Corruption, one of many obstacles in post-tsunami aid distribution

Corruption, one of many obstacles in post-tsunami aid distribution

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Meulaboh

Even during the most desperate hour of need, there are those who
still think only of themselves.

"Poltak" alit from a government ambulance loaded with
medicines and food aid from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P).

The government staffer in his late 30s approached a PDI-P
legislator and reported that the aid was ready to be loaded onto
a small aircraft, which would transport it from Medan's Polonia
airport to Meulaboh, West Aceh. Ninety percent of Meulaboh was
destroyed by Sunday's tsunami.

Poltak ordered the ambulance driver to take the vehicle to the
tarmac, where the aircraft was about to park, then asked The
Jakarta Post for help.

Later, four government staffers arrived to help prepare the
aid as the legislator, Yasonna H. Laoly, who represented PDI-P
leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, watched from a distance.

All the medicines and food aid, packed in dozens of small
cardboard boxes, were unloaded from the ambulance -- except for a
box of a popular isotonic drink and another unidentified box,
which allegedly held medicine.

After filling out a form, Poltak reported back to Yasonna that
the job was done and left. The legislator had no idea that a
small portion of his party's aid had been stolen as the ambulance
left the scene.

This incident shows how corruption, no matter what the
situation, prevails, even during the distribution of aid for
tsunami victims.

The problem is one of the many that occurs during aid
distribution to victims in Aceh. Transportation is another major
problem.

On Thursday, food, medicines and other supplies were piling up
at the Air Force hangar near Polonia, where the aid distribution
command post was set up.

The aid could not be transported immediately due to the
limited number of airplanes and helicopters, as well as Polonia's
limited capacity.

As the tsunami swept through many cities, villages and
kampongs along the Acehnese coast, the government has been forced
to prioritize aid distribution to the most populated cities first
-- which has left thousands of victims waiting and wanting.

Even in some cities with a significant population, like
Meulaboh, the aid could not be distributed due to damaged roads
and bridges, as well as Tjut Nyak Dhien airport, some 20
kilometers outside the city.

Only the pilots of small aircraft were able to land at the
airport; helicopters could land anywhere but their numbers were
too few and the distance to Meulaboh from Medan was quite far. It
takes an hour for a small airplane to cover the distance, and
much longer for a helicopter, which meant more fuel -- of which
there is a dire shortage.

The transportation problem was compounded by those in the
field. In many cases, the local government was not functioning,
as many officials numbered among the dead, not at 80,000 and
still rising.

The problems have left many refugees without aid, even as of
Friday, nearly a week after the disaster wreaked additional havoc
on the war-torn province.

The Indonesian Military has been the most effective
organization thus far, but even they were in sore need of trucks
and helicopters.

In Meulaboh, only TNI Infantry 623 from Banjarmasin, South
Kalimantan, were able to transport and guard the aid from Tjut
Nyak Dhien airport to Meulaboh. The infantry unit, which was
stationed near the airport and were in Aceh to quell the
separatist Free Aceh Movement, is now part of the massive
humanitarian drive to help the survivors of the Aceh quake.