Atambua hospitals in dire need of medical supplies
ATAMBUA, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): Two of the "frontline" hospitals in this small town which has been swamped by East Timor refugees are in dire need for medical supplies, belying government claims of flowing assistance.
A quick tour of the Atambua and Kefamenanu hospitals, about 200 kilometers east of Kupang, which serve refugees sheltered near the border, reveal the disparity of claims.
Doctor Bangun S. of Atambua Hospital told The Jakarta Post on Monday that promised medical aid had yet to arrive.
"Actual conditions here are unbearable. It's different from what the ministers (of health and social affairs) say on the news," he said.
"You can see for yourself," he replied when asked about the gravity of the situation.
Atambua and the regency of Belu in general have been a central flocking place for refugees streaming out of East Timor and the violence following the Aug. 30 ballot.
Senior ministers claim that aid and medical supplies were being distributed through health offices in the province. However, the true situation is apparently a far cry from the rosy picture officials paint.
According to the provincial administration, the total number of refugees on Monday reached 191,334. A large majority, 106,595, are located in Belu regency.
Apart from supplies, a shortage of qualified medics is another problem.
Bangun said many doctors had fled the area for security reasons. He said that last week a group of doctors from Bali and Surabaya arrived in the area, but they soon left after their personal safety was threatened.
"How do you expect them to work when there's someone with a cocked weapon standing by every time they operate?" he remarked.
One reason for the lack of urgency is the fact that the local administration seems less than transparent about the situation.
S. Kundari, a United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, expressed surprise at the disparity between the situation on the ground and the desk reports coming in.
"We are redoing the report here. It turns out that the camps badly need doctors and medical assistance," Kundari said.
A similar situation was found in Kefemenanu Hospital.
Hartono, a doctor at the hospital, said at the current rate medical supplies would last no more than a week.
"I really don't understand why the medicines they keep on talking about have not arrived yet," remarked Hartono, who heads the hospital.
Appeal
The United Nations said on Monday Indonesia had sought help to deal with a refugee problem in East Nusa Tenggara, the western part of Timor island.
UN humanitarian aid coordinator Abdulmejid Hussein said in Darwin, Australia, that he was "cautiously optimistic" that the arrival of an armed multinational force in East Timor earlier in the day would soon allow aid to pour in.
Hussein said Indonesia had admitted it had a major problem coping with the refugees, who are being held in camps or living on roadsides in East Nusa Tenggara, with many facing critical food shortages.
"Yes, they have appealed to the UN to assist them there," he said.
He said the UN and non-governmental aid agencies had jointly launched, for the first time ever, an emergency appeal to raise money to help people in both East Timor and East Nusa Tenggara.
The UN's World Food Program (WFP) said it was securing aircraft and helicopters for airdrops to an estimated 50,000 people living in mountain areas of East Timor who had not had any food supplies for several weeks.
"We are particularly worried about pregnant women, the elderly, children," said WFP spokeswoman Abbey Spring.
"When you compare this to other emergencies around the world, these are people that didn't have a lot of food to begin with and went into the situation hungry, so we are concerned," she said.
The WFP had announced a US$5.6 million emergency appeal to feed 150,000 people in East Timor in the next two months, she said, adding that the project would be expanded for up to a year once the agency knew how many people were in dire need of help.
Hussein said Indonesian authorities had shown greater cooperation on humanitarian issues in recent days, and that the United Nations' international staff members were being given access to refugees.
He said UN coordinators had not yet raised the issue of the repatriation of refugees from the western part of Timor island and other parts of Indonesia with Jakarta, because it simply expected that those who wanted to go back would be allowed to do so.
"Our people did speak to many in the camps (in East Nusa Tenggara) and most of those ... indicated a wish to return to East Timor," he said. "When the situation allows it, we expect they will be given that access and we will take it up with the Indonesians when it becomes a problem," he said as quoted by Reuters. (27/edt)