Global Unions Mission (15-22 Jan 2005)
The EI-led Global Unions mission to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the two countries most affected by the tsunami disaster, took place from 15 - 22 January. The team consisted of
From Education International (EI):
Fred van Leeuwen, Chair of the Global Unions Federation (GUF) and EI
General Secretary
Aloysius Mathews, Chief Coordinator Asia Pacific Region (EIAP)
Tom Hobart, Vice President, American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO (EI
affiliate in the USA)
HM Rusli Yunus, General Secretary, ITUC, Vice President PGRI Aceh (EIB affiliate
in Indonesia)
From the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU):
Mamounata Cisse, ICFTU Assistant General Secretary
Noriyuki Suzuki, Secretary ICFTU Asia Pacific Regional Organisation (ICFTU-APRO),
From Public Services International (PSI):
Katsuhiko Sato, Regional Secretary PSI Asia Pacific Regional Organisation
(PSI-APRO)
From the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF):
Shigeru Wada, Regional Secretary ITF Asia Pacific Region (ITFAP)
From the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW):
Harjon Usman Pua, General Secretary, KAHUTINDO (IFBWW affiliate in India)
From the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF):
Arunasalam Pitchaimuthu, Regional Representative (Indonesia),
T. Dyvadheenam, Regional Representative (South Asia)
Aceh, Indonesia
In Indonesia, most of the devastation occurred along the northern and western
coastal areas of the Aceh province and in some parts of the Northern Sumatra
province. Over 220,000 people died. Half a million of those who survived
have lost their jobs. These jobs were primarily in the agriculture and fishery
sectors, but there were also many jobs lost in the education and other public
sectors as schools and public buildings were destroyed. Over 400,000 people
are homeless and they are now in 52 temporary refugee camps in the two provinces.
There were about 4000 refugees in the TVRI Refugee Camp, one of the refugee
camps visited by the Global Unions mission.
EI has a member organisation in Aceh, which is the Aceh Province branch
of the Indonesian teacher organisation, PGRI. PGRI Aceh had 53,000 members.
It is estimated that 1,757 (35%) are dead or missing. More than 750
school buildings were destroyed.
PSI's member organisation in Aceh is the PLN Union, formed by workers of
the state-run power plant. It had 4000 members in the province, 700 of which
are dead and 1,000 still missing, thus nearly half of its membership may
have perished in the disaster.
The buildings of both EI and PSI member organisations were damaged but
are not beyond repair.
The mission team provided financial assistance on site to teachers who needed immediate assistance. There are about 18,000 children housed in 5 refugee camps. Getting them back to school is one of the key methods being used to help them overcome their traumas. Many teachers are too traumatised to commence their work again and trainee teachers have had to be flown in from Jakarta to teach in the refugee camps.
Fred van Leeuwen, EI General Secretary (right) and Tom Hobart, Vice President of American Federation of Teachers (left), surveying the ruins of a secondary school in Aceh. None of its students and teachers survived the tsunami.
Mamounata Cisse, Assistant General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, visits a refugee camp in Aceh.
A teacher, interviewed by Arunasalam P., Regional Representative of the International Metalworkers' Federation, explained that she is waiting in the refugee camp for the return of her husband and three children who have been missing since 26 December.
Volunteer trainees teach in a makeshift primary school in a refugee camp in Aceh.
What is left of a secondary school in Aceh - none of its students and teachers survived.
Galle, Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the tsunami destroyed many houses and other buildings in
towns and villages along the southeastern, southern, southewestern and northeastern
coasts of the island.
When the Global Unions team arrived in Sri Lanka, a meeting was held with
the local member organisations of several GUFs, including EI, the International
Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), Public Services International (PSI), Union
Network International (UNI) and the International Transport Workers' Federation
(ITF). Local union representatives said that in addition to assistance with
rebuilding their communities, GUFs should support the protection of their
human and trade union rights and a fair distribution of aid. They should
also seek union representation in the reconstruction efforts by the government,
and offer support in the fight against exploitation of the conditions created
by the disaster.
Normal activities are resuming in the education facilities in the areas
in Sri Lanka affected by the tsunami which were not destroyed. Previously,
school buildings that were not destroyed were used as refugee camps. Now
the government has relocated the camps elsewhere so that children may resume
their classes. Teachers and students whose schools were destroyed have now
transferred to the schools that were not destroyed. As a result, many school
facilities are now stretched beyond the limits of their normal capacity
in trying to cope with the sudden influx of additional students and staff.
The Sri Lankan government said it had allocated funds to rebuild schools
so as to normalise the education system as soon as possible. However, no
solutions has yet been found for the thousands of orphans whose futures
remain uncertain.
In Galle, one of the disaster-hit areas, fishermen complained about the
lack of assistance from the government to resume their livelihood. Those
whose fishing boats were not destroyed cannot resume their trade simply
because supporting industries, such as the local ice-making factory, have
been destroyed. The Global Unions team advised them to organise themselves
and present their case to the government through union representatives.
Survivors in a refugee camp recounts his traumatic experience to Aloysius Mathews, EI Asia-Pacific Regional Officer.
A Sri Lankan teacher stood beside what used to be his house.
Local fishermen could not recommence their trade because the local ice-manufacturing factory was destroyed.
An orphan sat alone in a corner of a refugee camp, which was temporarily housed in a school building.lunteer trainees teach in a makeshift primary school in a refugee camp.
Site where a school used to be.
Conclusion:
Victims in the disaster-hit regions need asistance, not only in the form
of immediate humanitarian relief but also in other ways.
The team heard of several instances of the abuse of people locally. Child
trafficking is one of the key problems. Children, who were wandering around
looking for their parents, were said to have been kidnapped and sold out
of the country. Governments violate the property rights of the victims by
denying that their previous property stood on a particular plot of land
or by forcing them to relocate elsewhere. Another instance of abuse is the
artificial increase of prices for local commodities such as food and clothing.
To help teachers and children resume their classroom activities, they need
counselling to enable them to come to terms with the death and destruction
which they have witnessed. In a refugee camp in Aceh, a teacher could not
resume her duties because she spent her days out in the debris looking for
her husband and four children and her nights in prayer. It is important
that the counselling is done by local professionals. The GUFs' team noticed
that various foreign and non-professional groups such as religious sects
or untrained "disaster tourists" were exploiting the present vulnerable
psychological state of the victims for their own purposes, rather than assisting
them.
The Global Unions are currently investigating ways in which assistance
may be made available to the victims through the membership of their local
organisations. For more information, please feel free to contact EI.