Suffering not over yet for Alor earthquake victims

Suffering not over yet for Alor earthquake victims

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

The sky was dulled with clouds as Orpa Muakesak sifted through
the rubble of what was once her home in the earthquake-rattled
village of Tulen on Alor island.

Seven months into her pregnancy, the 29-year-old could only
sigh, "they say you should put something away for a rainy day."
But there was nothing left, and it was her tears that fell, heavy
and wet.

"How am I going to deliver this baby? How am I going to pay
the doctors? My husband, Zakaria, is ill. I'm so confused," she
said.

Zakaria Maukesak was seriously injured in the quake last week,
which measured 6.5 on the Richter scale. They had built their
home together, an achievement they had been proud of, and now he
was in hospital with spinal injuries.

A village away, Mesakh Langmaui, 75, although physically
unscathed, was building himself a makeshift shack from the
wreckage of his house.

He had lost his livelihood when the boat he had relied on as a
fisherman was swept away in the high tide that accompanied the
quake.

Mesakh, whose wife died years ago, said that all he could do
now was to shelter in the mountains, together with hundreds of
other survivors, for fear of aftershocks.

Orpa and Mesakh are among tens of thousands of people in the
regency who have been left homeless and penniless following the
serial quakes, which killed 28 people and damaged thousands of
houses and buildings.

The latest body recovered by rescue workers, on Friday, was
that of Elisabeth Maurang, under the rubble in North Langkuru
village.

As if things are not bad enough, outbreaks of communicable
diseases and the arriving rainy season are starting to threaten
survivors, who are living and sleeping unprotected in open
spaces.

Losses are estimated at over Rp 100 billion (US$12.36
million), as thousands of administrative buildings and houses
were destroyed as the quakes decimated large areas of the
regency.

Alor Regent Ans Takalapeta said the local administration was
treating the situation as an emergency, distributing medicine and
tarpaulins. Villagers were also being offered counseling and
medical treatment.

"The next step would to be build temporary houses for the
people to live in for the next year, and temporary buildings for
schools and businesses," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

For the long term, Ans said the administration would erect
buildings that could withstand quakes to minimize losses and
casualties in the event of another disaster. Alor is one of many
parts of the country that is located on the Pacific Rim of Fire,
making it prone to earthquakes.

The central government, which has allocated Rp 1 billion to
rebuild damaged property and provide aid to the people, is still
calculating whether or not it can grant Ans' request for Rp 100
billion in rehabilitation aid.

Aid has been flooding in from other parties, such as the
Japanese, Chinese and Australian governments, with the latest
donation from former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who paid a
visit on Friday.

Another resident, Martinus Langkang, said there was every
possibility that the Alor people could face a famine, as nobody
seemed to care about preparing their rice fields, although the
planting season had arrived.

"In a situation like this, really, it's better to hide in the
mountains and be safe rather than to carry on farming," said
Martinus, who will likely spend many more days living in anxiety,
before the good times return.