Aid distribution for quake victims still a problem
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Nine days after the 8.7-magnitude earthquake rocked islands off the west coast of Sumatra, slow distribution was still a major problem, leaving aid piling up at Sibolga port and Polonia Airport in North Sumatra.
The slow distribution disappointed several non-governmental groups planning to send aid to quake victims on Nias island, and they demanded that the government add personnel to expedite distribution.
Coordinator for information and communication of GEMA NUSA Jakarta-Daarut Tauhid Donation Bandung, Arlen Ara Guci, blamed the unclear ship schedules and shortage of ships for the slow distribution of relief aid from Sibolga port to Gunung Sitoli, Nias.
"Our aid is still at Sibolga port," complained Arlen, adding that the aid, ranging from food to medical supplies as well as equipment like water pumps, had been waiting at the port for two days.
He urged the government to provide more ships to speed up distribution, saying that the number of ships deployed by the government was insufficient and they were ineffective for transporting relief goods and volunteers as well as departing residents.
"In the end, many victims in several districts in Nias and South Nias regencies did not receive food," Arlen said.
A member of Nias Regental Council, Ali Amran Tanjung, said on Wednesday there was not much aid reaching the victims due to ineffective distribution lines from Sibolga to Nias or from Gunung Sitoli to other districts.
He estimated that 80 percent of the quake victims in all districts in Nias had not received relief aid.
Citing an example, he said that hundreds of refugees in Lahewa district were left without food, forcing the residents to eat bananas and cassava to survive.
"I'm worried that if they don't get help in two or three days, there will be more fatalities due to the food shortage. Don't let them suffer more by slowing down the distribution," Ali told The Jakarta Post upon his arrival at Polonia Airport in Medan with 20 Nias residents who left the island traumatized by their experience.
North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin, who is in charge of disaster management on Nias island, admitted the distribution of relief aid to the quake-hit Nias and South Nias regencies was slow due to the limited available ships.
He said that effective distribution so far was conducted by helicopter. Currently, three UN helicopters, three from the Singapore government and several more from the Indonesian military and Australian military are assisting the operation.
"But we're optimistic, the distribution will get better," said the governor.
As of Sunday, the death toll had reached 534 people, of which 420 were in Nias regency, and 114 in South Nias. The quake also destroyed 4,016 buildings, leaving 4,220 residents in Nias regency and 26,235 in South Nias regency homeless and seeking refuge in shelters for displaced persons.
Meanwhile, Singapore's Defense Ministry announced that the country's military medics, who had provided assistance on Nias, would return home by the end of this week as life was returning to normal on the island, AP reported.
"Markets have reopened and street vendors have resumed business," the ministry said in a statement.
Three Chinook helicopters from the Singapore Air Force are continuing to ferry supplies and personnel to Nias, the ministry said.