Aceh's Next Generation: Healing Trauma Through Poetry

Twenty years ago, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia caused the deadliest tsunami on record. In the wake of its devastation, a Peace Agreement ended the 30-year active conflict in Aceh. But after all these years, the compounded trauma of conflict and devastation still affects the people of Aceh – even its youth.

For Aulia, a 17-year-old youth leader from Mon Ikeun, a beach town in Aceh, the wounds of her community’s history are still felt today. Through Flower Aceh, a local organization empowering women throughout the region, Aulia uses her voice in song and poetry as a way of collective healing to honor both memories of hardship and strength.

Working with Flower Aceh, Nonviolent Peaceforce is supporting young women like Aulia with training in violence prevention and de-escalation as they work to revitalize their communities and empower others to use their voices.

Wounds and I

By Aulia

In the darkness of night
Where the stars refuse to shine
There's a world that feels their pain
So heavy.

A hidden pain
like a back mark
I've felt it
A lasting trauma that will never go away
Even with millions of dollars.

A hidden pain
like a nightmare, repeated
for me who suffers
my voice is fading
and my call for help is almost
completely unheard
oh...
If they need
love and support
to free themselves from trauma
The mental torture.
because behind the pain
violence and abuse
of children

there is a need for love
and for a ceasefire.

* * *

Aulia's poem is an excerpt from the Q3 2024 edition of Peace in Sight, which you can read in its entirety by clicking here.