Hungry victims irate at lack of aid

Fri, 31 Dec 2004, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Banda Aceh

Crucial food and medical supplies remained far too scarce for the
traumatized survivors on Thursday, nearly five days since the
earthquake-triggered tidal waves pounded northern Sumatra on
Sunday.

Criticism increased to a fever pitch over the government's
poor handling of the relief operation thus far.

Supplies were seen piling up at warehouses in Polonia airport
in Medan, North Sumatra and Halim Perdanakusuma air base in
Jakarta, where the bulk of the aid from donors has been sent.

But the aid is not reaching the famished victims, some of whom
are suffering from serious injuries.

"We're confused about where to get the food. There's no
information. Just what you hear on the street. The coordination
is very bad," one survivor Zulkarnaen was quoted by Reuters as
saying on Thursday.

As far as reaching the needy, the food distribution program
was considered gravely deficient and some victims said it was a
dehumanizing experience.

"Cars just come by and throw food out the window and keep
going. The fastest person gets the food. Only the strong survive.
The elderly and the injured don't get anything. We feel like
dogs," said another refugee, Usman.

Minister of Social Services Bachtiar Chamsyah said in Medan
that 100 trucks were heading for Aceh on Thursday, carrying food
and medicine.

He explained that a lack of trucks had hampered the aid
distribution operation. The government relief mission, he said,
remained unable to reach most areas outside of Banda Aceh.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has been dropping food in areas
inaccessible by land transportation.

As of Thursday night, the official death toll had risen to
79,940. International aid officials have predicted that the death
toll in the province may climb over 100,000, many of whom remain
unburied. Thousands more are still considered missing.

The World Health organization estimated between one and three
million of those affected by the tsunami in Aceh and North
Sumatra were homeless. That number includes around 79,000 people
who have sought refuge in the hills of Simeulue island, the
closest inhabited area to the epicenter of the 9.0-magnitude
quake that generated the huge waves.

Due to the gravity of the humanitarian problems in Aceh,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pushed for a UN-sponsored
international conference to discuss relief operations for
affected nations.

Susilo said after a Cabinet meeting in Jakarta that his
proposal had received support from UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan and United States President George W. Bush.

Deputy House of Representatives speaker Soetardjo
Soerjogoeritno was among those who criticized the government for
not doing enough to ensure that the victims get help.

"We strongly urged the President to use all resources at his
disposal, including the bulk of the TNI and National Police
personnel and volunteers to be sent to Aceh. Do not just hold
meetings after meetings," Soetardjo admonished, shortly after
arriving in Aceh.

He said that among the most pressing problems currently faced
by the tsunami victims was the dead bodies that were still strewn
all over the city the acute food shortage.

"The TNI and police are still lacking what they need and they
already seem exhausted," he said, adding that the number of aid
workers needed for Aceh alone could reach thousands.

National coordinator of Medical Emergency Rescue Committee
(Mer-C) Jose Rizal Jurnalis said that the government through the
national disaster mitigation operation should do a better job of
coordinating the relief work in Aceh.

"Individual relief groups work alone without coordination
among themselves. Therefore, we don't know how far the relief
operations have progressed and what more needs to be done in what
area," he told The Jakarta Post. Jose was in Medan to coordinate
relief programs initiated by Mer-C.

Social activist Ratna Sarumpaet said the government had not
done enough to help the survivors. "I have information that four
days after the tsunami struck, only 60 volunteers from the
government had been deployed and corpses were still everywhere,"
Ratna, who has set up a crisis center told the Post.