Refugees face straitened days<\/p>\n
Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh<\/p>\n
Over 10,000 Acehnese people staying in a refugee camp in Bireuen
\nregency are facing a shortage of clean water as the military
\noffensive enters its fifth week.<\/p>\n
The refugees said on Sunday that the rations were not enough
\nto sustain them. Most complained about the meager food, the lack
\nof fresh water and the camp's poor sanitation facilities.
\nChildren are also suffering in the intense heat in the open areas
\nor inside the crowded tents of the camps.<\/p>\n
\"Many here don't bathe anymore,\" said Mustafa Dadih, 58, an
\nelementary school teacher from Tambo Tan village. \"We have
\nproblems washing up in the morning because there isn't enough
\nwater,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Sanitation problems resulting from the lack of clean water are
\nfeared to worsen in the coming days, as water is needed for the
\nrefugees to cook, bathe and wash clothes.<\/p>\n
The refugees also complained about the absence of side dishes
\nwith their meals.<\/p>\n
\"We have enough rice, that's not the problem,\" said 38-year-
\nold Abdul Malik, a cook at the refugee camp.<\/p>\n
His friend grabbed a handful of the rice from a bucket as
\nAbdul explained, \"the problem here is that there's almost nothing
\nto eat but rice.\"<\/p>\n
Rice and some noodles or fish is the only food available at
\nthe camp. The meager ration is one of the many harsh changes the
\nrefugees will have to adjust to over the next few days, weeks or
\nmaybe even months. No one knows when they will be able return
\nhome.<\/p>\n
Yusri Yusuf, who coordinates the two medical posts at the
\ncamp, said that two doctors and several nurses from the nearby
\nFauziah general hospital, the local health office and the health
\ncommunity center were on call for each eight-hour shift.<\/p>\n
He said that so far there had been no serious health problems,
\nalthough many of the adults complained about headaches. \"It's the
\nstress, the changes are just too much,\" Yusri said.<\/p>\n
Antara reported, however, that a refugee had died on Sunday of
\nheart failure. Medical workers had also assisted four women
\ndeliver their babies on the same day.<\/p>\n
The mass evacuation came as the military stepped up its
\noffensive to flush rebels from their hideouts in the forests
\nsurrounding their home villages. For the first time, reports
\nemerged last Friday that howitzers were used to shell rebel
\npositions in Bireuen.<\/p>\n
Preparations at the Cot Gabu soccer field to accommodate the
\nrefugees began at least 10 days ago, and a few of tents were
\nalready seen standing on the spacious field of dry grass early
\nthis month, while workers could be seen pitching more.<\/p>\n
A sea of people from at least 10 villages in Juli district,
\nBireuen regency, have sought refuge in a soccer field and another
\nfield across it in the village of Cot Gabu since last Friday.<\/p>\n
The Police mobile brigade (Brimob) now occupy the villages,
\nmanning posts along the road at every few meters to ensure that
\nthey remain empty.<\/p>\n
The villagers were forced to flee their homes when the
\nfighting came too close. Aside from bringing the residents to
\nsafety, the military hopes to separate them from GAM separatists,
\nwho easily melt in with the civilians.<\/p>\n
The field is located next to the main road connecting Bireuen
\nwith the provincial capital Banda Aceh. Across it stands the
\nruins of a school, burned to the ground before the war, and which
\nnow serves as a security post manned by Brimob personnel.<\/p>\n
On the battle front, the military said two more rebels were
\nshot dead in South Aceh and at least 15 others were arrested in
\nAceh Besar regency over the past two days.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the military operation Lt. Col. Achmad Yani
\nBasuki said the two separatists were killed during a clash in Cot
\nCut village between GAM members and joint Army and Brimob forces
\nin Kuta Baro district, Aceh Besar, at around 7 a.m. on Sunday.<\/p>\n
As of Sunday, the TNI reported that rebel casualties totaled
\n204.<\/p>\n
Regarding the number of casualties, the Indonesian Red Cross
\n(PMI) announced on Sunday it had evacuated 178 bodies from
\nbattlefields.<\/p>\n
\"The death toll is based on reports from a number of PMI
\nbranches and command posts across Aceh,\" executive chairman of
\nPMI Aceh Sanusi Maha said in a press release issued on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He said PMI was also duty-bound to bring the dead to hospitals
\nfor further identification and to inform their next-of-kin.<\/p>",
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