Refugees in Aceh 'face starvation'<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Some 38,000 refugees in the regencies
\nof South Aceh and East Aceh are facing starvation due to slow
\ndistribution of food supplies, an official and activist said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
\"We were informed that the government -- through the local
\nsocial welfare office -- has distributed 25 tons of rice to the
\nrefugees in South Aceh. But so far, only two tons have been
\ndistributed here,\" chairman of the Karya Bersama Foundation
\n(Yasma) T.M. Yacoub said, as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Approximately 22,000 local residents have sought shelter in
\nSouth Aceh since July 19. They came three neighboring
\nsubdistricts of Trumon, Bakongan and Manggeng, he said.<\/p>\n
\"If a person is allotted four ounces of rice a day, some 8.8
\ntons would be needed each day for these 22,000 refugees, while
\nthe amount of rice which has been distributed is only two tons
\nper day,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Most of the some 14,000 refugees have come from Trumon
\nsubdistrict.<\/p>\n
\"We demand that the provincial administration speed up the
\ndistribution of the food,\" Yacoub said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in East Aceh, five heads of villages from Idi and
\nNurussalam districts representing some 16,000 refugees here met
\nwith East Aceh regent Azman Usmanuddin on Thursday, demanding
\nthat security troops be pulled out from their villages.<\/p>\n
\"We want to come home but we are afraid of more violence. If
\nthey (the troops) are still roaming the areas, incidents might
\nhappen any moment,\" one of the village chiefs said.<\/p>\n
The refugees had been hit by illness such as severe
\nrespiratory problems, diarrhea and dehydration, East Aceh
\nregional secretary Irawan Yunus said.<\/p>\n
\"The illnesses have especially hit the children here. Security
\nauthorities, however, thought that these refugees were victims of
\npropaganda from provocateurs who spread terror in their
\nvillages,\" Irawan added.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, the United
\nStates Embassy reportedly checked data and information on the
\nmissing activist of the New York-based International Forum for
\nAceh (IFA), Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, the news agency reported.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S. consulate is closely monitoring this case,\" said
\nMedan's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) director, Irham Buana
\nNasution.<\/p>\n
Jafar was last seen in Medan on Saturday and is feared to have
\nbeen abducted due to his activities in defending human rights in
\nAceh. (50\/edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/refugees-in-aceh-face-starvation-1447893297",
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