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.