Maluku refugees await government assistance
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku
Tension and fear is rare today on the spice island of Maluku, which was once rocked by sectarian conflicts from 1999 to 2002, and regardless of their religions, the local people mingle on the streets, at markets and in schools.
As peace-building efforts continue in Maluku, the refugee problem is still a major issue for the Maluku provincial government. Records show that at least 36,328 refugee families are scattered across the province.
Head of the local social affairs office A.R. Uluputty said recently that the Maluku administration sorely needed funds to help resolve the refugee problem.
Refugees currently occupy public and government facilities such as the Batumerah warehouse block, Waiahong Recreational Park and several government buildings.
According to information obtained from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Maluku has been allocated Rp 90 billion (US$10.6 million) in aid from the 2004 budget, said Uluputty, who said the amount would cover compensation for 9,050 refugee families.
The funds will be disbursed only after the local social affairs office completes feasibility studies on refugee management.
"Priority would be given to 5,469 families in Ambon municipality and the remainder will be sent to other regencies in Maluku," he said.
Moch. Ikhwanuddin Mawardi, an expert at the office of the State Minister of the Acceleration of Development in Eastern Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post that the central government could not disburse the funds immediately, as refugee records at the office differed from those gathered by the province.
Uluputty confirmed Mawardi's statement and said data collected by the refugee management task force and the Maluku public works office did not match those at the social affairs office, as the task force and public works office surveyed the number of houses destroyed. The social affairs office, on the other hand, recorded the number of families uprooted by the conflict.
"There could be two to three families living in a single house, while data collected by the task force only focuses on the number of houses which burned down. We have reported (this disparity) to Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsah," he said.
Uluputty admitted there was not much his office could do without assistance from the central government. The total refugees affected by the conflict now numbers more than 72,000 families, excluding those who were killed or injured. Of these, only 32,000 families had received government assistance so far, he said.
The central government has already provided hundreds of billions of rupiah to resolve the prolonged refugee problem, aside from additional funds provided by local and international non-governmental organizations.
In 2003, the state budget allocated Rp 176 billion in refugee funds, which supported 12,567 families, or 19,920 people. At the end of 2003, Maluku received an additional 31 billion to procure building materials for houses, and Rp 18 billion of this fund has already been used, with Rp 8 billion going toward building materials.
"The remainder was used to finance the return of refugees, operational costs and miscellaneous expenses," he said.
Iksan Mahu, a refugee from Karangjangang in Ambon who is staying with family at the Batumerah warehouse block said that he and his family were ready to return home, but they depended heavily on aid to rebuild their homes.