By KYLE ODEGARD
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Thursday, September 20, 2007 12:00 am
While in jail, Irwandi had a close call with tsunami
Talk about a turn of events.
By December 2004, Irwandi Yusuf had suffered many tortures, and was serving a 90-year sentence for opposing the Indonesian government in a civil war.
And then a tsunami hit his prison in the Aceh province.
As the waters rose inside, he scrambled to get to the top of his building, punching through the ceiling to get there. The structure was the only one in the facility to survive the huge wave.
"Of course, it was a terrifying moment, like doomsday," he said.
But there was a new beginning.
Although the tsunami killed 200,000 people, it helped wash away 30 years of conflict in the country.
And Irwandi, 47, now is the governor of the Aceh province.
On Wednesday, he and other Aceh delegates were in the Memorial Union at Oregon State University as part of a two-week trip across the United States to network with businesses and agencies.
For Irwandi, the Corvallis stop was something more, though. He received his master's degree in veterinary science from OSU in 1993.
"He wants to reminisce," said LeRoy Hollenbeck, an adviser to Irwandi.
Irwandi also wants more students from the Aceh province to attend OSU, he told university President Ed Ray and other OSU officials. The university's research in tsunamis and other matters could also help his homeland, he said.
After receiving his OSU degree, Irwandi returned to Indonesia, where he taught at a university. In 1998, he joined the Free Aceh Movement, and began a double life, eventually working on counterintelligence for the group and becoming a spokesman for it.
He said he knew he'd be arrested one day, but he said he never expected to serve too long in prison. After 19 months, as he puts it, the prison "escaped" him.
After the tsunami, he went to search for his family, who ended up being fine, but along the way he was recognized by policemen. They didn't bother arresting him, because they were too busy worrying about their own families and others. Besides, "They had nowhere to put me back," he said.
Eventually, Irwandi was a key force in negotiating the peace agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian government. In December 2006, he was elected governor through the first genuinely free democratic election in Aceh's history.
The civil war claimed fewer lives than the tsunami. While the rebuilding from the devastating wave still isn't done, it's easier to forgive the ocean.
The trauma caused by the 30-year conflict is harder to forget because it's man-made, Irwandi said.
Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.