Ambon to disburse refugee funds

AMBON, Maluku: The Ambon municipal government is to pay out over Rp 500,000 (US$55) to each Maluku refugee family as the central government deadline for the resettlement of Ambon refugees draws near.

The money will be handed over to 1,024 refugee families in order to allow them to return to their homes and start new lives, said M.A. Namsa, the director of the Ambon Social Affairs Office.

The refugees were some of the hundreds of thousands of Maluku people forced to abandon their homes after a sectarian civil war in the province claimed thousands of lives.

The number of people living in displaced persons camps has dwindled in recent years in line with the steadily improving security situation in the area. The government has set a deadline of December this year for local governments in Maluku to provide assistance to the refugees so that they can return home. -- JP