Elderly people die in queue for aid

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post/Demak

Two people have died during the distribution of cash aid, the first such case since the disbursement process began under a government scheme to offset the effects of the Oct. 1 fuel price increases.

Both Warinem, an 84-year-old woman who lived in Banyuwangi, East Java, and Wadiman, a 75-year-old man from Demak in Central Java, died on Friday after people in the queues they were in tried to make their way to the front by pushing and shoving.

Warinem, a resident of Resomulyo hamlet, Genteng Wetan village in Genteng district, reportedly fainted after queuing for the cash aid with some 1,400 recipients at Genteng district office.

Her neighbor Jami'iyah told Antara she had pulled Warinem out of the line after she complained of a headache. But Warinem fainted and died on the way to a community health center.

Wadiman, a resident of Krasak, Sidomulyo, Dempet district, died lining up for the Rp 300,000 (US$30) promised by the government.

"Father was so happy. He left at 5 a.m., fearing he would not get the Rp 300,000 because Friday was the last day to get the money. If he couldn't do it today, he had to get it at the main post office in Demak," said Waryatun, Wadiman's fifth child.

On that fateful morning, Wadiman left for the Dempet post office some seven kilometers away with his son-in-law Kamisan.

At the post office, thousands of people were jostled together as they waited to enter its 42-square-meter front yard.

Several police and military officers deployed to secure the disbursement process proved powerless to restore order.

Wadiman, who was an asthmatic, fell and was taken to a nearby house. But he died on his way to a community health center 100 meters away.

"He (Wadiman) was looking pale while queuing. He was starting to sway, so I helped him out of the line," said Wadiman's neighbor, Sukarmin.

Wadiman lived a simple life in a three-room timber house with a dirt floor. The house is furnished only with wooden beds, the mattresses of which are bare.

"We can accept father's death but father did not get the chance to get his money," Waryatun said.

Signs of disorderliness at the Dempet post office were later visible in its broken windows. On Tuesday, the house of an employee of the Central Statistics Agency, in Kedung Karang, Wedung, Demak was damaged by residents who were dissatisfied with the registration process.

In Dempet district alone, 4,353 poor families were registered to receive the cash aid. However, with only three days allocated to disburse the money, hundreds of people turned up on the last day.

Deputy chairman of the Central Java provincial council Abdulkadir Karding visited Wadiman's house on Friday to express his condolences.

"I regret what happened," he said. "People have died, in Demak and Banyuwangi, all because of a lack of order."

He called on the government to cease distributing the cash aid for the moment, using the interim period to improve the scheme so that the money reached those most in need.