Tsunami refugees cry out for medical help<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Medan<\/p>\n
Nursiah, a refugee from Peusong Baru village in Lhokseumawe,
\nNorth Aceh -- one of the areas hardest hit by Sunday's crushing
\ntsunami and earthquake -- was pleading for doctors to immediately
\ntend to her two children at the refugee camp in Hira field.<\/p>\n
She had brought her children to a makeshift health center
\nearly in the morning, but volunteers were hesitant to treat them
\nbecause medical supplies were running low.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old woman was worried because her children, Teja,
\ntwo-and-a-half years old, and Husnah, 6, had been suffering high
\nfever for three days.<\/p>\n
Teja looked frail in his mother's arms, while Husnah was
\nsitting limply on a stool next to them.<\/p>\n
\"Sir, please treat my children quickly. They have very high
\nfevers,\" Nursiah shouted to a number of volunteers at the health
\ncenter.<\/p>\n
But, there was nothing much they could do, except to refer her
\nto a hospital.<\/p>\n
A fellow villager suffering from a respiratory problem and
\nheadaches, Norman Zainal, 28, had the same experience. He only
\nreceived two of the five kinds of medicine that he needed due to
\na shortage of supplies at the camp.<\/p>\n
A doctor at the health post in the Hira refugee camp, Rahmat
\nSuryadi, said that the most common diseases suffered by disaster
\nvictims the refugee camp were diarrhea, fevers, skin irritations,
\nrespiratory infections, headaches and stomach problems.<\/p>\n
The Lhokseumawe health office has deployed 15 doctors,
\nassisted by 65 volunteers from various organizations, to help
\nmore than 20,000 refugees languishing across Lhokseumawe after
\nthe tsunami devastated the already troubled province.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, we are prepared in term of manpower to assist the
\ntsunami victims, but unfortunately drug supplies are very
\nlimited, which has hampered medical treatment,\" Rahmat told The
\nJakarta Post on Thursday.<\/p>\n
A medical volunteer from Mer-C in Lhokseumawe, Cut
\nSyamsuniarti, said that medical supplies in the town have been
\ndepleted. Only medicines for coughs, hypertension, skin ailments
\nand fever were still available at the moment.<\/p>\n
She said that stocks from hospitals in Lhokseumawe has now run
\nout.<\/p>\n
\"Medical supplies at the Indonesian Red Cross and Cut Meutia
\nhospitals are running low. If supplies from the central
\ngovernment don't reach here in two days time, we cannot promise
\nthat patients can get their badly needed medicines,\" Cut told the
\nPost.<\/p>\n
The secretary of the North Aceh disaster mitigation command
\ncenter, T. Nadirsyah, 43, said that not a single medicine has
\narrived from Jakarta thus far and that medicine was still being
\ndispensed by the North Aceh regental administration.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know when medical supplies will arrive. The delays
\nare worrying us because around 90 percent of 20,020 refugees
\nlanguishing in 22 districts across Lhokseumawe are now facing
\nserious depression and are vulnerable to various diseases,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Nadirsyah said that most refugees suffering from depression
\nwere those stranded in the districts of Saenuddon, Tanah Pasir,
\nLhoksukon and Muara Batu.<\/p>\n
A volunteer doctor from the Marine Hospital in Surabaya, East
\nJava, Capt. Pardjono, concurred, saying that a considerable
\nnumber of his patients were suffering from depression, which
\ncould make them vulnerable to post-tsunami diseases.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tsunami-refugees-cry-out-for-medical-help-1447899208",
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