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em>It has been more than a decade since people ran away from sectarian conflicts that put their lives in danger as they sought safe refuge. The government, assisted by international humanitarian organizations, has initiated reconstruction efforts for the displaced people. For some, the life ordeal is not yet over, with many still deprived of their rights to basic services, empowered livelihoods, healthcare, clean water and permanent settlement. An entourage of the European Union (EU) recently visited several resettlement locations to supervise its Aid to Uprooted People project in Ambon. The Jakarta Post’s Musthofid wrote the excerpts of the reports.

Siti Nurdin, 43, was hopeful that a workshop on making cakes would enhance her livelihood as she was rebuilding her life shattered by the conflict that had forced her and her family to take refuge in Java.

“Hopefully, this can raise our income to help meet daily needs for the family,” said the 43-year-old during the event recently, facilitated by Mercy Corps at Pohon Mangga village, Ambon municipality.

Around 20 women attended the event, in which they were trained in making donuts. In addition to providing the participants with knowledge on how to make marketable products, the training also had suggestions for financial management.

The training aimed at empowering a local economy that had crumbled under the adversaries of the conflicts between 1999 and 2002.

“When the riots took place, the economy came to a standstill,” program officer Ivone Margaretha Roos said. “We hope the training will give them impetus to reopen their economic activities.”

Pohon Mangga, which is located in Nusaniwe district, is one of the villages across the province having been deserted in the wake of the conflict as its people looked for refuge to avert possible massacre. Thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others fled the islands, making them internally displaced.

The Nurdins were one among them. When the riots broke out, Siti Nurdin said she and the family ran away to stay with relatives in Blora, Central Java. “We were not scared, but we had to think about the children’s education,” Siti said about their decision to abandon their home that time. Her father-in-law was among those killed in the riots.

They stayed there for up to six years before deciding to return home in 2006 when conditions began to return to normal.

The EU has since been involved in humanitarian programs, with the most recent assistance being the channeling of a ¤1.6 million (US$2.12 million) package under the Aid to Uprooted People program implemented by international nongovernmental organizations Mercy Corps and Hivos.

“The EU has been providing assistance through the Aid to Uprooted People program to people affected by conflicts in Indonesia. The direct beneficiaries of this program have traditionally been people returning to their former homes following conflicts; refugees and ex-refugees, ex-combatants and their host communities,” Guy Platton, EU head of finance and contract section, said on the sidelines of his three-day tour of Ambon.

He said the projects in Maluku aimed to provide basic services and livelihood skills for people affected by the conflicts, as well as capacity building within the local government.

Mercy Corps has drawn up its community-driven program for 6,000 households, or 30,000 individuals in 15 villages in Ambon municipality, Central Maluku, as well as East Seram, with 50 percent of beneficiaries being women.

The EU has placed women on a work agenda requiring serious attention. “The importance of women for sustainable development, not only for the family and her community, but for society as a whole, is a well-established fact,” Platton said.

Elpido Soplantila, Mercy Corps’ deputy project officer, said that the program sought to improve access to economic opportunities, water and sanitation facilities, health care and governance for IDP and former IDP communities.

“We give them tools, training and help them build access to marketing,” Elpido said.

The training on home industry was also delivered to a number of women at Ama Ori village.

Unlike Pohon Mangga, Ama Ori is a completely new settlement for 365 families who were uprooted from Benteng Karang. They began to reside there in 2002.

“At the beginning, it was indeed not easy to settle here with facilities still lacking, but we have since gotten used to it,” Michael Lomesliden said.

The village lies on a hill with a scenic view of Ambon Bay. Visitors have to go up steep sections of road to reach the village. Available public transportation stops short of serving the location, forcing local residents to rely on motorcycle taxis.

In addition to breeding pigs to earn their living, many of the villagers also work as scavengers at the nearby garbage dump.

“We have also distributed masks and gloves for them to use when working at the garbage dump,” Elpido said.

The residents complained about difficulties in gaining access to clean water, which prompted them to rely on outside supply by paying Rp 8,000 for a 200 liter capacity tank of water.

The difficulties in procuring clean water had also hit dwellers at Air Sakula before Hivos, while its local partner Baileo, offered a water drilling project. The pumped water from the wells is stored in tanks before being distributed to homes through pipe installation.

“When the area was first cleared in 2003 for refugee settlement, the government already provided water supply installation. However, the water was not good because it was pumped directly from the nearby river. The water had degraded because of the sand procurement activities that followed,” Hivos’ project leader Harlin Suluki said.

Hivos has targeted as many as 500 households in the areas located in Ambon municipality, West Seram and Central Maluku, according to Harlin.

Thanks to Hivos’ assistance in the housing package, a number of families may now expect to prepare to turn into permanent settlements, such as Air Louw, although they may have to wait a bit longer for the construction of their houses or to impediments in infrastructure.

“We still have problems with how to transport the building materials. We still have to wait for the opening of a road which cars can pass,” said Jeremias Hendriksz, who is one among those to be placed at Air Louw.

He said that negotiations with several land owners were underway to enable the road construction that would be carried out by the Public Works Agency.

The 2.4 hectare Air Louw will be home to 59 families who were forced to run from their Kayeli village on Buru Island.

Having seen so much hardship for such a long time, it seems that misfortune has somehow nurtured stronger ties of togetherness. While still waiting for their homes to be built, they have already completed half of the permanent construction of a church.

They used to pray in the same congregation before being forced to live in the wilderness, and in their new land they want to remain together.

“All congregation members have wanted to be together. That is why we built the church first, so that we can get together every Sunday,” Jeremias said.

The area is part of Air Louw village, Nusaniwe district, about 15 kilometers from Ambon municipality. To go for Sunday prayers, congregation members who are still sheltered in separated locations have to go through steep pathways as the only accessible entry road. It cannot be passed by motorcycle and is slippery when it rains.

 “I need help from other organizations and media in order to make sure that the construction of the road can be realized soon,” Jeremias appealed.

Their fellow Kayelis at Paso live in even more pathetic conditions, having to share barns inside a camp shelter, where a plantation company used to operate. It is home to 29 families.

Hivos has provided a housing package and startup capital to each family.

Harlin said that the reconstruction program called for more commitment from the government, especially when it came to providing the displaced people with land for housing.

“The issue about land is one of the barriers in the reconstruction program,” he said.