Maluku refugees await government assistance

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.