/8E09AF2E1D165433C1257798002E330D/$file/indo_hp_sep10.jpg "A returnee boy in central Aceh helping to dry the <br/>
coffee beans which provide the family's main source of<br/>
revenue, December 2007. Photo: IDMC/Frederik Kok")
A returnee boy in central Aceh helping to dry the
coffee beans which provide the family's main source of
revenue, December 2007. Photo: IDMC/Frederik Kok |
8 September 2010
Five years after the Helsinki agreement put an end to a 30-year long conflict between the armed forces and Acehnese separatists, tens of thousands of people have yet to return to their homes in Aceh province, Indonesia. The most recent available data suggests that there may still be as many as 146,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Aceh, and more who fled to neighbouring provinces. The majority of the IDPs are ethnic Javanese migrants who moved to Aceh before to the conflict and who have been much slower to return due to security concerns. Most are living in the four most heavily conflict-affected regencies of Aceh Utara, Pidie, Aceh Timur and Bireuen. Those hoping to return are motivated by better economic opportunities and improvements in the security situation. Others have established themselves and created new livelihoods in areas of displacements and do not wish to return. Many experience problems in integrating with local communities. (...)
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