Illnesses swamp refugees in Aceh<\/p>\n
Nani Farida and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe\/Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
Thousands of Acehnese across the province have been treated for
\nvarious illnesses since they fled to refugee camps following the
\nimposition of martial law in the province on May 19.<\/p>\n
Data provided by the local health office show that virtually
\nall refugees have scabies, over 4,000 suffer from respiratory
\nailments, 1,369 have ulcers, and thousands of others have
\ncontracted bronchitis and diarrhea.<\/p>\n
According to the latest data provided by local health
\nofficials, there are currently 31,769 refugees living in 16
\nrefugee camps across the province. They are mostly living in
\ntents set up by local administrations.<\/p>\n
The central government has sent humanitarian aid including
\nmedical supplies, 33 doctors, 18 ambulances and four tons of
\ninfant formulas to the refugee camps.<\/p>\n
Teuku Muhammad, deputy head of the provincial health office,
\nsaid on Wednesday that health posts set up within each of the 16
\nrefugee camps had recorded some 14,000 patient visits.<\/p>\n
\"These are ordinary illnesses and we are already treating
\nthem,\" Muhammad told AFP. \"There are malnourished children.\"<\/p>\n
He said 14,000 was the number of visits, not the number of
\nindividual patients treated, and that he did not consider the
\nfigure to be alarming.<\/p>\n
\"On a daily basis, the number of visits is small,\" he said.<\/p>\n
At Keunire refugee camp, Pidie regency, and Cot Pagu camp,
\nBireuen regency, common diseases afflicting refugees dues to poor
\nsanitation include diarrhea, colds and upper respiratory
\ninfections (ISPA).<\/p>\n
Fachrurizal, a medical officer at Keunire camp, said that the
\ncommon cold topped the list of diseases with 241 cases, followed
\nby diarrhea with 233 cases, then skin problems with 220 cases and
\nISPA with 164 cases.<\/p>\n
The Keunire camp is packed with over 1,760 families, mainly
\nfrom four villages in Muara Tiga district, Pidie.<\/p>\n
Halimah, 70, complained of water shortage in the camp.<\/p>\n
\"I feel itchy all over; I want to go home as soon as
\npossible,\" Halimah told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Yusniar, 20, who is eight months pregnant, said that she had a
\ncold and felt achy.<\/p>\n
Refugees in Cot Pagu camp, home to 4,480 families from eight
\nvillages in Juli district, Bireuen regency, are experiencing
\nsimilar conditions.<\/p>\n
Sufli, a Cot Pagu camp official said that the government had
\ntried its best to overcome the shortage of clean water at the
\ncamps, but that the problem kept recurring.<\/p>\n
\"We are always calling the water company to fix the camp's
\nwater supply, but the problem persists,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the International Committee
\nof the Red Cross (ICRC) urged both the Indonesian Military and
\nthe Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to \"respect the humanitarian
\nprinciples\" as stipulated in the Geneva Convention in a joint
\nstatement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Both sides must avoid violence against human life and persons
\nand the taking of hostages, they said.<\/p>\n
The PMI also called on the public to give blood to help
\n\"fulfill the need for blood donations\", which has been increasing
\nin Aceh.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, from the battlefield, police claimed on Wednesday
\nto have arrested a senior GAM spokesman.<\/p>\n
Irwandi Yusuf, alias Isnandar al-Pase, is being detained at a
\npolice station in Banda Aceh and is facing charges of treason,
\nsaid provincial police spokesman Sayed Husaini.<\/p>\n
Yusuf is among the most senior of 535 people -- whom the
\nmilitary allege are rebels -- who were detained or surrendered
\nduring the operation.<\/p>\n
The military said another 270 GAM members had been killed in
\nthe operation launched to quash the rebels, after attempts to
\nresolve the 27-year conflict through dialog failed.<\/p>\n
Eight of the rebels died on Tuesday in four separate
\nfirefights across Aceh, said Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, a
\nmilitary operation spokesman.<\/p>\n
A rebel spokesman, Teungku Mansur, told AFP in Jakarta that
\none GAM member had died on Monday in a firefight at Peureulak,
\nEast Aceh.<\/p>\n
Mansur denied that GAM was increasingly and systematically
\nbeing hemmed in by government forces.<\/p>",
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