Storyteller spreads message of peace
A travelling road show featuring Aceh's best-known storyteller is being used in the Indonesian province to spread the message of peace and work towards healing the wounds of the 29-year war that ended last August.
Hidden behind a television-themed stage and the colourful array of props he is dragging around from village to village, 40-something Agus Nur Amal, better know as 'Pak Agus', is the man recounting the tales.
'We will use the stories to encourage people to see the benefits of peace and to support the efforts to unite for a brighter future,' said Pak Agus, whose chronicles include themes of friendship, reconciliation and forgiveness.
The war ended with the Helsinki Peace Agreement, signed between the Indonesian government and former rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Acehnese culture is visual, and performances such as storytelling, dance, poetry-recitation and Koran-reading are particularly liked. Their popularity is exacerbated by the lack of entertainment in areas of the province still suffering from the effects of the December 2004 tsunami, which in Aceh left an incredible path of destruction and killed more than 130,000 people.
It follows that Pak Agus, who has been telling stories since childhood, is bound to have a full house wherever he goes, and his message of peace is likely to reach thousands of people who have little access to the news and know little about the on-going peace process that has seen the two former warring parties lay down arms and GAM transform itself into a political party. The conflict has left more than 15,000 people dead, mostly civilians.
Accompanying Pak Agus in his bus trail is a 12-member team, which includes three other performers and an Acehnese filmmaker who has been commissioned to produce a 30-minute documentary about the trip. Pak Agus' performances are also recorded and provided free of charge to local radio stations.
The project, founded by the European Commission and co-ordinated by the International Organisation for Migration's Post-Conflict Reintegration Programme, started last Saturday with shows in the GAM heartland of Pidie district, including one performance in the Tiro sub-district, birthplace of exiled GAM leader Hasan di Tiro. In the next two weeks, Pak Agus will zigzag the province visiting a total of 37 villages.
'Pak Agus is the right man to spread the message. He has a very eclectic voice, an incredible expressive face and a gift for switching from character to character,' said Paul Dillon, of the International Organisation for Migration.
