Taiwan Church News 3029 Edition March 15~21, 2010
Reported by Sam Lee. Written by Lydia Ma

"We want terms and conditions that treat us with dignity as we rebuild our homes!" said Rukai Aborigines from Wutai Township in Pingtung County. They were responding to "Da-ai permanent housing units" built by Tzu-Chi Buddhist Foundation and supported by the Ma administration.

Housing arrangements following Typhoon Morakot had been planned and determined by government and Tzu-Chi without consulting Aborigines, who are mostly Christians and make up the majority of people left homeless because of the typhoon. Rukai Aborigines wanted to make it clear that they'd had enough.

Immediately after a Sunday service on March 14, Christians and non-Christians alike came forward to sign a petition urging government officials and Tzu-Chi representatives to treat Morakot victims with due respect, stop forcing Aborigines into accepting permanent housing units, and stop coercing them into signing away ownership of their former homes and lands in exchange for permanent housing units.

PCT Rukai district leaders were joined by more than 20 delegates from Catholic, Methodist, and Seventh-day Adventist churches, as well as other social organizations from across Taiwan, in issuing a joint declaration protesting against the Ma administration and Tzu-Chi Buddhist organization. The declaration condemned these two organizations for ganging up and misleading or coercing Aborigines into signing away ownership of their lands in exchange for permanent housing units.

According to reports, there were 340 signed petitions as of March 14 and up to four aborigine reservations had collected signatures from all of its members. These four reservations had been given until July 2010 to move into permanent housing units.

Signed petitions were submitted to Pingtung County government the next day. According to churches and organizations that signed them, if the Ma administration and Tzu-Chi Foundation continue to pressure Aborigines into signing unfair agreements or obeying unreasonable regulations (such as a set of "New Ten Commandments"), Rukai Aborigines will not go down without a fight. They will not only fight for their rights, but appeal to the international community as well.

According to Rev. Pelenge from PCT Rukai Rebuilding Committee, Tzu-Chi had imposed strict and unreasonable regulations for Aborigines moving into permanent housing units. These regulations not only required Aborigines to sign an agreement giving up lands passed down to them by their ancestors, but also scorned traditional Rukai culture and lifestyles. For example, the agreement forbade Aborigines from carving totems in their new homes.

After hearing that a new chapel built by Tzu-Chi organization in Linpin permanent housing community actually included Buddhist slogans and a set of "New Ten Commandments" posted on its walls, Rukai Aborigines began feeling uncomfortable about their own fate.

However, in the past 6 months, Rukai Aborigines have been receiving phone calls from Tzu-Chi pressuring them into signing agreements to give up their lands. It was also discovered that their personal information had been leaked. In light of these incidents, several churches have joined Rukai residents in petitioning that such unfair rebuilding arrangements be halted.

According to Ke Hsin-hsiung, a courageous Aborigine from Karamumudesane whose actions saved many of his own people during Typhoon Morakot, some Aborigines have returned to their former homes and lands after the typhoon to plant crops and rebuild their houses.

Ke said that Aborigines believe the most dependable way of living and the best rebuilding strategy is to live in the land of their ancestors. However, the government's post-Morakot reconstruction plan not only ignores the will of Aborigines, but also forces them to leave their lands, which is a deeper wound for Aborigines than all the damages inflicted by Typhoon Morakot.

Ke, a devout Catholic, went on to explain that Rukai people and their ancestors have weathered many storms and typhoons throughout history, but were still able to live through them and move on with their lives. Typhoon Morakot is just part of life for Aborigines, but a far greater tragedy would be abandoning their lands and Christian roots.

Hence, Rukai Aborigines are petitioning the Ma administration to include Aborigines in the dialogue on post-Morakot reconstruction, as well as respect the religious convictions of Aborigines. They are also urging the Ma administration to have a holistic strategy to support Aborigines once they've moved into permanent housing units, which would include rebuilding broken families and broken hearts.

PCT Morakot Rebuilding Committee member, Pastor Chen Mei-Jiun, said that PCT General Assembly is very concerned about how Aborigines are coping after the storm and has asked local PCT churches to continue reaching out and praying for Morakot victims. These people have suffered a lot and many have been treated unfairly by the government.