Volunteers in Aceh need blood, ambulance, fund

Volunteers in Aceh need blood, ambulance, fund

Tiarma Siboro and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post,
Lhokseumawe, Aceh

Post-violence humanitarian missions are basically the same
everywhere, but the students who evacuate the casualties of the
ongoing war in Aceh are markedly different from the volunteers
who cleared the bodies and assisted the injured from the rubble
of the Bali bombings.

While international assistance, ranging from medical equipment
to psychological help, poured in to those helping at the blast
sites in Bali, the students who join the Indonesian Red Cross
(PMI) volunteers in Aceh, have to overcome their challenges
alone.

"I no longer feel anything when I see dead bodies, whatever
state they are in. Initially, we had nightmares. But after two or
three evacuations, we got used to it," said Daryanto Manik, one
of the students.

Daryanto and his fellow students from Malikussaleh University,
in Banda Aceh established the group in 2000. They have helped
evacuate 127 victims of the Aceh conflict since the government
launched military operations to quell the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) on May 19.

The students, Daryanto said, have managed to get used to the
pungent odor of blood and decaying flesh. Previously, they used
two masks with a handful of coffee beans inserted in between to
beat the smell.

"We never wear double masks now. We have run out of them but
really, we already got used to the smell," said another
volunteer, economic student Zulfikar.

Despite Jakarta's policy to flank the military operation with
humanitarian assistance, the PMI workers still face difficulties
due to inadequate funds and facilities.

The government also has limited foreign assistance in Aceh,
including the provision of humanitarian aid and volunteers.

The Malikussaleh students have only one old Kijang van which
has been converted into an ambulance and one stretcher in a poor
condition, said the volunteers' coordinator Yus Effendi.

"The van can reach a speed of 80 kilometer per hour at the
most and transport just one victim, while we have to rush to
sites mostly situated in remote areas.

"Sometimes we have to stack up two or three bodies. If more,
we have to take the bodies to the hospital in batches," Yus
added.

The student volunteers are not the only one who have to make
the best of limit funds. The PMI office in Gandapura district
only has one pick-up truck to transport bodies.

Besides masks, the volunteers lack standard safety equipment,
including arm-length rubber gloves, rain coats and helmets. These
are needed as they often work under heavy rain and the threat of
armed attack.

Blood supply is another problem facing the volunteers because
the residents are not willing to donate blood, due to their lack
of knowledge and fear of syringes, another volunteer Mulyadi, a
native of Aceh, said.

The tight evacuation procedures are also giving the volunteers
a headache.

After they receive a telephone call, informing them of the
location of victims, the volunteers have to obtain approval from
the PMI operation center in Lhokseumawe, who will then pass the
information on to the police.

But the procedure does not stop there. The volunteers then
have to report their presence to the nearest military post and
wait until they receive the go-ahead before they arrive at the
site.

"That's all for the sake of security. But in some cases, even
though we have approval, we are still not safe. Once, when we
were just about to reach a location, the soldiers there stopped
us and conducted a search. They interrogated two of us and
ordered residents and the rest of the team to lie down on the
ground, to make sure that we were not GAM supporters.

"On the other hand, once we tried to pick up several bodies
from a location, but the GAM fighters who were still there
forbade us to take them to the hospital," Daryanto said.

Yus said his team evacuated 40 bodies in July alone, the
largest number they had ever picked up in one month. Only 25 of
the bodies were identified.

Most of the bodies had sustained gun shot wounds and some of
the victims were teenagers.

"Of course the small budget will not stop us from doing
humanitarian work. But, to keep the operation going, we need
donors to provide us with equipment," Yus said

The unit's office is located on Jl. Tgk. Chik Ditiro No. 2A
Lc. Garam Lhokseumawe 24351, phone 0645-48390, facsimile 0645-
44450, email address ksr04_um@plasa.com.