East Timor refugees face health risks as rain nears

East Timor refugees face health risks as rain nears

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): With the rainy season
approaching, over 230,000 people seeking refuge in the province
require immediate medical assistance, a group of volunteers said
on Tuesday.

The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA), on a
humanitarian mission here, said the refugees from the ravaged
East Timor faced malaria, diarrhea and respiratory problems when
the rainy season arrived some time in October or November.

Health problems have become a major concern among the
refugees, and a number of children living in the makeshift camps
are malnourished and suffering hunger-related diseases.

"Rain will start to fall either in October or November and the
spread of malaria looks unavoidable because the refugees are
living near swamps," AMDA coordinator Nuralim Mallapasi said.

The refugees also are vulnerable to diarrhea and respiratory
problems due to poor sanitation, open shelters and a shortage of
food, Nuralim said.

"We demand the government dispatch more medical aid and staff
here instead of simply making promises," he said.

AMDA has visited a number of refugee centers in East Nusa
Tenggara over the past two weeks.

"People living in the camps inhale fouls odors every day. I
cannot imagine how much worse the conditions will be if rain
falls while the camps are not equipped with proper tents and
toilets," he said.

AMDA reported earlier that some 550 children living in refugee
centers in the remote village of Wini, some 280 kilometers east
of here, were suffering from malaria and diarrhea. Many others
had severe respiratory problems.

The isolated village houses refugees from Liquica, Viqueque
and Oekusi, a town in Ambeno, the East Timor enclave in East Nusa
Tenggara.

Meanwhile, a visiting delegation from the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) met with East Nusa Tenggara
Governor Piet Alexander Tallo here for talks on the repatriation
of displaced East Timorese.

Mission spokesman Graig Sanders was quoted by Antara as saying
that 60 percent of the refugees wished to return to East Timor.
He said the UN would assist in the repatriation of the displaced
persons.

He said the longer the East Timorese remained in East Nusa
Tenggara, the more prone they were to influence by pro-Jakarta
supporters.

The delegation also asked the governor for protection when
visiting refugees. Tallo rejected the request, suggesting the
mission delay visiting the still traumatized refugees.

"They (refugees) are very frightened by white people, who
remind them of UNAMET, which helped the proindependence camp win
the Aug. 30 popular consultation in East Timor," Tallo said.
UNAMET is the United Nations Mission in East Timor.

A Belgium member of Medicine Sans Frontiers was nearly
attacked by refugees when he attempted to enter a refugee center
in Wini.

Police intervened to prevent the mob from harming the
activist.

"White people will always be seen as being the same as UNAMET
staff, who they blame for their loss in the ballot," Maj. M.M.
Patty, deputy chief of the North Central Timor Police, said.

Patty told foreigners working with locals to be wary of
possible attacks.

A number of activists from various non-governmental
organizations, including AMDA, the UN Children's Fund and the
World Health Organization, are taking part in humanitarian
missions here. Volunteers come from numerous countries, including
the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.

Refugees in Wini are also concerned for their safety as
centers here house members of prointegration militias who fled
Dili, Liquica and Oekusi. People are fearful of possible clashes
between pro-Jakarta and proindependence supporters.

"This village is a target of proindependence militias who just
came down from the mountains," Patty said.

Officials deployed members of the National Police's elite
Mobile Brigade to maintain peace. "We also asked militia members
to patrol the village 24 hours a day to avoid possible attacks,"
Patty said.

Patty said there was a possibility of armed conflict in the
village between the two groups. (27/edt)