Merapi victims

Merapi victims

From Republika

The Merapi disaster is still fresh in our minds. Our attention is now focused on the fate of the evacuees still housed in barracks and tents. They are apparently fed up with their monotonous life-style. But the most disheartening thing for them is the fact that they are not allowed to go back to their homes, where they have placed their hopes.

Some of the affected areas are Torgo hillside, Turgo village, Turgo Tegal, Tritis Wetan Tunggal Arum, Ngandang and Tritis Kulon. Some of the affected villages around Bukit Plawangan are Kinahrejo, Palemsari, Ngrangkah and Gumuk Duwur. The refugees hailing from those areas were prohibited from returning.

That they were forbidden from going back to their ancestors' villages only adds to their grief and suffering.

The government declared those villages as prohibited areas, or dangerous areas, of category One.

What about the eastern part of Kaliurang? The people from this area were allowed to return to their ancestors' villages. Is this because the area is a tourist asset, and as such it should be preserved? In fact this is also a dangerous area of category One.

The same is true for the golf course project in Pagerjurang, Kapuharjo Cangkringan Sleman, Yogyakarta, which was started only very recently. I am not sure what is behind all this policy.

I would appreciate any comments or information about this matter. For the explosion-stricken people to transmigrate to a new part of Indonesia, still unknown to them, is easier said than done.

Name and address

withheld