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Photo by: Ade Tanesia anesia T Ade Photo by: Women, Community Radio, and Post-Disaster Recovery Process By Ade Tanesia

Indonesian people call their country Ibu Pertiwi (Motherland). However, when disasters uninterruptedly come to this country, have we considered the interests of women, especially mothers on whose laps lie the Indonesian land?

68 CiM No.2 2007 WOMEN IN ACTION

Introduction Experts divide disasters into two with a wide diversity of ethnic groups, categories: the first consists of disasters religions and customs. This diversity caused by natural phenomena and the constitutes a valuable asset. However, second consists of those caused by because the fast population growth is human behaviour. is one not accompanied by appropriate policies country with the most number of these and economic, social and infrastructural two categories of disasters. developments that are just and Geographically, Indonesia is an satisfactory, discrepancy is created, archipelago bordering on four tectonic triggering social resentment. This plates: Asian Continent, Australian condition can cause conflicts, which take Continent, Indian Ocean and Pacific the forms of social unrest, inter-ethnic, Ocean plates. On the Southern and inter-religious and racial conflicts. In Eastern parts of Indonesia, a volcanic turn, these can develop and spiral into a arc stretches from Sumatra Island, Java national disaster. Island, Nusa Tenggara Islands to Island, with many ancient Most disasters in these two categories volcanoes and lowlands partly dominated had occurred in Indonesia in the last few by marshes. This condition brings much years. While seeking to learn lessons potential for development but also from the occurrences, the government makes Indonesia vulnerable to disasters and many social groups have tried to like volcano eruption, earthquake, cope with the accompanying risks. tsunami, flood, and landslide. Indonesia Natural disasters since 2004 have given has one of the highest earthquake Indonesia a new awareness—that people frequencies in the world, more than ten- live in a disaster-prone country. For the fold than that of the United States Indonesian population, there is no choice (Arnold, 1986). but to befriend nature. Every natural phenomenon has a great potential to In addition to earthquakes and volcano grow into a disaster when some eruptions, increasing human activities in particular factors like poverty, population exploring natural resources have also density, poor education and gender worsened the damage to Indonesian inequity also intervene. However, we can ecology. It is not surprising, therefore, learn from the emergency response in that we often see media spectacles of Aceh and Jogjakarta in 2004 and its floods, landslides, forest fire, and disaster management. drought that come in swift succession. Moreover, disasters due to technological In disaster management, the victims are failure also occur today, with recent often wrongfully considered a single transportation accidents like the crash entity and at times are treated the same of Adam Air’s and Garuda’s aircrafts, with regard to the type of aid they need. and industrial accidents like Lapindo mud. In reality, however, the impacts of disaster on women and men are Another potential disaster, and as different. Gender analysis therefore is serious, lies in the demographic diversity important in aid distribution because of Indonesia. The population of victims are mostly women, elderly

Indonesia in 2004 reached 220 million, people, and children.

6 9 In earthquake disasters, for example, male. At that time, most women were many women become victims because staying at home and were not strong they usually stay at home with their enough to run to higher places with children. When an earthquake happens, children who were yet unable to walk they tend to save their children first and (Oxfam, UNFPA, 2005). Other sources put their own lives in danger. In Aceh, revealed that 170,000 women out of many female dead bodies were found, 180,000 died in the tsunami. Women hugging their children in their arms. In who survived and were in refugee camps Jogjakarta, many women died and were were more susceptible to illness than men. They faced risks, especially in reproductive health.

For female refugees who are breastfeeding, their infants face serious problems. Without nutritious food, the production of mother’s milk for their infants can decrease significantly and babies get weaker. Women need formula milk. However, often they receive aid in milk that exceeded the time limit for consumption. Female refugees who are pregnant also experience malnutrition, and may hemorrhage and miscarry. If not taken seriously, these conditions can be fatal, as some cases show.

Nuraini (35), a refugee in Meulaboh, www.state.gov Aceh, was pregnant when the tsunami hit her kampong (village). It was a miracle In refugee camps, women found in the act of covering their that she and her unborn child survived. survivours face serious children from debris. In Sri Lanka, there Waves dragged her several times into problems as they not only lack were many female victims because they the deep, and she went deeper still until nutritious food and clothing for could hardly run in their long sari at last she grasped a piece of wood that themselves but for their brought her to shore. She gave birth children as well. (clothes). It will also be noted that the Sri Lankan culture requires every woman about two weeks after the tsunami, but to cover up her mouth with a scarf. It is in the refugee tent, she ate only biscuits, not surprising that in an emergency rice, and instant noodles. No additional situation they automatically reach out for vitamin, protein, or milk were provided their scarves. Apparently, during the for her to recuperate. The condition tsunami, this custom had made women inside the tent, which was very stifling slow in saving their own lives. and crowding, was not conducive for the child’s health either. Many refugees Gender-Responsive Post- also suffered from diarrhea, influenza, skin diseases, hence also threatening the Disaster Rehabilitation health of her vulnerable baby. Her The earthquake and tsunami in Aceh suffering was aggravated by the lack of have resulted in female death rate thirty sanitary napkins, diapers, and baby

to forty percent higher than that of the clothes. To keep her baby warm, she 0 7 CiM No.2 2007 WOMEN IN ACTION

covered it with anything she could get toilet facilities are very limited, the hold of. Nuraini’s condition showed only refugees always have to queue. For an too well that the abundant aid Aceh Acehnese woman who needs to cover received did not sufficiently consider up her whole body, it is very difficult to women’s needs. live within such constraints.

Something elemental but is often Problems described above show that considered minor is women’s the impacts of disaster on women are menstruation. In emergency conditions, distinct so that they also need distinct women need sanitary napkins for their kinds of aid. During an emergency period and when these are unavailable, response to a disaster, aid given to the women just use any cloth they can use. victims often does not fit women’s Unhygienic cloth can cause new vaginal special needs. Most materials given to diseases. Mirna, a refugee in Blang them are instant noodles, rice, and a Bintang, Aceh, for example, said that she wide variety of canned food. These had not changed her sanitary napkin for things are important, but do not suffice; two days. She had tried to find sanitary donors often forget to give female napkins at the aid camps but failed. underwear, female clothes that fit the local culture (for instance, long dresses Aceh women who live within a firm for Acehnese culture), children’s food, religious tradition often face specific sanitation fabric, and other women’s problems as well. The refugee barracks distinct needs. often do not have separating screens which makes it difficult for women to The other danger is from trafficking have privacy for changing clothes and agents who look for female teenagers breastfeeding. Women do not feel who are still in trauma and have nobody comfortable in open spaces which they to protect them. Job offers can be very have to share with men. This is because attractive for these girls, even for in such spaces sexual harassment easily mothers who have daughters and do happen. Because bathing, washing, and not know how to make a living for their families. The social structure dominated

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ by men also decreases women’s chances of communicating their needs. ...the impacts of disaster on women Having domestic burdens and waiting for aid, women spend most of their are distinct so that they also need time in the refugee camps. Women who distinct kinds of aid...donors often do not have male relatives to fight for aid often are deprived of appropriate forget to give female underwear, aid. This occurred in Jogjakarta, where female clothes that fit the local coordination for aid distribution was slow and people in-need had to wait culture (for instance, long dresses for a long time at sub-districts’ offices. for Acehnese culture), children’s When the aid was distributed, people jostled and struggled, and the strongest food, sanitation fabric, and other got the aid faster. women’s distinct needs. In Aceh, there is a group of women

who have become family heads after

7 1 themselves and made a savings and credit organisation which could provide women with business capital in order to restart their daily economy. As a result, business groups like sewing, lobster farming, and cassava chips home industries were established and proved helpful in obtaining additional income for families.

The importance of women’s participation during post-disaster rehabilitation was also underscored in anesia

T the case of Mitch storm disaster in 1998

Ade in Guatemala and Honduras. Women in these countries immediately built houses,

Phot by: saved water reserves and built shelters even as they faced sexual harassment Accurate information on the losing their husbands in battles. This after the storm. Aptly, an NGO ran a survivours’ needs will enable group is named Pekka, which stands for campaign that brought the message, government and donors to Perempuan Kepala Keluarga (Female Family “Violence to women is a disaster which provide appropriate and Head). The women have succeeded in timely aid. men can prevent.” The campaign was organising themselves to fulfill their effective enough to make all social domestic needs. For example, after the groups realise that reconstruction cannot tsunami, these widows’ capability to run well without women’s participation. organise proved very helpful in the process of reconstruction and The earthquake of 6.4 on the Richter rehabilitation. All members of Pekka scale that hit Maharasthra, India, in instantly set up shelters and public 1993 is another example of women’s kitchens, and organised aid distribution. positive role in disasters. The quake had When this group became the door and destroyed more than 2,000 villages. In conduit for aid, the women exercised the Maharasthra district, women’s groups more control in managing aid coming played important roles in many fields as into villages and were able to pay well as in supporting the government in attention to all of women’s needs. planning the reconstruction. They were trained to build safe settlements, and to Women’s participation was also seen in redesign their homes in ways that Plered Sub-district, Bantul Regency, addressed the needs of women and after a tectonic earthquake hit the region children. They also successfully initiated on May 27, 2006. The disaster killed a women savings programme. approximately 5,000 people and also destroyed people’s livelihoods. Facilitated Communication Access for by Solidaritas Perempuan Kinasih (Kinasih Victims Women Solidarity), women in Plered Sub-district established a Women Centre In Indonesia, coordination and which became a centre for women’s information networks that donor

activities. The women organised institutions needed were scarce. Several 2 7 CiM No.2 2007 WOMEN IN ACTION

weaknesses in disaster management l The need for sustainable include the following: information for people in disaster l No accurate information flows zones. exited on the condition of Information is crucial so that the disaster zones, such as the infrastructure for accessing number of casualties, damage, communication is built. Victims, victims’ needs, etc. especially the women, need to voice out l There was weak coordination their needs and opinions during the among governmental institutions, emergency response, the reconstruction between the government and donor and the rehabilitation phases. institutions, and among the donor Community radio is one form of media institutions themselves. For that is effective as information and example, most donor institutions do communication channel. assessment on the victims’ needs. In The Community Radio’s Community radio plays an important Role in Handling Disaster Community radio plays an important role in all disaster mitigation role in all disaster mitigation stages: stages...community radios function early disaster warning, emergency response, recovery and reconstruction. to support trauma healing In Indonesia, community radios have processes, provide entertainment, been used in all these three stages. People in Central Kalimantan, for monitor aid distribution and example, have used radios to anticipate reconstruction in a village. forest fire and as an early warning system. In the emergency response stage, community radios help in ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ communicating conditions at disaster zones. Finally, in the stage of recovery, the process, victims get confused community radios function to support because they are questioned too trauma healing processes, provide many times but the aid does not entertainment, monitor aid distribution come. A particular design of and reconstruction in a village. information system is needed so that donor institutions do not Community Radio in duplicate programmes and can use Emergency Response Stage one database centre as reference. A month after the tsunami in Aceh, l The lack of research on disaster Combine Resource Institution built a zones for rehabilitation process. community-based information system, l The lack of access to information an emergency response stage called and communication for victims, Atjeh Emergency Radio Network both on how to receive the aid and (AERNET). As a community how to communicate refugees’ information and communication

needs. network, it facilitated the establishment

7 3 of communication media in some areas, Regency, with a limited number of including the community radio. The personnel, some of whom were refugee network had five community radios barrack dwellers, had been able to functioning as its nodes in these areas; produce creative programmes. For Swara Meulaboh FM in Meulaboh, West example, they had produced a Aceh, Suara Sinabang FM in Sinabang, programme of religious proselytising by Simelue, Seha FM in Jantho, Aceh Besar, airing religious speeches or pantun Al Jumhur FM in Simpang Mamplam, (traditional poetry), and Nazam (Aceh Bireun, and Samudera FM in Geudong, folktales). Radios kept broadcasting, for North Aceh. These had brought entertainment, Islamic songs and songs significant changes to Acehnese people sung by Acehnese artists. living in areas with community radios. Swara Meulaboh FM produced an information package concerning aid monitoring activities in Meulaboh, West Aceh. This community radio broadcasted much information around recovery in Aceh. It often broadcasted both live and delayed field reporting.

Community radio had also played an important role after a flash flood which killed hundreds and caused great material loss and hit four regencies in . To cope with this situation, community radios in South Sulawesi played vital roles by setting up information and communication networks, which worked to provide the public with information on floods in anesia T Jeneponto, Bantaeng, Bulukumba, and Ade Sinjai Regencies.

Photo by: Two community radios in and “...community radio broadcasted Through these radios, information on broadcast information through other much information around aid, health, and missing persons, community radios scattered in several recovery in Aceh.” information on survivors, education, regencies outside the flood zones, and trauma healing were packed in simple among them Makasar, Takalar, Bone, programmes and were widely broadcast. Pangkep, , Tana Toraja, Although the programmes seemed to be Mamuju, and . The radios in these whatever the radios were able to come regencies obtained and shared up with, people enthusiastically information through several ways, like welcomed them. The programmes doing live report, sharing information attracted a high level of participation. through short message service (SMS), Samudera FM, which was situated in searching the Internet, and quoting Mancang hamlet, Geudong Village, articles from the print mass media.

Samudera Sub-district, North Aceh Muhammad Amir from MBS FM in 4 7 CiM No.2 2007 WOMEN IN ACTION

obtain information around the flood disaster. Seven days after the flood, MBS broadcast flood information three times a day—morning, noon, and night.

When an earthquake hit Jogjakarta and Klaten on 27 May 2006, community radios also provided the public with much-needed information. Pamor Community Radio, for example, informed its audience about the money the government had promised to give

anesia as subsidy for financing the T reconstruction of their houses. Ade Angkringan Radio immediately moved the operation in one of personnel’s house Photo by: because its studio was badly damaged. In that house, the radio set up an Many women participated in Bantaeng and Adji Mamat from emergency studio and kept broadcasting running the radios of ARRNET, Champuss FM in Bulukumba shared songs to entertain the refugees in tents without necessarily influencing information with others through SMS. and raise their spirits. the radio programmes on Unfortunately, these still prove reproductive health, education, inadequate. and livelihood activities. Community Radio in the The radios used telephones to do live Stage of Post-Disaster reports from Bantaeng and Recovery Bulukumba. Some also used SMS to share information, accessed online After the stage of emergency response, media and quoted articles from print. AERNET programme was continued All these community radios helped one with Aceh Nias Reconstruction Radio another in spreading information about Network (ARRNET). This programme the disaster, and in raising aid for their had established 20 community radios in respective areas. This significant role various Aceh region which were hit by was intensely felt in Bantaeng Regency. the tsunami. Community radios which MBS FM gave information once in two were integrated in ARRNET were hours according to the pattern of directed to become bull horns for the information released through the people’s voice in their post-disaster shortwave band from Bantaeng recovery. Many women participated in Information Centre run by Organisasi running the radios of ARRNET, without Amatir Radio Indonesia (ORARI) of necessarily influencing the radio Bantaeng. Muhammad Amir of MBS programmes. Sukma FM in Aceh Besar FM himself controlled the information was one of the radios which collaborated in ORARI’s Information Centre, and with Pekka organisation. Through this transmitted it to MBS FM. This was radio, the organisation ran a talk show then relayed through FM to the public to discuss their savings and credit activity, of Bantaeng. Bantaeng made MBS FM and sought to promote their social

an information centre where they could programmes.

7 5 According to Yunidar from Pekka, With regard to the natural disasters in previously they had to go around Indonesia, community radios proved announcing their invitation for effective in supporting the aid meetings, but this time, they could do distribution coordination, spreading so through radio. They could share information about the disasters, knowledge on reproductive health and entertaining the victims who stayed in education as well. In Pekka itself, tents and barracks, as well as becoming mothers had a variety of businesses, learning tools for students unable to go like duck husbandry, Aceh-motif to damaged schools. However, women embroidery, and cake home industry. particular, had not used community At times, Pekka shared extra knowledge radios thoroughly in their struggle for about business enterprises. Mrs. their interests. Nevertheless, Sukma FM Yunidar emphasised that the radio had in Aceh had become a bull horn for really helped the women in her village. Pekka to popularise their social Although they had not been fully active programmes, and Raja Community because they were also busy taking care Radio’s Keluarga Harmoni, tried to raise of their homes, they were also women and family issues. supportive of Pekka’s programmes, such as providing scholarship and Gender analysis has not figured much nutritious food for children, among in the process of disaster mitigation in others. Indonesia. Community-based media, like radio, have not systematically Irmawati, a personnel of Raja incorporated women’s issues into their Community Radio in Piddie, Aceh, says programme. As stated by Irmawati from that community radio has a great Aceh, she has so many dreams to raise potential as communication channel for women issues in his region through women. All this time, women did not community radios, but it needs time to have enough access to decision making realise. For sure, community radio on issues that are important to their lives. constitutes a medium with great potential Through radio, they can speak out their for women in their struggle for their ideas. In fact, the Raja Community interests. n Radio, established as a response to recovery in Aceh, had a programme titled Ade Tanesia works in Combine Resource Keluarga Harmoni (Harmonious Family), Institution, a non-profit institution which has as its focus the development of in which women tackled issues on health, community-based information networks. children, education, and handicraft. She graduated from the Anthropology Department, University of Indonesia. She Conclusion used to manage Aikon!, an Alternative magazine, and Latitudes magazine. Women’s participation in community Presently, she manages Kombinasi, a radio in Indonesia leaves much to be Combine Resource Institution magazine on desired. In a community radio, women community-based information system. usually become announcers, but it does not guarantee they are able to bring This paper, originally in Indonesian, was

women’s interests into the programmes. translated to English by Thomas Widiyanto. 6 7 CiM