From Indonesia, 'terima kasih'

From Feb. 22 to March 18, a group of doctors and nurses from Massachusetts General Hospital were in Indonesia to help victims of the tsunami. Sponsored by Project Hope, the Massachusetts volunteers cared for Indonesian patients aboard the USNS Mercy off the coast of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The Mass. General doctors and nurses were partnered with a large group of Indonesian volunteers to help bridge the language and culture gap with their Indonesian patients. On their last night off the coast of Banda Aceh, a large group of the volunteers gathered for a farewell lecture. One of the Indonesian interpreters, Tamalia Alisjahbana, asked permission to address the American volunteers. The following excerpts are from her speech.

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YOU DOCTORS and nurses who have worked on this ship treating the wounded Acehnese tsunami survivors are special people with an enormous compassion and empathy for others, especially for those who are suffering. When a large group of good and caring people are collected together in one place like this, it creates a certain energy of its own which has far-reaching effects.

When I left Jakarta to join the Mercy, the front-page article of one newspaper was about how Indonesian public opinion toward America was taking a major turn. This happened after Indonesians started learning about the thousands of mercy missions flown by the helicopters of the USNS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of Aceh. Daily the helicopters dropped food, water, and medical supplies to the survivors of the tsunami whom my government would never have been able to reach in time after the enormous destruction of roads, bridges, and communications by the tsunami.

Later, Indonesians witnessed the compassion of the doctors and nurses of the USNS Mercy as they treated over 19,500 Acehnese patients and performed more than 250 operations. I do not think that any other government in the world would have been able to provide such an enormous quantity of aid so rapidly. No other government is equipped with the enormous war machine that the United States has, and we watched that great war machine being used for something totally different. It was being used to save and heal thousands of lives, and, quite frankly, at first we Indonesians watched with suspicion and then in puzzlement but finally with gratitude and fondness.

During the last days before the departure of the ship, patients were returned to shore to finish their final recuperation at Indonesian hospitals, many of which are just starting to fully function again. It was an emotional time for me because I translated as patients and doctors and nurses bid each other farewell. Over and over again this is what the patients have been saying: ''I do not know how to thank you. I cannot repay you for what you have done. I have nothing with which to repay you. It is only God who will be able to repay you for what you have done ."   Continued...