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One Year After the Tsunami: Policy and Public Perceptions (Event)

Roberta Cohen, senior fellow, Brookings Institution, and co-director, Brookings-University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement; Bambang Harymurti, editor-in-chief, Tempo Weekly Newsmagazine (Indonesia); W. Courtland Robinson, assistant professor, Center for International Emergency, Disaster, and Refugee Studies, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Date & Time

Thursday
Jan. 12, 2006
1:30pm – 3:30pm ET

Overview

To watch the video of this event, follow the links in the See Also box to the right of this screen.

One year has passed since the devastating Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004, which affected 12 nations, killed at least 200,000 people, and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes. Indonesia suffered some of the greatest losses, with approximately 130,000 deaths in Aceh province and 530,000 displaced nationwide. The Asia Program, with assistance from the GE Foundation, hosted a January 12 program that assessed post-disaster reconstruction efforts—and Indonesians' perceptions of them—in Indonesia over the last year.

The tsunami precipitated a mass of internally-displaced persons (IDP). The Brookings Institution's Roberta Cohen, noting that survivors must be placed at the forefront of analysis, evaluated Indonesia's response through the framework of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Cohen argued the response has incorporated these principles, which include non-discrimination, property rights protection, attention to the vulnerable, and civilian-led reconstruction efforts. For example, Indonesia's government has pledged equal treatment to those uprooted by Aceh's political conflict and those displaced by the tsunami. And the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias (BRR), a civilian entity, oversees Indonesia's reconstruction. However, Cohen contended that women—some of the most vulnerable survivors—are marginalized, and that more robust policies are needed to protect property rights.

Tempo's Bambang Harymurti gauged Indonesian public opinion on Indonesia's recovery efforts. Initial surveys found that just over one-third of the respondents expressed satisfaction with recovery, with only 27% satisfied with the local Aceh government's efforts. The numbers are rising, however, and Harymurti expects public satisfaction to grow further as the BRR—to this point respected as a corruption-free agency—continues to be efficient. Ultimately, he concluded, the political situation in Aceh and the BRR's ability to remain clean will help determine the effectiveness of post-tsunami reconstruction efforts. The former, though improved by the recent peace agreement, remains tenuous as Aceh approaches elections and attempts to integrate former rebels into society.

W. Courtland Robinson of Johns Hopkins University addressed the challenges faced by the tsunami's displaced as they work toward their permanent return. He underscored the importance of keeping survivors' interests in mind as homes are rebuilt. Careful attention must be given to how homes are constructed and what materials are used. Otherwise, he warned, the displaced may regard their new abodes as more of a "structure" than a home. Another challenge is weaning the displaced off their temporary housing. Access to water and health care is often "better in the barracks" of the tent camps than in permanent homes. Compounding these challenges of return are the demographic shocks associated with this tragedy—for instance, more children and women than men died in the tsunami, triggering a highly vulnerable mass of widowed fathers and orphans in a culture where men are not accustomed to assuming the primary child-rearing responsibilities.

Drafted by Michael Kugelman, Asia Program Assistant
Robert M. Hathaway, Director, Asia Program, Ph: (202) 691-4020

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Indo-Pacific Program

The Indo-Pacific Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on US interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region.   Read more

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