Displaced Chinese wait to go back home

Displaced Chinese wait to go back home

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post/Medan

Thirteen days after fleeing Mulia village in Banda Aceh for
Medan, Laisa Lan returned home only to find her house gone and
the streets littered with corpses.

The 50-year-old Chinese-Indonesian woman could not do much.
She realized she could not stay and would have to return to the
displaced persons' camp in Medan with her husband.

The couple were the only survivors in her family. Five of
Laisa's family members, including her children and parents, all
died in the quake-triggered tsunamis.

Laisa said she did not want to stay for fear of disease spread
by decomposing corpses.

"I'm afraid of staying (in Banda Aceh), the smell from rotting
corpses is very strong," Laisa told The Jakarta Post in a camp
for displaced Chinese-Indonesians in Medan.

Laisa has no idea how long she and her husband will have to
stay at the camp since Aceh is still in chaos.

All of Laisa's belongings were lost in the tsunamis, including
her jewelry and important documents. The only thing she was able
to save was her official family card. She estimates her losses at
almost Rp 1 billion, which includes her house.

Laisa is just one of many Chinese-Indonesians living in the
displaced persons camps for Chinese-Indonesians organized by the
Tolong Menolong Organization.

Tjhin Tjhung Mauw, head of the organization, which organizes
people in the camp, said many people were still afraid to return
to Aceh.

Another person staying at the camp, 39-year-old Nurmala, said
she would return to Banda Aceh once the city had been cleaned up.

"My family and I dare not return while there are still corpses
in the street. We don't want to get sick," said Nurmala, whose
family all survived the disaster.

Tjhin Tjhung Mauw said 7,000 Chinese-Indonesian refugees,
mostly from Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, fled to Medan.

He estimated that the number of Chinese-Indonesians who died
in the disaster stood at 500 in Banda Aceh, and 20 percent of the
500 Chinese-Indonesians in Meulaboh. He added that some 200
Chinese-Indonesians who remained in Aceh were not affected by the
disaster.

In the camp, the situation is not getting better. In the last
few days, many of the refugees had started to suffer from fever
and diarrhea.

The organization's 28 by eight meter building has been
transformed into a makeshift hospital to treat refugees. Many
volunteers, including foreigners, were around to help.

Previously, the refugees slept in the building. Now, they are
sleeping on a 40 meter by 16 meter open-air basketball court at
the back of the building, with a thick tarpaulin serving as a
roof.

In this field, the refugees conduct all of their activities,
from cooking, to storing their aid and sleeping.

Here, they are given treatment -- massage and Chinese herbs --
by the volunteers.

Martin Chang, a volunteer from Hong Kong, was not a massage
expert but could help relieve the pain of older people in need.

"I've been working here for eight days now. Although I am no
expert, I'm glad I can help," the 24-year-old man told the Post
on Thursday.

The employee of a cafe in Hong Kong voluntarily came to Medan
to lend a helping hand to refugees.

Concerned about the refugees health, Tjhin Tjhung Mauw hoped
the government would set up a decent camp for the refugees.

"As you can see, this place is not suitable for them to live
in. The government should quickly relocate them because if they
stay here, I cannot afford to take care of all their needs," he
said.

As for Laisa, she said that she and her husband would
eventually return to Banda Aceh and start all over again.

"When the evacuation and cleanup are completed, and there are
no more corpses in sight, we'll go back to Banda Aceh because we
don't have any relatives here."