15 East Timorese refugees die from diseases in Kupang

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of East Timorese refugees are suffering from various diseases, such as diarrhea, malaria, skin irritations and respiratory problems at their makeshift camps in East Nusa Tenggara, which have left at least 15 of them dead.

Hundreds of sufferers, many of them in a critical condition, were confronted with difficulty in finding medicine, as health service posts had been closed after the government halted the supply of food assistance to the refugees early last month.

About 130,000 refugees are still stuck in the Tuapukan, Noelbaki and Naibonat camps in Kupang, the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara, despite the government's decision to halt the relief program.

Health volunteers working for the Cemara Movement of Indonesian Christian Students (GMKI) and the Indonesian Christian Youth Force Movement GAMKI) at the refugee camps said at least 15 people had died since early this year.

Meri Djami, 23, and Saly Bulan, 23, of the two nongovernmental organizations said the deaths were because of diarrhea, malaria and respiratory problems.

"Two of them have just died at the Naibonat camp for diarrhea. We are extremely shocked by the current conditions in which the refugees are living because the government is no longer maintaining their health services," Meri said.

Rofina Soares, 38, a former health volunteer with a foreign nongovernmental organization from the East Timor town of Viqueque -- who is among the refugees -- said most of the sufferers were children aged up to five years old, and elderly people.

"Various contagious diseases have begun to attack children and elderly people recently. Many sufferers have died probably due to their weakness after starving," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

A similar complaint was aired by another refugee, Joanario S. da Silva, 40, also from Viqueque. He said that since the relief had been stopped, he and his colleagues has been surviving on whatever they could find for food.

Joanario said the weak physical condition of refugees had made it easy for disease to spread, especially between children and elderly people.

"When we were still receiving food assistance and health services, we were rarely attacked by contagious diseases. But since early February, many children and elderly people have been complaining of getting sick," he said.

Many refugees at the three camps were observed on Thursday in a critical state, with their health continuing to deteriorate.

"My face and body have small spots which are a source of skin irritation. But I don't know where to get a medical treatment. My parent is frustrated because there is no medicine," four-year suffering child Manuel Pinto told The Post.

The refugees repeatedly refused to be repatriated to East Timor, saying they would return to their homeland after it had officially become an independent state in May.

Nor did they reject the Indonesian government's offer to join the resettlement programs to Sumatra, Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

It was not immediately clear why they had insisted on staying at the refugee camps.

Surrounding villagers have begun to voice annoyance at the refugees for refusing to leave the camps, which, they claimed, were built on their land.