| |
|
|
IDEP
Aceh Recovery Update #3
Wednesday, December 29, 2004 1:28 AM |
 |
| The following is an exerpt from one of our regular updates which were designed to enlist support and increase the coordination of relief efforts for the survivors of the Tsunami in Aceh & North Sumatra. |
|
|
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR | IN ACEH/NORTH SUMATRA | IN BALI | DIRECT ASSISTANCE WITH ‘CARE BUCKETS’ | INDONESIAN QUAKE HITS TOLL OF 21,000... | GOV’T OPENS ACEH... | INDEX OF UPDATES
|
|
| Dear all, |
| Its been a long day of organizing strategies, communicating with people throughout Bali & Jakarta and on the ground in Aceh & Medan. Communication with Aceh is intermittent as hand phones are basically the only method of communication and as many areas are without electricity people need to be conservative with what is left of their battery power.
It’s still very difficult to get a clear understanding of the scope of the disaster; many areas are completely cut off from any form of communication. The Indonesian Government and International NGOs are conducting field assessments and the death toll is still rising, official figures today have reached 21,000. There are thousands of people being evacuated, and several communities that are completely isolated without any assistance whatsoever. IDEP is in contact with MPBI (Masyarakat Penanggulangan Bencana Indonesia – Indonesian Community Disaster Mitigation), BAKORNAS PBP (Badan Koordinasi Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana dan Pengungsian National Coordination Body for Disaster Mitigation and Evacuation), and through these organizations we have been able to obtain some information. Priority needs of people in Aceh are being updated on an ongoing basis. Information directly from Medan advises that people are in dire need of water, lighting, basic food items, blankets, clothing, and medicine – see more complete needs list below. IDEP is working in conjunction with several groups on Bali to coordinate a mechanism for ascertaining and sending this priority assistance to Aceh as quickly as possible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| In Aceh / North Sumatra |
|
| We have established a working relationship with two NGOs which both have offices in Medan, SOS (Sumatran Orangutang Society) and WALHI (Indonesian Friends of the Earth). WALHI will have access to three trucks and one helicopter, which are all leaving tomorrow afternoon, December 29, for the first delivery of assistance. The rental cost of each truck per round trip between Medan and Aceh (two-three days) is Rp 6,500,000 (about USD700). We need help for the cost of hiring these trucks.
SOS Medan office has been coordinating purchasing in Medan of urgently needed items which will be delivered by WALHI to two coastal communities in Aceh : Meulaboh and Tapaktuan tomorrow. See attached map for location details.
For those who have been asking for information about going to Aceh to volunteer please read Jakarta Post article below “Govt opens Aceh to foreign journalists, aid workers”.
|
|
|
|
|
| On Bali |
|
| The effort to coordinate support for those in need is growing stronger here in Bali. There are more and more people collecting donations of goods and brainstorming how we here in Bali can be of most assistance. In Ubud we are working with the Ubud LKMD, a local community organization who is starting a fundraising drive and has established a centrally located drop-off point in front of Ary’s Warung in downtown Ubud. We are continuing our pledge for help in the form of cash and goods to be sent during the following weeks to Aceh.
Many many thanks to all who have helped so far.
|
|
|
|
|
| Direct assistance to people in need is being prepared in the form of ‘Care Buckets’ |
|
| ‘Care Buckets’ are plastic buckets with handles & lids. Each bucket is filled with a variety of urgently needed supplies (from list below). They are waterproof, pre-packed and durable, which means that the goods are likely to get into the hands of those in need more quickly and in good condition. The ‘Care Bucket’ also offers a much needed solution for individual family water containers with lids which will help reduce the spread of vector diseases. |
| |
|
|
- Water purification tablets, bleach and other water purification tools, disinfectants (karbol, pinesol)
- Oral Rehydration salts (Oralit), Soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, talcum powder, sanitary napkins
- First Aid medications & bandages, Betadine, Vitamins (especially for infants & children)
- Medicines for diarrhea, Panadol for fever and pain, cold & cough medicines, antibiotic creams
- Non perishable food, rice and instant noodles
- Candles, lighters, gas lanterns, torches (flashlights) and batteries
- Linens, Towels, bedding, hammocks, mosquito nets, large plastic bags & other containers
- Any (if possible quick drying) clothing
- Mosquito repellant (coils, creams & sprays)
- Cooking & eating utensils, cook stoves
- Tents, tarpaulins and ropes
|
| Please contact your local drop off point to make a donation of ‘Care Buckets’ or funds to have the packages purchased on your behalf.
Thank you for any help/support you are able to give.
|
|
|
|
Indonesia quake toll hits 21,000
as disease threatens
From the Jakarta Post - December 28, 2004 |
|
| BANDA ACEH, Aceh (AFP): The rotting corpses of quake victims piled up Tuesday on Indonesia’s Sumatra island where at least 21,000 were dead and more lives were threatened by the possibility of disease outbreaks.
There were apocalyptic scenes in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh where the stench of death hung over the rubble of demolished houses as survivors from Sunday’s earthquake and tsunami struggled to dig graves in tropical heat.
From the obliterated western shoreline of Sumatra’s Aceh province there was only eerie silence pierced by an SOS call from what remained of the main town where police said looting had broken out as starvation loomed.
Purnomo Sidik, the head of the disaster relief center at the ministry of social services, said on late Tuesday the toll had jumped four-fold to more than 21,000 as the dead were counted in Banda Aceh and the western town of Meulaboh.
With medicine, water, body bags, power and communications still in short supply, the threat of widespread sickness was growing while foreign aid agencies said it was near impossible to distribute relief to the area.
Aceh has been under military lockdown for over a year during a government drive to crush a separatist rebellion. A ban on foreign aid agencies has just been lifted, but with no network in place they faced a battle to get started.
In the first contact from the town of Meulaboh, which would have been among the first hit by the enormous tidal waves that wreaked devastation across Asia, an e-mail from local police said that only 20 percent of the town still stood. (***)
|
|
|
|
|
Govt opens Aceh to foreign journalists, aid workers
From the Jakarta Post - December 28, 2004 |
|
| JAKARTA (JP): Foreign journalists and aid workers are finally being allowed to enter Aceh, following the devastating quake on Sunday, an official confirmed on Tuesday.
Secretary to the coordinating minister for people’s welfare Sutedjo Juwono said Jakarta-based foreign journalists could go directly to Aceh after they had secured a pass from local military authorities.
“However, aid workers and journalists not based here are required to submit application letters... which may take two weeks (to process), Sutedjo said.
The government has been urged to allow humanitarian workers to enter Aceh, which was declared off-limits to foreigners when it sent in troops in May 2003 to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Late on Monday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla officially allowed foreign journalists to enter Aceh to cover the disaster’s aftermath, reported Antara.
The deputy to coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Joko Sumaryono, has been appointed the liaison officer for foreign journalists.
Journalists must register with the government before entering Aceh so their movements can be monitored. (mun/nvn)
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
