Flood victims ask for promised aid<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
Deriati Rangkuti, a victim of the Bahorok flash flood, has been
\nliving for two years in a refugee shelter near the Bahorok area.
\nDay by day, she waits for the government to keep their promises
\nto rehabilitate Bahorok area and to build her a house, but the
\npromises have turned out to be empty.<\/p>\n
With no certainty that the government will build the houses
\nthey as earlier promised, the 60-year-old woman has begun to get
\nconcerned. Her future is uncertain. She desperately needs a house
\nas sanitation in the displaced persons shelter, which is
\ninhabited by some 80 families, has become increasingly bad. Aid
\nsupplies from the government and donors have also been dwindling,
\nadding to Deriati's misery.<\/p>\n
The tough life has forced many families to leave. Initially,
\nthe shelter was inhabited by 400 families, but now there are only
\n80 families left, including Deriati's family.<\/p>\n
\"Some families went to live with their relatives, the others,
\nI don't know,\" said Deriati as she was taking part in a protest
\nin front of the North Sumatra council building on Tuesday. At the
\nprotest, some 100 victims of the Bahorok flash flood, including
\nDeriati, demanded that the government rehabilitate the flood-
\naffected area and build houses for the victims of the flood.<\/p>\n
If the government did not build houses very soon, there is
\nconcern that people living in the shelter will start falling sick
\nas sanitation facilities are damaged because of overuse and poor
\nmaintenance.<\/p>\n
According to Saul Panggabean, a representative of the Bahorok
\nvictims, said that he had discovered corrupt practices in the
\nrebuilding of Bahorok victim's houses.<\/p>\n
There should have been 354 houses, according to a government
\nblueprint for the reconstruction of Bahorok area, but to date
\nonly 200 houses have been built.<\/p>\n
Saul also questioned the amount of funds used to build each
\nhouse. He said that one house should cost Rp 18 million
\n(US$1,900), but according to findings in the field, construction
\ncosts where only for the state were only Rp 8 million.<\/p>\n
\"We conclude that there has been corruption taking place.
\nGovernment officials should have helped us, but instead they have
\nrobbed us,\" said Saul.<\/p>\n
According to a government report, the central government has
\npoured some Rp 25 billion in funds, and other Rp 50 billion
\nhad been spent by the Langkat regental government to rebuild
\nBahorok area and Lawang Hill that had been destroyed by the flash
\nflood, but there is no clear outcome of the projects.<\/p>\n
\"We have demanded that concerned parties conduct an audit in
\norder to make sure that the state money was used properly,\" said
\nSaul.<\/p>\n
Responding to the claims, secretary of Langkat regental
\ngovernment Masri Zein said that technical reasons were behind the
\nsluggish reconstruction of the Bahorok and Bukit Lawang area.<\/p>\n
Masri admitted that the central government had handed over
\nfunds amounting to Rp 25 billion, but when he was asked whether a
\nportion of the funds had been embezzled by government officials,
\nhe gave an assurance that no corruption had occurred in the
\nproject.<\/p>\n
The Bahorok flash flood hit the area some two years ago,
\nkilling over 200 people. The area, which once attracted
\nforeigners due to the presence of orang utan in the area, was
\nmostly destroyed.<\/p>",
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