International Rescue Committee UK

After eight years, IRC wraps up its Indonesia programme

13 February 2009

The IRC has ended its programme in Indonesia after eight years. During that time the IRC assisted thousands of people displaced by sectarian violence and the devastating 2004 tsunami. It also provided healthcare, clean water, education, psycho-social care and other aid to hundreds of thousands of Indonesians. The IRC's programmes began in 2001 with the formation of the Consortium for Assistance to Refugees and Displaced in Indonesia (CARDI), which included the IRC, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Danish Refugee Council and the Dutch refugee foundation Stichting Vluchteling.

CARDI responded to outbreaks of violence that followed the fall of the Indonesian dictator Suharto in 1998, including clashes between Muslims and Christians in the eastern provinces of Maluku and North Maluku, and communal and separatist conflict in Central Sulawesi and Aceh provinces.

"CARDI was recognised for its flexibility and responsiveness," said Greg Beck, the IRC regional director for Asia. "As Indonesia changed from a country overwhelmed by complex civil conflicts and widespread displacement to a country in which conflict had lessened but where poverty and natural disaster affected millions, so too did CARDI's strategy."

CARDI focused on skills training, education and health services and water and sanitation. In an effort to reduce religious tensions in divided communities, it set up mixed sports and cultural activities for Muslim and Christian youth. CARDI also helped villagers come together to solve long-running land disputes and set up micro-credit programmes in impoverished villages.

The IRC's biggest challenge came with the 2004 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Aceh and killed tens of thousands on Sumatra. The IRC dispatched emergency teams to Aceh, providing survivors with emergency health, water and sanitation, and children's services. After the immediate emergency passed, the IRC focused on local development. Working with local communities, the IRC identified pressing social and economic needs and then designed programmes to meet them, using skilled local residents.

"Aceh was unique in that just one month after the tsunami, the IRC began to focus on longer-term recovery and development," Beck said.

During three years working in Aceh the IRC assisted over 360,000 people.

In 2006, disaster stuck again as a powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia's Yogyakarta region, killing over 6,000 people and leaving more than 600,000 homeless. Days after the disaster, the IRC treated injured people and distributed first aid, medical equipment and other essential supplies.

"CARDI was an innovative experiment that allowed it and the IRC to respond effectively to conflict and violence in Indonesia," said Beck. "The achievements of our staff and partners over the past eight years should make us all feel proud."