The fire of conflict has burned a large part of the eastern area of Indonesia at the beginning of 1999. The cries of the people of Maluku were heard to the entire country, tickling the conscience of the people of Indonesia to help ease their pain.
In April 1999, students of the University of Indonesia within the Medicine Student of the University of Indonesia Team (TMM-UI), went to Ambon. The team, which consisted of a number of doctors and medicine students had conducted varied humanitarian acts, such as medical services to the refugees and making use of a hospital that has stopped operating since the conflict started to treat patients there.
In highlighting the management of conflict victims and refugees during the tragedy of Ambon,TMM-UI believed that there has not been enough neutrality and support to medical personnel in the conflict. Professionalism that should be found in every medical personnel like neutrality was hard to find. The distribution of aid whether in the form of logistics or medical services given to both parties fighting was not fair and well-spread. There were people who received sufficient logistical and medical aids, but there were people who did not receive them. This condition was worsen by the lack of mobility of medical personnel. All the factors above implicated to the far from optimum medical treatment.
Based on the idea that the treatment of conflict victims and refugees was insufficient, especially in the form of medical services, it was believed that there needs to be an organisation that acts in the area of medical emergency and carries the characters of mandatory, professional, neutral, independent, voluntarily and high mobility.

Learning from the lesson in Ambon, on 14 August 1999, an organisation called Medical emergency Rescue Committee, MER-C, was born.
Up until now, MER-C has sent over 124 humanitarian mission in Indonesia as well as abroad including 2 missions to Afghanistan, 1 mission to Iraq, 1 mission to Iran (under the Department of Health of Indonesia), 1 mission to Thailand, 2 missions to Kashmir-Pakistan, 1 mission to South Lebanon, 1 mission to Sudan, 1 mission to Somalia, 2 missions to Palestine during the Israeli aggression in Gaza, and 5 missions to Palestine to construct Indonesia Hospital in Gaza.
MER-C, which at first was based solely in Jakarta, has now own branches in a number of areas in Indonesia such as Semarang,Jogja, Solo, Medan, Padang and Mataram, as well as a branch in Germany and another branch in Gaza. It is our highest wish that the establishment of MER-C branches could better help those who need it most.