Govt shifting focus to building relocation centers

Govt shifting focus to building relocation centers

In the aftermath of the tsunami, the government has been the
target of criticism for its slow response and for various
mishaps. The Jakarta Post's Riyadi Suparno and Aan Suryana
interviewed Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi
Shihab who is currently in charge of coordinating all relief
operations in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. Excerpts follow:

Question: Many have blamed you for poor coordination in the
relief operation. What's actually happening here?

Answer: During the first days of our operation, we were still
in a panic situation. There were too many things to do at the
same time. For example, there were a lot of parties not yet
registered with us, such as foreigners, United Nations
agencies .. They felt there was no one who they could turn to.
But we did not have enough personnel, and the situation was also
not in order.

We could not do all what we wanted to do. eventually, we
managed to get things in order. So I've come here to help smooth
coordination. Among other things I receive mainly foreign guests
so that we can channel their donations or direct them to where
they can work. We have also established a volunteer desk, so that
they can work quickly once they report to us. I don't mean to say
that the coordination is perfect, but I aim to help improve it.

How are your coordination efforts going, especially with the
military here?

I'm responsible for overall operations, (Maj. Gen.) Bambang
Darmono (who heads the military task force to channel aid) is in
charge of operations in the field, and Deputy Governor (Azwar
Abubakar) is in charge of reviving the civil service.

So for instance when a foreign medical team comes here and we
want to send them somewhere, we first ask Pak Bambang's opinion
about the situation in that location.

Pak Bambang is also the one who has been mobilizing TNI
(Indonesian Military) personnel to do emergency work like
evacuation of the thousands of corpses. It's TNI which is doing
most of the evacuation work. It's also helping to restore vital
infrastructure such as repairing bridges or installing temporary
bridges, etc.

TNI is also in charge of aid freighted by air, especially the
distribution of helicopters from foreign countries. They are all
under the coordination of the military, under Pak Bambang. And so
far there has been no complaints.

We hold daily coordination meetings every evening to evaluate
what we have done for the day and what we plan for the next day.

How is the development of emergency operations? How long will
it take to complete this emergency operation?

Emergency operations cover distribution of food, water,
medicine and other basic supplies as well as evacuation
operations. I would say that it is almost over. Our main
operation now covers evacuation of corpses buried under debris.
Everyday we're recovering about 4,000 corpses.

Other areas of the emergency operation are basically in order.
Three hospitals in Banda Aceh are already functioning. The
fourth, the Malahayati Hospital, will start operating next week.
Now we're repairing the water system along with experts from
Germany.

What about emergency operations in inaccessible areas like
those between Calang and Meulaboh in the western coast of Aceh?

Many of the villages there were washed away. In general the
few locals left are doing self help operations, with help from
TNI, such us burying corpses and also ferrying the injured to
accessible places.

What's your next target for operations?

Now we are concentrating our efforts to build relocation
centers. We have identified 24 places for relocation centers.
These centers are important especially to relocate refugees
currently staying at temporary camps which lack proper
facilities, as well as for those staying in their relatives far
away from their homes.

Also, with these centers, we will be able to relocate refugees
who are occupying schools so that classes can begin.

These centers will be completed with necessary facilities such
as clean water, sanitation system, a public kitchen and a hall.
We hope people can stay in these centers for up to two years, by
then we will be able to complete the permanent resettlement
project and people can move to more permanent houses.

What was the process of assessment that led to the idea of
building these relocation centers?

We involved everyone. The first were TNI representatives
because we don't want to build the centers in insecure places.
There was also someone from the local government as we don't want
to build these centers on disputed land. Then, we invited
officials from public works for the planning side, and those from
UN agencies to ensure that these centers meet all the criteria
such as those of health and decency.

Is the government ready with all the money?

Of course; we cannot wait for outside help. But we do not rule
out private assistance. In fact, we have got an expression of
interests from Dji Sam Soe (cigarette company) and Ibu (Sri
Hartati) Murdaya of Walubi (the Indonesian Buddhist Association).
We have also got a commitment from General Electric (company) to
build water purifying facilities with a capacity of producing up
to 1.6 million litters of water per day.

We welcome all these commitments. Now we plan to build 24
centers. If private communities want to take over the
construction of say, 20, the government will build the remaining
four centers. But the responsibility rests with the government.
If there is no assistance from the private community, then all
the money must come from the government's coffers.

When will these relocation centers be ready for use?

This project must be completed as soon as possible. We started
on Friday by clearing some of the locations. We hope in the next
two weeks that some will be already in place.

What about the permanent resettlement project?

We are still studying this. The idea is that this resettlement
project will permanently house all the victims. We don't know yet
what this project will look like. We have got promises from a
number of parties. The Chinese government and the Bandung
Institute of Technology, for example, have promised to provide
models of cheap, permanent houses.

The government must involve all concerned parties such as the
ministries of public works and housing, and the National
Development Planning Board (Bappenas) to arrange the funding that
we should source from as many parties possible. This is a longer-
term project and needs better coordination and planning.