Q. Why isn't there a genuine ceasefire between the Indonesian army and GAM, the Aceh separatist group? Why have at least seven men been shot by the Indonesian army?
Q. Why are different ethnic groups stirring up differences?
a. EastSouthWestNorth has translated an article in Hong Kong's Daily Apple (keeps the doctor away?).
The article states that many Chinese residents are fleeing with their belongings. As of now, there are more than 4,000 Chinese people have reached Medan from Aceh. On the road, the future is grim. But the Chinese refugees are also being robbed. A Chinese named Zhang who just arrived at Medan .. said that many Chinese share his predicament - his home was destroyed and then looted clean afterwards. He may never be able to go back home in Aceh province, because he does not have a home anymore.
This was a natural disaster compounded by manmade misdeeds, for which the Indonesian Chinese must feel very sad. Out of the total of 210 million Indonesians, the Chinese account for only 4 percent. But they hold the lifeblood of the national economy in Indonesian. Whenever Indonesia becomes politically unstable, the Chinese are the scapegoats, time and again.
ESWN also quotes from an article in the Jakarta Post.
An appeal should be made to Chinese-Indonesians to again show their solidarity with other nationals. They are very much a part of Indonesian society and many have done well economically. Initial aid must be followed by more costly, long-term rehabilitation efforts and the reconstruction of the region. Here big businesses and medium-sized ones, particularly those owned by Chinese-Indonesians, can play a significant role.
I wonder what Zhang would say about that.
b. Why has the Joshua Project got detailed statistics on every ethnic group in Indonesia and their religion?
A. Because JP, from Colorado Springs, USA, is an evangelical proselytising organisation.
As on-site realities are understood, barriers of acceptance may be found in many of the larger people groups that will require multiple distinct church planting efforts.
So, you'll be interested to know, there are 3,543,2000 Acehnese, religion Islam, categorized as 'least reached'. There are apparently 6,680 British, a famous Indonesian tribe, ranked 4.1 on the 'Progress Scale' and 1,796 'Unclassified/Other Individuals'.
What worries me more is that 40% of the c.50,000 Mentawai group of Siberut Island, West Sumatra, with deep-rooted animist values (and possibly the most cordial and welcoming people I've been privileged to meet), are supposedly evangelical. In this case, I think, and hope, the missionary scammers are being scammed.
Q. Why isn't the WorldChanging?
We had imagined that, at the end of 2004, we would undertake a semi-elaborate set of posts looking back at the year gone by and forward towards the future. We were talking scenarios, elaborate summaries of ideas, maybe even a bit of podcasting. The December 26 tsunami and the resulting days of reportage, discussion and analysis tossed all of that out the window, of course, and for the better: the insight, openness and collaborative spirit demonstrated by the team in its efforts to bring meaning from tragedy were the best possible example of what WorldChanging seeks to accomplish.
