Aid distribution for quake victims still a problem
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.