Refugees return to slopes of Mount Egon
Refugees return to slopes of Mount Egon
Yemris Fointuna and Jacob J Herin, The Jakarta Post, Kupang/Maumere
More than 1,000 of about 5,600 refugees who fled the slopes of
Mount Egon after it began erupting last week, returned home as
volcanic activity continued to die down on Thursday.
Local officials said on Tuesday the returning victims were
residents from the Bola and Waigete districts in the Sikka
regency who had been evacuated to the town of Maumere.
Most of the refugees were from Hale, Hebing, Natakoli and Egon
Gahar villages, located on the slopes of the mountain in Sikka,
they said.
"As many as 1,000 refugees have already returned home. Some of
them went home on their own initiative. The local government has
helped them by providing transportation," Sikka official
Sirajudin Paskalis said.
Their return followed an announcement by a local scientific
monitoring agency that volcanic activity on Mount Egon had
significantly reduced.
However, Paskalis urged pregnant women and children to stay at
refugee camps until after the volcano returned to normal.
"The government asks the returning refugees to remain on full
alert and to be ready for evacuation again at any time if there
are further eruptions," he said.
He also said the Sikka administration has relocated the
remaining 4,636 refugees to more-equipped emergency shelters in
17 locations across Maumere, some 25 kilometers from Sikka.
The relocation would help the local disaster and refugee task
force better provide aid for the victims, he said.
The Team of Humanitarian Volunteers for Flores (TRUK-F) said
on Thursday most of the refugees were in bad shape due to lack of
food and medical assistance.
TRUK-F coordinator Eusthocia Monika Nata said a mother gave
birth to a baby safely on Thursday at a refugee camp. She was now
seeking bedding for her toddler from the local authorities.
Josef Jansen, a refugee from Hebing village in Bola, admitted
his family faced difficulties taking care of his children due to
lack of food and bedding.