Ambon to disburse refugee funds

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