Some Aceh survivors still not getting full access to disaster aid
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Many survivors in tsunami-devastated Aceh are still out of reach of humanitarian assistance, although international and domestic aid continues to pour into the area, a senior UN official says.
World Food Programme (WFP) Asia director Anthony Banbury said on Tuesday the agency was still trying to reach the many Dec. 26 tsunami survivors who were currently living in isolated areas without food, clothing or shelter.
"Almost every day, we found communities in difficult-to-reach locations, sometimes very small communities between 100 and 200 people who lived one, two or three kilometers from the shore," Banbury said in Jakarta.
He said the WFP along with its partners were still gathering data on both the locations and the number of survivors living in isolated areas and needing assistance.
The statement contradicted earlier claims by Indonesian government officials, who said that all tsunami-affected areas had now been reached by humanitarian aid.
The WFP is working together with the Indonesian government, NGOs and other agencies in providing humanitarian assistance to the survivors.
It has dispatched more than 4,200 tons of rice, vitamin fortified noodles and biscuits to the stricken province. The food is estimated to be enough to feed about 330,000 people -- 160,000 living on the eastern coast, 110,000 living in Banda Aceh and another 60,000 living on the west coast, Banbury said.
To guarantee the steady delivery of aid to survivors, the WFP has opened up corridors from Banda Aceh to Medan and from Medan to Meulaboh on Sumatra's west coast. The agency has also been managing a humanitarian air hub for aid from Malaysia since Jan. 7.
It recently appealed for a total of US$185 million for food assistance to meet the needs of all the Asian countries affected by the tsunami, including Indonesia.
Indonesia's share makes up $110 million, used to support survivors' during the next six months. So far, the WFP has confirmed contributions amounting to $91 million.
The agency has been working continuously since the disaster hit Aceh three weeks ago.
The Indonesian Military has voiced concerns for the security of aid workers in the war-torn province where it has been battling Free Aceh movement (GAM) rebels for years.
Concerns that conflict between the two sides would increase on Monday prompted Joel Boutroue, the head of U.N. relief operations in Aceh, to impose a travel curfew on aid workers, but the 24- hour ban was lifted on Tuesday.
"The rumors were about possible attacks on relief workers. It was really nothing, and I repeat, nothing specific," he told Reuters.