Home Affairs Minister targets zero refugees in tents ahead of Eid al-Fitr
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri), who also serves as the Chairman of the Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Acceleration Task Force (PRR) for Post-Disaster Sumatra Muhammad Tito Karnavian, has set a target that there will be no refugees remaining in tents ahead of Eid al-Fitr.
“I deliberately raised the issue of displacement, especially those still living in tents, because we hope that before Eid there will be no one living in tents,” Mendagri said in a briefing in Jakarta on Friday.
Tito urged that refugees who are still staying in tents should be moved promptly to temporary housing (huntara) or through the Housing Waiting Fund (Dana Tunggu Hunian, DTH) scheme. This effort is intended to ensure that the refugees obtain a more decent housing solution before Hari Raya Idul Fitri 1447 Hijriah.
Mendagri emphasised that the continued presence of refugees living in tents into the third month after the disaster is a serious concern for the government. He said that the decline in the number of refugees living in tents is one of the indicators of recovery.
“So if there are still in tents, this has entered the third month, the third month after the end of November; it is not appropriate for them to still be in tents,” he said.
Meanwhile, tent refugees in Aceh Province are still spread across several areas such as Aceh Utara, Aceh Tamiang, Aceh Timur, Aceh Tengah, Bireuen, Nagan Raya, and Gayo Lues.
As for North Sumatra Province, refugees remain in South Tapanuli Regency and Central Tapanuli Regency.
“The point is we see there are still people in tents, and we need to resolve this. We need to find a solution so that they are not in tents,” he said.
Tito emphasised the importance of accelerating the construction of huntara or the distribution of DTH so that the public can immediately occupy a more decent home.
According to him, coordination between ministries/agencies and regional governments is the key to accelerating the resolution of housing issues for communities affected by the disaster.