Displaced Acehnese live with their relatives<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh<\/p>\n
Nini, 35, fought to break through the crowd of people attempting
\nto board a large boat that would transport refugees to Banda
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
She failed to get through, but she wasn't discouraged. She
\nintended to try again the next day.<\/p>\n
On way her back to her camp on a hill in Calang town, Aceh
\nJaya regency, she met a military police officer who she knew.<\/p>\n
The officer suggested that she go down to the Calang port at
\nnight, as fewer people tried to board at that time.<\/p>\n
\"With the help of the military police officer I was able to
\nboard the boat, and I was so grateful to him,\" said Nini, a part-
\ntime teacher in Calang that was devastated by the tsunami.<\/p>\n
The boat, one of several provided by the Aceh Jaya regental
\ngovernment for Calang refugees, reached Banda Aceh on Wednesday
\nlast week, a day after it left Calang.<\/p>\n
Upon arriving in Banda Aceh, Nini, who lost her father and
\nthree siblings in the disaster, spent a few days in a refugee
\ncamp in the Lham Pulo area until her relatives picked her up and
\ntook her to their house in the Keutapang subdistrict, near Banda
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
Nini is among the approximately 200,000 displaced persons
\nliving outside refugee camps throughout Aceh. The refugees are
\nnot recorded by the government as they are living with relatives
\nor friends outside of the camps. Consequently, they do not
\nreceive regular aid supplies as the government's disaster
\nmitigation team is still focusing on getting aid into camps.<\/p>\n
Only a few families said that they were receiving food aid
\nfrom the government. One of them, a resident in Keutapang, is
\naccommodating some 50 people from eight families in his house.
\nAll of them are relatives.<\/p>\n
\"The government channeled food aid to our neighborhood head
\nand the head distributed the aid to us,\" said the resident, who
\nrequested anonymity. Since the Dec. 26 disaster, the families had
\nbeen given 15 kilograms of rice and several packs of instant
\nnoodles.<\/p>\n
Siti Rohana, a resident in Keutapang subdistrict, said that
\nshe was not only accommodating her extended family hit by the
\ndisaster but also several other people in need of shelter. After
\na few days, however, they left her house for refugee camps set up
\nby the government and volunteer groups.<\/p>\n
The head of the government's disaster mitigation task force in
\nAceh, Alwi Shihab, said earlier that he welcomed anyone wishing
\nto move from out from their relatives houses to go to refugee
\ncamps.<\/p>\n
He said the government was now building 24 relocation centers
\ncomplete with clean water, sanitation facilities, health
\nfacilities and a community hall for refugees currently staying at
\ntemporary camps across the province.<\/p>\n
\"Anyone is welcome to come to these centers,\" he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/displaced-acehnese-live-with-their-relatives-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }