BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA
SCRAPS OF HOPE IS A STUDY OF COMPLEXITIES OF REBUILDING
A CITY OF BANDA ACEH IN INDONESIA
IN THE AFTERMATH OF INDIAN OCEAN EARTHQUAKES AND THE TSUNAMI
AND THIRTY YEARS OF ARMED CONFLICT.
FOLLOWING EVERYDAY LIVES OF PEOPLE,
IT OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO GENDERED RELATIONS OF POWER AND RESISTANCE.
READ A LONGER INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND OF ACEH PEACE PROCESS
DOWNLOAD POSTER IN:
ENGLISH
FINNISH
INDONESIA
ACEH, INDONESIA
SCRAPS OF HOPE IS A STUDY OF COMPLEXITIES OF REBUILDING
A CITY OF BANDA ACEH IN INDONESIA
IN THE AFTERMATH OF INDIAN OCEAN EARTHQUAKES AND THE TSUNAMI
AND THIRTY YEARS OF ARMED CONFLICT.
FOLLOWING EVERYDAY LIVES OF PEOPLE,
IT OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO GENDERED RELATIONS OF POWER AND RESISTANCE.
READ A LONGER INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND OF ACEH PEACE PROCESS
DOWNLOAD POSTER IN:
ENGLISH
FINNISH
INDONESIA
PEACE PROCESS
REFLECTION ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE
PEACE ON NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUALITY
PEACE PROCESS
REFLECTION ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE
PEACE ON NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUALITY
Year 2015 marked the tenth anniversary of the peace process signed between the Government of Indonesia and Aceh Independence Movement, facilitated by the former president of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari. Evaluated against several indicators, Aceh peace process appears to be successful: the Indonesian army has withdrawn its troops in accordance with the treaty, combatants were disarmed, demobilised and many have successfully turned into politics and business. The province has successfully held three elections (2006, 2009, 2014).
Yet, when the perspective is turned away from state security and absence of violence towards human security: experienced security, non-discrimination, equality and wellbeing, the story becomes more complex and worrying. This street ethnographic research in Banda Aceh draws attention to the silenced experiences of the peace process, personal narratives that contest the concept of an Aceh that ‘is built back better’. It offers insights into the relations of power and the potential structures of violence that are embedded in the aftermath: layered exiles and displacement; hidden narratives of violence and grief; struggles over gendered expectations of being a good and respectable woman and man; the hierarchical political economy of post-conflict and tsunami reconstruction; and multiple ways of arranging lives and remembrance, cherishing loved ones and forming caring and loving relationships outside the normative notions of nuclear family and home.
The year 2015 also marked the 15th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 ‘Women, Peace and Security’. This year the UN will evaluate at the global level how well the UN member states have implemented the core values of the resolution: inclusion of women into peacebuilding and analysing the gendered impacts of armed conflicts in the post-conflict reconstruction. With the focus on untold stories of the peace, we hope to contribute to the critical rethinking of the ways of making peace.
RESEARCHER: MARJAANA JAUHOLA / marjaana.jauhola(at)helsinki.fi / TWITTER: @mjauhola / marjaanajauhola.wordpress.com
Year 2015 marked the tenth anniversary of the peace process signed between the Government of Indonesia and Aceh Independence Movement, facilitated by the former president of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari. Evaluated against several indicators, Aceh peace process appears to be successful: the Indonesian army has withdrawn its troops in accordance with the treaty, combatants were disarmed, demobilised and many have successfully turned into politics and business. The province has successfully held three elections (2006, 2009, 2014).
Yet, when the perspective is turned away from state security and absence of violence towards human security: experienced security, non-discrimination, equality and wellbeing, the story becomes more complex and worrying. This street ethnographic research in Banda Aceh draws attention to the silenced experiences of the peace process, personal narratives that contest the concept of an Aceh that ‘is built back better’. It offers insights into the relations of power and the potential structures of violence that are embedded in the aftermath: layered exiles and displacement; hidden narratives of violence and grief; struggles over gendered expectations of being a good and respectable woman and man; the hierarchical political economy of post-conflict and tsunami reconstruction; and multiple ways of arranging lives and remembrance, cherishing loved ones and forming caring and loving relationships outside the normative notions of nuclear family and home.
The year 2015 also marked the 15th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 ‘Women, Peace and Security’. This year the UN will evaluate at the global level how well the UN member states have implemented the core values of the resolution: inclusion of women into peacebuilding and analysing the gendered impacts of armed conflicts in the post-conflict reconstruction. With the focus on untold stories of the peace, we hope to contribute to the critical rethinking of the ways of making peace.
MARJAANA JAUHOLA
marjaana.jauhola(at)helsinki.fi
TWITTER: @mjauhola
marjaanajauhola.wordpress.com

HAVING A VISION: ARTIST MAHDI ABDULLAH
His artwork manifests the narrative realities of humans and
their environment. As an artist he has earned recognition
for framing the journey of Aceh in large, iconic, captivating pictures.
His works are well-known in Indonesia, but also internationally.

SHOUTING OUT LOUD: POET ZUBAIDAH DJOHAR
As a researcher, humanitarian activist and a poet she unpacks
the impacts of conflict and the peace process in Aceh on women.
SHOUTING OUT LOUD: POET ZUBAIDAH DJOHAR
As a researcher, humanitarian activist and a poet she unpacks
the impacts of conflict and the peace process in Aceh on women.
WHAT ARE THEY SHOUTING ABOUT?
May I ask
what they are shouting about?
They are frothing at the mouth,
Spit foams on their lips,
Their voices shriek the news
in the city centre.
Our land is free, they say,
we have been promised love with peace..
Let the party begin!
I keep to myself here
while counting
numbers on earth walls.
Five years have gone by
the wound is still fresh
in my womb
My child is resigned to
no milk and no schooling,
the home and hearth I long for
is more and more silent.
Bireuen, 2009
Translated into English by Heather Curnow
WHAT ARE THEY SHOUTING ABOUT?
May I ask
what they are shouting about?
They are frothing at the mouth,
Spit foams on their lips,
Their voices shriek the news
in the city centre.
Our land is free, they say,
we have been promised love with peace..
Let the party begin!
I keep to myself here
while counting
numbers on earth walls.
Five years have gone by
the wound is still fresh
in my womb
My child is resigned to
no milk and no schooling,
the home and hearth I long for
is more and more silent.
Bireuen, 2009
Translated into English by Heather Curnow

MERAKA SEDANG MENERIAKKAN APA?
Bolehku tahu
mereka sedang meneriakkan apa?
berbuih-buih gelembung
menyudut di bibir
berpita-pita suara
melengking di pusat kota
Nanggroe sudah merdeka, kata mereka
sudah berikrar cinta dengan damai
mari kita lanjutkan pesta!
Aku makin menepi di sini
sambil menghitung
angka di dinding bumi
Lima tahun sudah
luka masih basah
di rahimku
anak masih pasrah
tanpa susu, tanpa ilmu
tungku yang dirindu
kian membisu
MERAKA SEDANG MENERIAKKAN APA?
Bolehku tahu
mereka sedang meneriakkan apa?
berbuih-buih gelembung
menyudut di bibir
berpita-pita suara
melengking di pusat kota
Nanggroe sudah merdeka, kata mereka
sudah berikrar cinta dengan damai
mari kita lanjutkan pesta!
Aku makin menepi di sini
sambil menghitung
angka di dinding bumi
Lima tahun sudah
luka masih basah
di rahimku
anak masih pasrah
tanpa susu, tanpa ilmu
tungku yang dirindu
kian membisu
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RESEARCH
& SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
December 2015: shootings in Indonesia
2016-17: Post-production of 10 mini documentaries and drafting book chapters
August 2016: Launch of first four videos
Spring 2017-19: Screening of documentaries at conferences and events
2018: #donttellmartti -exhibition at ARTSI Vantaa Art Museum
2019: supporting University of Malikussaleh students to publish creative writing book Dalam Keriput yang Tak Usang: SUARA PEMUDA DAN JALAN PANJANG PERDAMAIAN ACEH
2020: Media embedded e-monograph Sraps of Hope in Banda Aceh is published, read here
Continue to Marjaana Jauhola´s homepage and find links to all of her publications: marjaanajauhola.wordpress.com/publications/
E-book Scraps of Hope in Banda Aceh (Helsinki University Press, 2020) is out! Seven chapters are supported by 14 documentary videos reflecting individuals’ experiences on rebuilding the city. Read here
WATCH MORE VIDEOS HERE:
https://vimeo.com/scrapsofhope
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RESEARCH
& SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
2016-17: Post-production of 10 mini documentaries and drafting book chapters
August 2016: Launch of first four videos
Spring 2017: Screening of documentaries at conferences and events
Visit the research article demo: https://scrapsofhope.fi/scrapsofhome/