the needs of older people are often not taken into account by humanitarian agencies. Women and children are recognised by most agencies as vulnerable groups that need specific attention. But older people, often one of the hardest-hit groups during emergencies, are habitually neglected in the relief effort.

The aftermath of the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was no different in this respect. Literally hundreds of aid agencies rushed to Aceh, where more than 160 000 people had been killed by the giant waves of the tsunami and over a thousand kilometres of coast line had been destroyed. Despite the this huge influx of aid, surveys by HAI found that this aid did not sufficiently reach older people, or that the aid wasn’t suitable for them. For instance, older people were unable to reach aid distribution sites, or the food packages did not contain food that was easy to cook and to digest.

After the immediate emergency phase was over, NGOs started to focus on recovery of houses, infrastructure and livelihoods. Here too, older people were often forgotten. An important reason for this neglect is that most organisations do not disaggregate the data of the population in the area where they are working by age-group. Older people and their problems thus remain invisible.

Considering the large numbers of organisations that were working in the relief and rehabilitation effort in Aceh, HelpAge International thought that rather than to implement a programme by itself, it would be more effective to support those organisations in focussing their programmes more on older people.

“Supporting INGOs and the government in addressing the needs of older people”… what does that mean? It means, first and foremost, trying to convince others that there is a need to pay more attention to older people. Perhaps surprisingly, we have come across many instances where people didn’t see the need to consider older people as a separate vulnerable group. Others presumed that almost all older people had perished in the devastating waves of the tsunami, clearly a result of the above mentioned lack of segregating population data by age. In fact there are many older people living in the areas where the tsunami has hit. As the recovery effort progressed, many of those older people were left behind because of the lack of attention of NGOs towards their needs.

For instance, many organisations organised cash-for-work projects in house and road construction in order to provide tsunami-victims with a direct source of income. These activities are generally too heavy for older people, leaving their livelihoods shattered and keeping them dependent on their family or community for their survival. In order to convince organisations of the current gap in the rehabilitation effort, HelpAge went out and conducted research on the status of older people after the tsunami, organised workshops and media-events and undertook countless meetings with organisations working in Aceh.

Next, supporting INGOs and the government in addressing the needs of older people means providing those institutions that are willing to make their programme ‘age-friendly’ with the training and tools to do so. This has been another major component of the programme. In a few cases, this has resulted into elaborate partnerships, such as with the British Red Cross and with the Provincial Health Department.

So where do I fit in all of this? Already more than one year I have been working here as a Programme Assistant. My focus is on the livelihood activities of the programme and on documentation and reporting, although in such a small office as ours (since January just 6 staff!) everybody is doing a little bit of everything.

Last year, one of my major activities was working on the partnership with the British Red Cross (BRCS), which just got off ground when I arrived. We were supporting the BRCS in ensuring that their programme targeted older people as a vulnerable group by providing orientations to staff, having our Field Officers working with BRCS in the field, and regular meetings between management to advise on strategies. I was involved in coordination between the two organisations and documentation of the whole process, which was largely a new experience for both organisations. This documentation effort ultimately resulted in the publication Mainstreaming Age-Friendliness.

I have also been working intensively on a project we have implemented together with a local organisation. In 14 tsunami-hit villages we have assisted the community in setting up Older People Associations. These are community-based organisations aimed at improving the living conditions of older people. In the same 14 villages we also implemented a livelihood cash grant programme. This means that older people received a sum of money which they could use to start or strengthen an income-generating activity, such as opening a shop or buying livestock. This project was intended as a pilot, to demonstrate to NGOs and the government the need for livelihood support to older people and the benefits of organising older people in groups.

Last year, I’ve worked on designing and implementing the cash grant programme and monitoring its progress. This year, I have been doing a detailed impact monitoring of the cash grant programme and in designing strategies to strengthen the programme. For two months, I have been interviewing beneficiaries about their thoughts of the programme and to find out if the cash grant has been useful to them. In the picture you can see me conducting a group discussion with older women who have received the grant. One of the things that came out is that awareness is very low amongst older people about different government services that are available. Now, I am in contact with several government departments to find out ways for older people to access these services.

Congrats, you have made it to the end of this story on oldies :-) Next time more about my life in the Archipelago outside of HelpAge.

Fitna released

As it turned out, I was only just in time with my never ending story on Wilders and his film plans, because yesterday he has indeed finaly managed to post it on the net. So far, my prediction that riots would break out no matter what the actual substance of the film has fortunately not come true. Reactions have been mild and balanced. Click here to see the comment I posted on the brand new English language discussion forum of one of the most renowned Dutch newspapers.

Rattlings on religious tolerance and the freedom of expression

According to some, I should be getting worried by now, as a Dutch person living in one of the most strict Moslem areas of the biggest Moslem country of the world. The Dutch right-wing populist politician Geert Wilders is currently making every effort to release his a short film as soon as possible. Wilders has announced that in this filmic pamphlet, he will state his views about Islam. We already know that his opinions on Islam are not pretty. Ever since he has abandoned the Dutch liberal party in 2004 and set up his own faction in the Parliament, he has been able to grasp the media attention time and again with a steady stream of extremist one-liners focusing on the immigration and integration debate in general and Islam in particular. Among other things, he has denounced Islam as a religion, and called for the Koran to be banned, calling it a fascist book. In short, nasty, intolerant, extremist stuff.

As despicable as his ideas might be, Geert Wilders is a shrewd politician who knows exactly where to find the weak spots in society and of his political opponents. His movie project is one of his most successful schemes so far. Over the past four months he has managed to put the media spotlight on him and his faction with this fathom movie at minimum cost and effort. So far, Wilders has managed to keep the contents of the film secret, and has only revealed its name: Fitna, which is Arabic for disagreement or division among people. Still, even before anyone has seen it, this picture has already caused demonstrations in countries from Afghanistan to Indonesia, threats from Al Queda and the Taliban about attacks on Dutch facilities and interests, calls from the Iranian government to ban the movie, and warnings for economic sanctions against the Netherlands by Egypt and Iran should this film be released.

Within the Netherlands, Wilders has been able to paralyse the Dutch political establishment, again over an issue related to immigration and Islam. Not that any element of his ideas or approach is new for the Dutch. In the Netherlands we have already seen a populist right-wing politician gaining rapid political support using the fear of Islam extremism as one of his major themes. His name was Pim Fortuyn. Not even is the phenomenon of a politician using a film as a vehicle to voice criticism on Islam a new one. This has been done by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who in 2004 released a short film on how violence against women is justified by its perpetrators in the name of Islam. She produced this film together with Theo Van Gogh, a well known movie director in The Netherlands.

Pim Fortuyn was shot dead in 2003. Theo Van Gogh got his throat sliced open in 2004. His murderer left a note, stabbed with a knife in Van Gogh’s chest. The note was addressed to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, linking his death to her and her filmic pamphlet.

This violent piece of recent Dutch history, which had not seen a political murder since the 17th century, combined with the controversy around the Danish cartoons a few years ago, have made Wilders’ picture plans to be the perfect recipe for creating an ever increasing storm of free media attention, both in The Netherlands and abroad.

Even within the Netherlands the question of banning the picture even before its release had briefly surfaced in the public debate. But people quickly realised that banning a movie before its contents were known would be legally impossible and setting undesirable precedents.

Despite my disgust for this man, his views and his ruthless exploitation of xenophobic feelings in segments of society, I find myself on the side of the people defending his right to say what he wants to say. Voltaire’s beautiful quote keeps surfacing in my mind: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” For me, the small price we pay for living in a free society is having to build up a thick skin every once in a while. Sometimes having to hear or see things that I despise and that hurt my feelings is part of living in a society with freedom of expression.

Freedom of expression is not the same as the freedom to insult. But of course insult is a relative and problematic concept. I was raised in an atheistic environment in a country that is known to have hardly any taboos left, and where everything from the queen to the pope and the Prime Minister is being ridiculed on a regular basis. For me, it is difficult to grasp how people can get so offended over a few drawings in a newspaper. But clearly a lot of people were really hurt and insulted when they heard about their Prophet Mohammed not only being depicted, but even in a satirical manner. The question will always remain: where is the line, and who draws it? This is a debate that needs to be held continuously in any well-functioning free society. Wilders’ movie has again stirred up this debate in our civil society and has forced politicians who rather stay quiet about the sensitive issues of Islam and freedom of expression for fear of losing votes, to make clear their stance on this issue. This, in my view, has been beneficial.

If I am following the debate in the Netherlands correctly, which is a bit problematic sitting in Aceh with a faltering internet connection, the debate has now shifted to emphasising the responsibility of people living in a free society. Yes, you have freedom of expression, the reasoning goes, but you should use this freedom in a responsible manner. We are living in a country that has recently known serious tensions between native Dutch people and Moslem (descendants of) immigrants. You know that there are large groups of people in your country who are feeling marginalised, misunderstood and discriminated against. Yes, you can say anything you like, but you don’t have to do it just for the sake of it. And you should not do it if you know you are going to hurt or offend whole groups of people.

Politicians and the media have an even more responsible role to play in a free society. Politicians have an exemplary role, and should resist the temptation to use the xenophobic undercurrent that is present in any society for populist rapid political gains. Responsible media have to walk the fine balance between reporting anything they deem ‘news worthy’ and a certain measure of self-censorship. A well-known example is how media shun reporting about suicides and murders, because it is well known that elaborate reporting on this encourages repetition.

Mr. Wilders is clearly not using his public office in a responsible manner. He misuses his political platform and his freedom of expression without the willingness to engage in a dialogue. Politicians should bridge gaps and not sharpen conflicts. But it does seem that the self-censoring capacity of the media is starting to function on this issue. Up until now, Wilders has been unable to find any media prepared to air his picture on television. Also, the government press centre has shunned from providing Wilders this platform, forcing Wilders to resort to publishing his picture on the internet. Now, it seems he even has problems releasing his movie on this sanctuary of free speech, because also the internet providers are hesitant of hosting his material.

No doubt eventually Wilders will manage to post his movie on the net. But by know the whole charade has also become a bit of a letdown for him and, in my view, a small victory for the Dutch media and its ability to cope with populism and extremism.

Unfortunately there is also no doubt that upon the release of this film, somewhere on this globe riots will brake out, violence will take place and maybe even people will be killed. The actual substance of the film no longer matters. And what really outrages me is that this violence is being condoned and justified. Not only by Al Queda and the Taliban or some unrepresentative government, but also by Dutch opinion makers. They do this no doubt inspired by an effort to be sensitive and out of a sense of post-colonial guilt. But more and more I have the feeling that this is misplaced paternalism. As if Moslems are like small children who should be protected from themselves and not be held responsible for their acts if they are being teased. How derogatory is that.

I was happy to find a Moslem writer who most clearly put into words my thoughts on this issue. Mohammed Yazid writes in the Jakarta Post that no violent reaction to this film should be tolerated by the Moslem community, and that any aggression will worsen the anti-Islamic feelings in the West and justify the message conveyed by the film. The best response of the Muslim community would be to use the same weapon of freedom of opinion to counter the distorted images of Islam that are prevalent in the West. Click here for the full article.

I really hope that the majority of reactions to Geert Wilders film will be of this kind, and that the peaceful and benign side of Islam that I come across every day here in Aceh will become the dominant image of this world religion in the West. Here, the (Western) media again have to take their responsibility, by not only repeating the pictures of frustrated pillaging youth on ‘the Arab street’, but also allowing time to acquaint the western public with the wise words of a thoughtful imam or Islamic scholars.