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Letters from the FieldJune, 2007 Trainers Nina Jusuf and Joan Condon facilitated trainings for three different groups in Indonesia in June. Training participants represented the diversity of this enormous country, comprised of an estimated 16,000 to 18,000 islands, 6,000 inhabited. Since its independence from the Dutch after World War II, the government has struggled to forge a secular unified country among people of many different ethnic, religious and cultural traditions. The majority of the population is Muslim but there are Christian (Catholic and Protestant) and Hindis as well as some adherents of earlier beliefs. The challenge is great. Violence over differing religious beliefs has rent the social fabric in Sulawesi and other islands. Separatist independence movements in Aceh, the Mulukus, Irian Jaya and Timor Timur have challenged the national government. Terrorists have exploded bombs on the tourist island of Bali in 2003 and 2005 and in the capital, Jakarta in 2003 and 2004. A devastating earthquake struck near the city of Jogjakarta on Java, the largest and most populous island, in May 2006 killing more than 5,000 people and destroying homes, businesses and whole communities. And, of course, the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Sumatra, which killed thousands. Capacitar first went to Indonesia in 2002. It was invited to work with people from Aceh, which was in the midst of civil war and with those working in areas of interreligious violence and terrorist bombings. In 2003, in collaboration with various in-country groups, Capacitar began to train a national team. This June, nine national team members gathered in Kaliurang above the city of Jogjakarta for the final training in the initial four-part series. They came from the islands of Java, Bali, Sumatra, the Mulukus and Sulawesi. Between trainings the team members have been busy sharing Capacitar with tsunami, bombing and earthquake survivors, interreligious dialogue groups, women’s peace groups, medical personnel, HIV/AIDS patients, teachers, students and children. They have formed Capacitar Indonesia and created a structure to support each other across the great distances as they multiply Capacitar work. They are committed to sharing what they have learned to help in the healing of their communities. We also facilitated a three-day training for 26 staff and volunteers of The National Commission on Violence Against Women. The National Commission was formed after the 1998 riots and ensuing violence that included mass rape directed primarily at women in the Chinese Indonesian community. The Commission works for legal and policy reform on women’s issues, the development of a recovery system for survivors of violence and educating the public on the gender perspective of human rights. Although the Commission is based in Jakarta, the capital, the training was held outdoors in Pagos on a grassy terrace overlooking rice paddies and a view of the mountains. It was a peaceful setting where the women could release the stress and frustration of their work through Capacitar practices and where they could plan for integration of the practices into their workplace. A second three-day training was sponsored by the Young Women’s Association of Muhammadiyah and took place in Kaliurang on the island of Java. Muhammadiyah is a Muslim nongovernmental organization that runs schools, universities, hospitals and clinics throughout Indonesia. The majority of the 25 participants were in their twenties. Many were university students who had volunteered in children’s crisis centers after the devastating earthquake in May 2006 that killed 5,700 and injured 50,000. They continue to work with children. Others were earthquake victims, teachers, midwives and doctors. Like the training for the National Commission, this training focused on Care for the Caregiver. This group accepted the challenge of a workshop totally different from the kind they were used to where the facilitators talk and the participants only listen. They enthusiastically participated in the Capacitar practices—they did beautiful Tai Chi. They also worked in small groups to evaluate and plan for their own self-care, a totally new experience for them. One doctor said this was the best training she had ever been to. Capacitar plans to return to Indonesia in 2008. We are in conversation with both the National Commission on Violence Against Women and Muhammadiyah about additional trainings. The Capacitar Indonesia National Team is also identifying additional people from diverse areas to attend a four-part series facilitated by Capacitar International trainers, who will also mentor members of the National Team. With peace and blessings,
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