Through the free clinic, we saw the possibility of accommodation and mutual help among different peoples in Indonesia where there had been misunderstanding and hostility.

The riots in Indonesia last summer are still fresh in our memories, and the economic depression is still spreading. In this country where the future is still uncertain, Tzu Chi members do not dare to indulge themselves in regret. On the contrary, they have quickened their pace. With the hope of replacing hatred with love and promoting peace, they held a large-scale free clinic for the sick and poor.

Life vanishes so easily

On March 17, members of the free clinic team went to the Tzu Chi Paramitas Free Clinic Center in Tangerang to make preparations for the clinic. Before they finished, there was a disturbance in the emergency room. A young man had had a severe stomachache for a week and could no longer endure the pain. Because his family had no money to send him to a hospital, they brought him to the free clinic.

The man's face was twisted with pain under the oxygen mask and his body struggled. The doctors did everything they could to treat him and then sent him to a large hospital. However, owing to the long delay, it was too late. He died at the age of twenty.

Human life vanishes so easily and yet so sadly. It is even more regrettable when a life that could have been saved is lost due to the shortage of medical resources or money. Time and again, the need for medical care in these poor villages is shown in such life-and-death struggles.

"Those poverty-stricken villagers cannot afford to eat three meals a day," observed Sister Liu Su-mei, who is in charge of the Tzu Chi branch office in Indonesia. "They have no money to see a doctor if they are sick. Their fate is so uncertain."

Since October 1995, Tzu Chi members in Indonesia have periodically gone to remote country areas to provide medicine for tuberculosis patients and to hold small-scale free clinics. The depression which came after the economic crisis last year has made the standard of living go from bad to worse. Therefore, Tzu Chi members in Indonesia, together with the local Paramitas Foundation, the Indonesia Buddhist Association and the King Kuang group, organized a free clinic which took place from March 18 to March 22. It was the largest one they had ever held. With the support of surgeons from Taiwan and the Philippines, surgery was provided for the first time.

Bringing Chinese and Indonesians together

Many people in Taiwan may not understand why we should help the Indonesians, since last year many Chinese were harassed during the riots.

"Not all Indonesians are anti-Chinese," said Tan Hsiang-hua, a fourth generation Chinese-Indonesian businessman. "Most of them are kind people. It's just that they are so poor and so it's easy to stir them up. Besides, the riots happened in the cities and had nothing to do with the simple, innocent people in the countryside.

Born in Indonesia, Tan gets along well with many Indonesian friends and employees. His friends even brought in more than thirty young men to protect his company against looting during the rioting, so he did not suffer any losses. A department store three hundred meters away from his office was not so lucky. Ruffians not only stole everything, but also set the building on fire.

"We've gained a lot here. Certainly we should repay the people with gratitude." That was why Tan joined Tzu Chi in doing good deeds.

The Chinese community where Chen Yu-mei lived was also untouched by the mobs. Because their relationships with a neighboring Indonesian village had been good, the village leader summoned villagers to guard the Chinese community. They explained to rioters that the Chinese in that community were good people, so the ruffians left them alone without making any trouble.

There are any number of such examples. Not every Indonesian is filled with hatred and hostility toward the Chinese, as has been reported by the mass media in Taiwan.

"This is my country," said Chia Wen-yu, another Chinese born in Indonesia. "I grew up here and I want to stay here. Therefore, I have to do my best to contribute." Because of his love of the country, Chia could not leave it. Since he could not leave it, he had to embrace it and try harder to be more accommodating. "We don't have to be trapped in the past. We must look forward to the future. The most important thing is what we can do right now."

This time the free clinic was held not only to provide health care for the sick and poor, but also in the hope of bringing Chinese and Indonesians together to activate their love for each other and to bring peace to a society in turmoil. That concept won the recognition and support of Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.

Since the Chinese could still continue to offer care and concern to poor Indonesians after the rioting, there seemed to be a tacit agreement not to mention the catastrophe. Nevertheless, local leaders, in addition to expressing their appreciation, could not help but remind their people not to forget the importance of peaceful coexistence.

"I do not understand the meaning of 'Tzu Chi,' but it sounds like the Indonesian word for 'clean,'" said Imam K. H. Asmuni. "We are very grateful that you are willing to help our people." He said that during troubled times, members of different races or religions would need more cooperation to dissolve hatred and misunderstanding. "If one person smiles alone, it doesn't work. People might think you are an idiot. When everybody smiles together, then the whole world will be peaceful."

"May Allah bless all Tzu Chi people," said General Djaja Suparman, the local army commanding officer, who ordered soldiers and policemen to maintain order. Even military physicians volunteered their services at the free clinic and military tents were used as temporary diagnosis rooms.

By word of mouth

In the four days the free clinic was in operation, 193 doctors and nurses and more than 500 volunteers were involved. They came from Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

One month before the start of the free clinic, Tzu Chi members in Indonesia had already contacted public health offices in villages around Tangerang and asked them to provide lists for a total of 1,600 patients who would need operations. On February 14, Indonesian surgeons made the first screening and selected 500 people to receive surgery in the free clinic. Other patients, such as those for the medical department, pediatric department, dental department, and so forth, could register on the spot.

Members of the Taiwan Tzu Chi Medical Mission Association, which has a great deal of experience in running free clinics, and the Tzu Chi Free Clinic Team in the Philippines came to help. They made many suggestions as to place, time and transportation arrangements. Their experience was particularly useful in maintaining order each day when two to three thousand patients were waiting for treatment.

Generally speaking, most people were poor and there was a severe shortage of medical resources in that area. Common types of cases included harelips, goiters, cataracts and hernias. Many patients had had such problems for twenty or thirty years.

Aged two and a half and the first son in his family, Ajis was a little darling to his parents and grandma. He came for a hernia operation. His father worked in a shop and his salary was barely enough to support the family, let alone afford an operation for the boy.

A four-year-old girl had a pretty face, except for a harelip. She was frequently ridiculed by her friends, and she often cried. Her father was only a laborer who had no money to take her to a hospital. Now she was sleeping in the recovery room after her operation.

"She's growing up," said her father, waiting beside her and looking at her tenderly. "She's concerned about her appearance, so she was very happy when she learned that she could have an operation."

Some children had abscesses on their heads because of skin infections. Now they no longer had to suffer by using traditional remedies. Although surgery could not be done for them on the spot because of insufficient equipment, they were forwarded to other hospitals for continuing treatment.

News of the free clinic circulated by word of mouth around the villages. Poor people who could not afford to see doctors all came. The organizers had originally planned to treat five to six thousand patients, but in the end more than 9,300 patients were treated. Many who arrived too late were severely disappointed. So, the Tzu Chi people in Indonesia and Tsou Li-yin, head of the Paramitas Foundation, decided to continue providing free clinics on holidays.

An unpredictable future

Just as at any other free clinic conducted by Tzu Chi, there were lots of volunteers, both Chinese and Indonesians. Indonesian volunteers helped with interpretation, registration and counselling, while volunteers from Taiwan provided recreation and entertainment for waiting patients.

In the pediatrics tent, Tzu Chi members said "good morning" to the children in their native dialect. They had just learned the phrases, and their pronunciation was so funny that the patients would roar with laughter. This helped to bring them all much closer together.

Although they might not understand what we said, it did them good to laugh. In the noisy, anxiety-filled waiting areas, volunteers led patients in singing to calm them down. They might not be able to communicate with one another, but a smile or a song could make the waiting more tolerable.

The Tzu Chi volunteers' friendly interaction with the patients was also an example of love and concern for the local volunteers. Maryoko, a staff member of the Paramitas Foundation, thought that international cooperation to provide medical services could open people's hearts. He hoped that his people could live better with such help. Yusup, a member of the King Kuang group and a devout Buddhist, had been a Tzu Chi volunteer for nearly a year. He said, "There should be more activities like this so that more people can join in."

Fatimah was sent by the army to observe the free clinic. "In the recreation, care and service that you give to the patients, you are full of cordiality and enthusiasm. Such qualities can only be seen in activities of the Boy and Girl Scouts." She collected a lot of information for reference in her study of the possibility of cooperation with Tzu Chi in the future.

In a country filled with misunderstanding and hatred, we saw that it was possible for different peoples to get along together. "This free clinic has shown that there is a lot of opportunity for Tzu Chi people in Indonesia to develop medical services here," said Dr. Lin Chin-lon, vice superintendent of Tzu Chi Hospital. "I hope they will guide Indonesian doctors to organize free clinics to take care of their own people."

"The future is unpredictable," said Liu Su-mei, leader of the local Tzu Chi members. "We can only accumulate experience from each operation. I hope such large-scale free clinics can be held twice a year."

With an attitude of giving back for all they have received, Tzu Chi people are taking solid strides forward in dealing with the differences and hostility between peoples in Indonesia. Who dares to say that such continuous effort, bit by bit, will not wash away all the sad memories in this country?