Indonesia is the second country in Southeast Asia, after Singapore, with the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases as of 22 April. It also has the highest death rate in the region at 8.3 per cent. The government’s social assistance programme is not sufficient to meet the daily needs of families who have lost their income because of shutdowns and large-scale social restrictions.
Of all those affected, refugees and asylum seekers awaiting third country resettlement are in the worst situation. They cannot get any social assistance from the government because Indonesia is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention on Refugee Protection. Refugees depend on support from UNHCR, IOM, and other civil societies and individuals that have limited funding.
Indonesian Catholics are working hand in hand with the government. Many Jesuits, including scholastics, are members of the Catholic Network Fighting against Covid-19. Together with individuals and representatives of Catholic hospitals, universities, civil society groups, government offices, and social institutions, the Jesuits are responding to the needs of the poor, and the medical personnel and volunteers working on the front lines.
On 29 March, Indonesian Jesuit Provincial Fr Petrus Sunu Hardiyanta SJ sent a letter asking all Jesuits in the province to support and participate in the emergency response to Covid-19 by developing initiatives in close collaboration with the local Catholic Church, the government, the Catholic Network, and other stakeholders. To underscore the call to action, Fr Sunu formed a task force with JRS Indonesia Director Fr Peter Devantara SJ as coordinator and animator of Jesuit initiatives.
Jesuit social institutions, such as JRS Indonesia, SPM Realino Yogyakarta, and Jesuit communities have been active in providing essential needs to the poor and medical supplies to health care workers treating Covid-19 patients. Aside from raising donations, the province has also offered its retreat houses in Klaten, Surakarta, Central Java, and other available Jesuit houses to be used as makeshift hospitals in treating non-Covid-19 patients, and as lodging for medical and non-medical volunteers. Some Jesuit communities have allocated their communities’ budget for donation.
Through Lembaga Daya Dharma (LDD-KAJ), a social centre owned by the Archdiocese of Jakarta and entrusted to the Jesuits, Fr Kristiono Puspo SJ, his staff, and volunteers are mobilising resources and spreading the spirit of belarasa (compassion, solidarity). They provide packed food, personal hygiene kits, personal protective equipment, and other basic needs to vulnerable people and medical personnel. An emergency post has been set up in the centre to provide food for public transport drivers, homeless people, street vendors, scavengers, hawkers, parking attendants, and other most vulnerable people. To maintain physical distancing and avoid crowds during distribution, the staff and volunteers deliver the essential goods to people in slum areas and on the streets.
Fr Kristiono is grateful to the volunteers. Through them “the spirit of compassion can be felt by more and more people,” he said in an interview on national television, which aired LDD-KAJ’s activities. The centre has been closely collaborating with the Muslim faith-based humanitarian organisation, LPB-NU, the biggest and moderate Muslim community in Indonesia, in distributing basic needs to poor families affected by the pandemic.
In Indonesia, it seems the disease is only at the initial stage. This situation forces us to think more strategically and to anticipate the social services we will need to provide come the recovery phase. However, we should not be pessimistic in dealing with this uncertainty and challenging situation. God grants us sufficient blessings to overcome this challenge.
Fr Adrianus Suyadi SJ is the Secretary for Social Ministries of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific.