Acehnese relocated to semi-permanent shelters

Wed, 16 Feb 2005, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Abdul Djalil expressed relief after the government moved him and
his family from a tent into a temporary shelter in Banda Aceh on
Tuesday.

"Unlike the tents, we have our own room in the shelter where
we can lay our heads down on mats on the floor. We can occupy the
barracks for months while the government builds new housing for
us," said Djalil, who moved into the temporary housing with his
wife and two children.

The temporary housing offers other benefits over the tents.
The new housing has better sanitation facilities, which should
help cut down on health problems such as influenza, skin diseases
and diarrhea.

"These barracks will improve the dignity of all of you," Aceh
Besar district chief Rusli Muhammad said. "Living in these
barracks, your situation will improve compared to living in
refugee camps," he said as quoted by AFP.

Djalil was among the thousands of Acehnese who were moved into
the new shelters in Banda Aceh on Tuesday.

A total of 3,281 families, or more than 11,500 people, were
moved into more than 300 temporary barracks in Banda Aceh, Aceh
Besar, Sigli, North Aceh, Aceh Jaya and West Aceh.

In Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar, thousands of tsunami survivors
were transported by buses and trucks to the barracks, which were
constructed on the outskirts of the city.

Aceh Deputy Governor Azwar Abubakar, who greeted tsunami
survivors at one of the temporary shelters in Lambaro, Banda
Aceh, told people to accept the barracks as temporary shelters,
promising that they eventually would be resettled into permanent
housing.

The Ministry of Public Housing has declined to disclose the
budget for the construction of the barracks. So far, about 300 of
803 planned barracks have been constructed.

Banda Aceh Mayor Mawardy Nurdin said the cost of constructing
one barracks was between Rp 200 million (US$22,222) and Rp 250
million. Each barrack consists of between 12 and 20 rooms.

Officials have said 803 barracks would be built by the
government by March 15, which would be able to accommodate 9,730
families.

The camps have been built according to internationally
accepted guidelines for sanitation, communal kitchens, places of
worship and other essentials, and will be managed by the tsunami
survivors themselves, officials have said as quoted by Reuter
news agency.

While the tsunami survivors expressed joy over the new
barracks, international rights groups are concerned over the
military's role in the shelters. In a joint statement, New York-
based Human Rights Watch and Human Rights First expressed fear
last week that the new barracks could be manipulated by the
military to control the population for military purposes.

The military's prominent role in transporting the Acehnese to
the new sites, in camp management and in aid distribution will
invariably create fear among the displaced population, they said
as quoted by AFP.

But Banda Aceh Mayor Mawardy Nurdin said the government and
the military would not forcibly relocate tsunami survivors.