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'Human touch' may help deradicalization, say ex-militants, experts
Although what he did was simple, Yusuf said approaching inmates personally and treating them with a “human touch” was necessary in encouraging them to renounce radicalism and violence. “This is an effective way to embrace them.”
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Former terrorists, ustadzs and ustadzahs at a communications workshop on countering violent extremism organized by Rosyid Nurul Hakiim and Noor Huda Ismail in 2018. (Courtesy of /Rosyid Nurul Hakiim.)
Enjoying warm meals while chatting with one's family and loved ones may sound like an ordinary thing for most Indonesians.
However, Yusuf Adirima, an ex-terror convict and former member of Al Qaeda-linked extremist network Jamaah Islamiyah, knows it well that those were considered luxuries back when he was serving his sentence in prison.
Yusuf, aka Machmudi Hariono, was sent behind bars in 2004 after he was found guilty of storing explosive materials for bomb-making in Semarang, Central Java.
Following his release in 2009, he struggled for years with life after prison and reintegrating back into society, but he eventually started his own restaurant and car rental business.
But Yusuf understood that his feeling of yearning for “ordinary things” while in prison was shared by other terror inmates who were still serving their sentences behind bars.
Since his release, Yusuf has dedicated some of his time to visiting terror inmates and bringing them food ─ usually his specialty dish of beefsteak ─ to share with them while having casual chit chat.
The reason is very simple: he doesn’t want them to feel lonely.
