Quake victims find shelter in Batam

Quake victims find shelter in Batam

Fadli , The Jakarta Post, Batam

Traumatized and hungry and waiting for government aid that never
came, Serupa Sarumaha breathed a sigh of relief after his wife
and three children reached a community shelter in Batam city on
Tuesday.

Along with 15 other refugees, the 26-year-old from Bawah Loa
Lani vil lage in Teluk Dalam, South Nias, arrived at the barracks
run by the Nias Oikumene Community Organization. Serupa said he
and his family were still in shock after the earthquake.

They had left for Batam with little money in their pockets but
with hope as they knew there were some Nias people in Batam
willing to help them, he said.

"We were starving there; not getting any food aid. We were
also scared of the aftershocks," Serupa told The Jakarta Post
late on Wednesday.

The group traveled from their village onboard a barge to
Sibolga in Tapanuli Tengah, North Sumatra. From there they took a
six-hour trip by bus to Dumai in Riau and a ferry to Batam.

"My house is completely ruined. All of my belongings are gone.
Fortunately, my children are still little and don't ask too many
questions," the trader said.

Another refugee, 22-year-old Adi Layla, said it was hard for
the residents to get food, such as rice, after the quake. He and
his family only received biscuits and mineral water from a nearby
aid post.

"I am used to eating rice, as how can I live on biscuits only.
I left because I didn't want to stay hungry," Adi said. "I was
also scared about the aftershocks. I heard there were Nias people
in Batam who are willing to take us in," he said.

The Nias community organization in Batam predicted that more
quake victims would arrive in the city, saying that many were
calling the center, wanting out of the quake-hit island.

"They come here because they're not getting help in Nias. They
arrive here hungry. I regret the government's slow response to
assisting quake victims in Nias," said group member Iskandar
Dachi.

Until Wednesday, the shelter accommodated 16 quake victims --
10 adults and six children, all them coming from Bawah Loa Lani
village.

The organization's chairman, Yaaro Zebua, said the
organization would keep taking in the quake victims into its
shop-house-turned shelter.

"We don't know until how we'll accommodate all of them here.
For the meantime, we can provide their meals, but we also ask the
government to pay attention to their future," Yaaro said. "It's
sad to know that they're starving."

The 8.7-magnitude quake rocked the island last week,
destroying most buildings and claiming more than 500 lives.