East Timorese refugees face food shortage

East Timorese refugees face food shortage

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Nearly 400 displaced East Timorese sheltering in West Timor have
been forced to eat leaves for the past month as they cannot
afford to buy rice, a government official says.

The government resettlement coordinator for Boneanak, Ali bin
Don Dura, said on Monday that 388 people from 72 families living
in Boneanak, West Kupang, would starve if the government did not
provide immediate aid.

The refugees have been forced to eat leaves of kosambi, a
plant the seed of which is commonly used as traditional herb
medicines, Ali was quoted by Antara as saying.

"We have asked for a share of 250 tons of rice assistance from
the Italian government given to the provincial and regency
administrations, but to no avail."

He said the local administration had refused to provide the
rice for bureaucratic reasons. The person in charge of approving
rice distribution was in Jakarta while the Kupang social affairs
office required approval before it could send the rice.

The local government had also rejected Ali's request because
the East Timorese people in Boneanak were no longer considered
refugees.

The Indonesian government stopped all official assistance to
the refugees on Aug. 31.

Ali said the refugees had never received assistance from the
provincial social affairs office since they arrived in Boneanak
on April 18.

Boneanak is also home to 92 local families who are also facing
a food shortage. Local residents have given 5,000 square meters
of land to the refugees for farming.

"We have cleared the lands but it's difficult to obtain
seedlings of corn or other produce. We hope the provincial
agriculture office can provide us with some seedlings," Ali said.

The refugees had tried to earn money by selling coral reef,
which fetched Rp 12,500 per cubic meter. Others ran grocery
businesses but had been bankrupted due to bad debts.

Ali plans to seek help from local Wirasakti Military Command
chief Col. Moeswarno Moesanip, who moved the refugees from
temporary camps to Boneanak.

The number of East Timorese refugees sheltering in the
province of East Nusa Tenggara stands at about 33,000, scattered
throughout Kupang, Atambua, and districts in Flores, Alor and the
Sumba islands.

They were part of around 250,000 people who fled the violence
that followed a ballot which resulted in independence for East
Timor in 1999.

East Timor President Xanana Gusmao is planning to visit the
province for a second time to encourage the remaining refugees to
return home and to accelerate the reconciliation process among
the East Timorese.

The Indonesian representatives office in Dili, East Timor,
reported that Xanana would visit Atambua and Kupang from Oct. 20
to Oct. 24.

"The refugees problem could pose a hurdle in the relations
between the two countries but it can be resolved with Xanana's
visit because the refugees can choose repatriation or
resettlement to other regions in Indonesia," Indonesian Minister
of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda said.

He expected the East Timor refugee problems would be resolved
by the end of the year.