Illnesses swamp refugees in Aceh
Illnesses swamp refugees in Aceh
Nani Farida and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe/Banda Aceh
Thousands of Acehnese across the province have been treated for
various illnesses since they fled to refugee camps following the
imposition of martial law in the province on May 19.
Data provided by the local health office show that virtually
all refugees have scabies, over 4,000 suffer from respiratory
ailments, 1,369 have ulcers, and thousands of others have
contracted bronchitis and diarrhea.
According to the latest data provided by local health
officials, there are currently 31,769 refugees living in 16
refugee camps across the province. They are mostly living in
tents set up by local administrations.
The central government has sent humanitarian aid including
medical supplies, 33 doctors, 18 ambulances and four tons of
infant formulas to the refugee camps.
Teuku Muhammad, deputy head of the provincial health office,
said on Wednesday that health posts set up within each of the 16
refugee camps had recorded some 14,000 patient visits.
"These are ordinary illnesses and we are already treating
them," Muhammad told AFP. "There are malnourished children."
He said 14,000 was the number of visits, not the number of
individual patients treated, and that he did not consider the
figure to be alarming.
"On a daily basis, the number of visits is small," he said.
At Keunire refugee camp, Pidie regency, and Cot Pagu camp,
Bireuen regency, common diseases afflicting refugees dues to poor
sanitation include diarrhea, colds and upper respiratory
infections (ISPA).
Fachrurizal, a medical officer at Keunire camp, said that the
common cold topped the list of diseases with 241 cases, followed
by diarrhea with 233 cases, then skin problems with 220 cases and
ISPA with 164 cases.
The Keunire camp is packed with over 1,760 families, mainly
from four villages in Muara Tiga district, Pidie.
Halimah, 70, complained of water shortage in the camp.
"I feel itchy all over; I want to go home as soon as
possible," Halimah told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Yusniar, 20, who is eight months pregnant, said that she had a
cold and felt achy.
Refugees in Cot Pagu camp, home to 4,480 families from eight
villages in Juli district, Bireuen regency, are experiencing
similar conditions.
Sufli, a Cot Pagu camp official said that the government had
tried its best to overcome the shortage of clean water at the
camps, but that the problem kept recurring.
"We are always calling the water company to fix the camp's
water supply, but the problem persists," he said.
The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged both the Indonesian Military and
the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to "respect the humanitarian
principles" as stipulated in the Geneva Convention in a joint
statement on Wednesday.
Both sides must avoid violence against human life and persons
and the taking of hostages, they said.
The PMI also called on the public to give blood to help
"fulfill the need for blood donations", which has been increasing
in Aceh.
Meanwhile, from the battlefield, police claimed on Wednesday
to have arrested a senior GAM spokesman.
Irwandi Yusuf, alias Isnandar al-Pase, is being detained at a
police station in Banda Aceh and is facing charges of treason,
said provincial police spokesman Sayed Husaini.
Yusuf is among the most senior of 535 people -- whom the
military allege are rebels -- who were detained or surrendered
during the operation.
The military said another 270 GAM members had been killed in
the operation launched to quash the rebels, after attempts to
resolve the 27-year conflict through dialog failed.
Eight of the rebels died on Tuesday in four separate
firefights across Aceh, said Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, a
military operation spokesman.
A rebel spokesman, Teungku Mansur, told AFP in Jakarta that
one GAM member had died on Monday in a firefight at Peureulak,
East Aceh.
Mansur denied that GAM was increasingly and systematically
being hemmed in by government forces.