They Tell the Stories That Make the News

Tasked with filling the information gap on reconstruction in Aceh, Ceureumen's bold, pro-poor stance holds both the aid community and government to account. This newsweekly, published as a supplement in Aceh's most-widely read newspaper, has become a key source of information in Aceh on reconstruction. Ceureumen means "mirror" in Acehnese. The newsweekly is supported by the Bank-administered Decentralization Support Facility.

	Official Bank Web Sites Tsunami Recovery Website Tsunami-Affected Countries Tsunami Recovery News Related Stories and Links Ceureumen Newsletter Acehnese Communities Take to the Airwaves Tsunami Recovery: Staying in Touch

December 19, 2005 — The Ceureumen weekly editorial meeting is in full swing: "The cover story for the next issue should focus on the islands around Aceh. They have been forgotten in the reconstruction," suggests Asri Zaidir, a reporter. "Remote islands like Pulau Bunta have 420 families affected by the tsunami but have they received any help?" he asks.

The group baulks at the difficulty in reaching some of the locations, after the dramatic changes in the coastline, post-tsunami. Besides, there are only four days left to deadline.

"I am afraid of the big waves," says fellow reporter Maimun Saleh in mock-terror. The two journalists have traveled to many locations in Aceh and have contributed to the weekly's growing reputation for digging up stories.

"The difficulty in reaching these remote areas is part of the story," suggests David Case, the new mentor from the Washington-based International Centre of Journalists. Case is a writer for Rolling Stone and National Geographic Adventure magazines. He's in Aceh for three months and hopes to sharpen some of their ideas, though it's clear they are not novices. In fact in September this year, the group provided in-house training for university student correspondents in Aceh.

"People mention the paper in most of my meetings," Case says. In a measure of its growing success, some news vendors have started selling copies of what is supposed to be a free supplement.

Funded by the Decentralization Support Facility - a multi-donor fund including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (Dfid), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and the Government of Netherlands - the paper grew under the watchful eye of Amy Sim, World Bank communications consultant in Aceh.

Ceureumen made its debut four months ago as a biweekly supplement in Aceh's leading newspaper, Serambi Indonesia.

"I didn't want to write only for foreigners or the English speaking elite," says the editor, Nani Afrida, 30, who doubles up as Aceh correspondent for the influential daily The Jakarta Post. "It's the poor who suffered most in the tsunami and I wanted to give information to them and a voice for their concerns."

Meeting of the Ceureumen Editorial team, headed by Chief Editor Amy Sim (in red)

Dressed in a conservative Muslim headscarf, Afrida's quiet exterior hides a feisty demeanor. She grew up in Aceh, returning to tell the region's story through the difficult years of conflict, even though she could have had a more lucrative career in Jakarta. "It's much easier being a reporter," she says. "As an editor, I am responsible for everything in the paper. Luckily, there is no external pressure and so far, we have been able to work without any interference."

Ceureumen's effort to reach out to people doesn't just stop with the paper. The editorial team has been working with Internews, an international non government organization, specializing in humanitarian and development journalism. It has produced a regular program on Aceh reconstruction called Peunegah Aceh, broadcast all over Aceh. Once every two weeks, Ceureumen had a 20 minute slot where a live discussion was aired, based on the latest cover story. The program was halted, but is to resume shortly due to popular demand.

In the past, Ceureumen has examined such issues as housing projects, non government organization activities and complaints about corruption. Each issue is designed to focus on a different aspect of reconstruction.

"I think the big story for us this week is the peace concert," says photographer, Hotli Simanjuntak . "This is new in Aceh, none of us can remember a time when we could have a concert at night or fireworks and drive on the streets after dark. This is new for a whole generation of Acehnese."

	Local Acehnese reading their weekly edition of Ceureumen

Simanjuntak began his career as a wedding photographer and is a self-taught photojournalist. When asked what has been his most difficult assignment, he says: "Getting pictures of combatants during Aceh's conflict."

The team agrees the most memorable issue they had was the special edition devoted to the peace, damai. But what sticks in Simanjuntak's s mind are sad images of violence.

"I have this picture of an old lady on a stretcher, she is dying, and there is a fire fight going on from both sides. We couldn't do anything to remove her… Most of my pictures seem to be about people suffering," he confesses, "the only happy ones are of the Idul Fitri festival."

But gradually, that is beginning to change and there is a discussion on shifting editorial focus more from reconstruction to peace. This raises the issue of new layouts - the domain of yet another talented staff member. An acclaimed painter, who has exhibited his tsunami canvasses in Japan and Kuala Lumpur, Mahdi Abdullah designs the weekly's pages, though he could make a lot more money painting his canvases. They are collected by many enthusiasts, including the Governor of Aceh, Azwar Abubakar.

Meanwhile, the team has asked Case to do a postmortem on the last issue and share ideas on improving stories. But the last word goes to Afrida, when they discuss the anniversary issue. "The people need this paper," she smiles, "and we will give them more information on the two issues that concern them the most - housing and the peace process."