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