Nias Online

Thursday, April 14, 2005

The Cahaya Abadi (Endless Sun), a private relief boat carrying aid to Aceh and Nias from a Bali-based non-governmental organization (NGO) sunk off the coast of Nias on April 11 at 2 p.m.

The 700-ton vessel had just finished offloading a cargo of rice and aid to the village of Afulu on the south coast of Nias, North Sumatra, when it struck an uncharted reef in a heavy swell.

The boat sunk within twenty minutes. Some of the Indonesian crew of 15, plus five volunteers, swam safely to shore and the others were picked up by fishing boats. All are safe.

The Cahaya Abadi had delivered aid from Bali-based Yayasan IDEP and 87 tons of rice donated by the World Food Program to four isolated communities in Nias before the incident occurred.

It had just completed its fourth rice delivery when the accident occurred. The vessel, leased by Yayasan Andaru Selaras (a Jakarta-based NGO), was carrying relief goods from Yayasan IDEP, the World Food Program, Project Concern International and other donors.

"We are grateful for the good news that no one on board was seriously injured," said Yayasan IDEP executive director Petra Schneider. "We are committed to continuing our Aceh aid and recovery projects with the help of our generous donors, volunteers and staff."

The many major earthquakes in the immediate area since December 26 have created an unstable seabed situation, with uncharted, hard-to-navigate coral reefs.

"The crew and volunteers were aware that they were putting themselves in a dangerous and volatile situation," said Chris Gentry, founder of Yayasan Andaru Selaras.

"I want to thank those who have put their lives at risk for the people of Aceh and North Sumatra. Despite the trauma and hardship they have experienced their commitment has not waned. Aid delivery at this difficult time will continue." — JP

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

At least 42 quake victims in South Nias regency reportedly died in emergency shelters due to a lack of medical attention and food aid, an official claimed on Monday.

Secretary of the South Nias earthquake disaster coordination post, Herman Laiya, said most of the victims who died in the shelters after the 8.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the island on March 28 were children, teenagers and elderly residents from Gomo and Teluk Dalam districts.

The victims died due to a lack of medical attention after suffering serious injuries, such as broken bones and concussion, he added.

Herman said hundreds of South Nias residents had suffered serious injuries and were still waiting for medical attention.

He also blamed slow food aid distribution as a factor causing death among people injured in the earthquake.

"Some people injured in the quake stayed in the shelters for two or three days, then died. I'm worried the number will increase if medical and food assistance does not immediately reach this regency," Herman told The Jakarta Post by phone from Medan.

He put the number of deaths in the regency as a result of the earthquake at 142 people, 42 of whom had later died in emergency shelters.

Many refugees, he added, still preferred to stay in hilly areas, sleeping in tents, because of concerns about aftershocks.

According to coordination post data, the number of displaced persons in South Nias regency stood at 3,749 people, and 23,855 from Nias regency.

Secretary of the North Sumatra disaster prevention post, Edy Aman Saragih, said he had not yet received reports about people with injuries who subsequently died in the shelters, expressing doubt that people died from lack of food or medical attention.

He said that two weeks after the quake, medical services and food aid distribution were operating effectively in the island's two regencies.

However, Herman said food aid to South Nias was not being evenly distributed because several bridges were still down.

"Food aid distribution is still limited to South Nias. Since the quake, we've only distributed rice on two occasions to people, each time giving them two cupfuls," he said.

Information coordinator at the Nias regency coordination post, R.E. Nainggolan, said that no one in the regency had died for want of medical attention or food aid. The quake claimed 492 lives in the regency, and 50 are still missing.

All hospitals and clinics in Nias regency were back in operation and providing free medical services, he said.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

After his hometown on Nias island was shattered by an earthquake, life is no longer the same for seven-year-old Alui Zalukhu.

He has been at the Pirngadi hospital in Medan for over a week, all alone. He was separated from his family when the 8.7-magnitude quake destroyed his house in Hombolate village in Afulu district. Three days after the quake, he had to be taken to Medan because of his broken legs.

But the quake left a scar on the boy's soul, giving him nightmares, and causing him to wake up screaming almost every night.

Amagamawa Gea, a 65-year-old Nias resident whose son is being treated next to Alui at the hospital, said the boy rarely talks, usually not even responding to those wanting to talk to him. But the boy talked once about his parents.

"He's certain that his parents are still alive. He said his father's name is Obedi Zalukhu, but he couldn't remember the name of his mother or sisters," said the resident of Tuhembeua, Nias.

It was when the old man mentioned Alui's family that the boy suddenl spoke in Nias language. "For sure, my parents are still alive", the boy said.

Amagamawa said Alui was going through a very difficult time due to his injuries, his nightmares and loneliness.

"Poor kid. He must miss his parents so much. They still haven't come for him. As a fellow resident of Nias, I feel obligated to look after him," Amagamawa said.

The quake left many other children, like Alui, traumatized.

Blessing Gulo, 6, and his sister Milka Gulo, 7, have been at Medan hospitals for a week too. Blessing is being treated at Pirngadi hospital, while Milka is at Elisabeth hospital with their mother, Lisma Jacobis.

Their father, Yulianus Gulo, said the children were now sleeping very restlessly. Every night after the quake, Blessing has had nightmares, he said.

"When he wakes up, he looks shocked. His temperature also rises and then he cries for more than an hour," said Yulianus, who is staying with Blessing.

The 35-year-old church pastor from Gunung Sitoli said his daughter, Milka, was previously in a critical state, and could not even open her eyes for the first four days in the hospital. On her fifth day, she finally opened her eyes, but she rarely has spoken.

Yulianus said that at the time of the disaster, his house in Jl. Diponegoro in Gunung Sitoli collapsed onto his wife and two children, while he was outside the house. Yulianus said that Milka suffered more compared to her mother and brother.

"Milka was bleeding from the mouth, nose and ears. At the time, I was pessimistic that she would survive because of the injuries," he said.

She was taken to a hospital in the North Sumatra town of Sibolga. "But because the equipment at the hospital was inadequate, she was sent here, to Medan," Yulianus said.

Saturday, April 09, 2005

JAKARTA: Vice President Jusuf Kalla told Nias and North Sumatra people to remain calm despite rumors that a tsunami was imminent in the area.

"Rumors are everywhere … in Nias, Padang and along the west coast of Sumatra. The government always advises the people not to panic," he said on Friday after attending a function at the Golkar Party head office.

Kalla, who also leads Golkar, was responding to a report that hundreds of Nias people had moved to higher ground or other locations due to fears of a tsunami and bigger earthquakes.

He suggested that people stay alert, but said the government could not stop them from abandoning their homes. — JP

Saturday, April 09, 2005 Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post/Teluk Dalam, Nias

Sorake beach in Southern Nias is like heaven for surfers due to its waves that characteristically break from right to left, creating a long tube.

However, since the March 28 earthquake, nobody but a few local boys has ridden the waves.

Most of the shacks dotted along the beach were wrecked by the quake.

Amid the destruction, Jafet Laia, 60, the owner of Yuni Losmen at Sorake, combed through the debris of his shake, finding only a mat and a pillow.

In the unforgiving heat of the day he unrolled the mat under a coconut tree, put the pillow on it and rested his head, staring at the white sand as it was swept up by the wind.

"There were about 20 foreign surfers staying here at the time of the quake. We all ran in time, so we were saved. We took refugee in a village uphill," Laia recalled.

He said the surfers abandoned the beach the following day.

"They won't come back here I guess. I think they must be afraid there will be more quakes," he added.

C.H.J. Gultom, the owner of Boraspati Express, a tours and travel agent specializing in extreme sports like surfing, said foreign surfers had been turned off by predictions of a string of quakes on the island.

"Of course the tourism sector will slow down. Cancellations up until the end of this month have reached 100 percent," he told The Jakarta Post.

However, he believes the surfers will come back. The temptation of perfect waves is not easy to turn down, he added.

"Moreover, surfers are different from other tourists. They are more adventurous," he said.

Gultom said that a T-shirt for surfers that reads "I've been surfing at tsunami point" has sold well.

"Besides, they love discovery. It's a glorious treasure for them if they can find a secret spot for surfing alone without having to take turns," he said.

Gultom said surfers were willing to travel far to remote places for "secret" spots.

His agency has taken many surfers to small islands around Nias to find surfing spots other than the 11 well-known points.

"I still have some reservations for May this year. They have not canceled them yet," he said.

Thomas Lafon, 25, a surfer from France, who was at Sorake when the quake hit the beach, said he would like to come back to Nias some day.

"But in the meantime, my family told me to go far away from Sumatra. I will probably continue surfing in the eastern part of Indonesia," he told the Post at Binaka Airport, where he was about to depart for Medan, 10 days after the quake.

Nias' famous surfing spots are scattered and not always easy to reach.

Some surfers set up camp on islands like Bawa and Asu. Surfers tend to stay for months in a surfing area, living modestly in shacks or even residents' houses.

They spend more money on necessities, like boats and boards.

"I get any job I can in France to save money to travel for months to surf," Lafon said.

"I've been to the Mentawai Islands and I loved it. I want to go back. Probably later," he said.

Saturday, April 09, 2005

Today, just under two weeks after a huge earthquake demolished their homes, burying hundreds of men, women and children in their sleep, the people of Nias are still struggling to rebuild their lives.

As of this weekend, many bodies were still under the rubble, unrecovered due to a lack of heavy earth moving equipment. School children, those who survived the March 28 killer quake and escaped uninjured, were compelled to attend their lessons in makeshift classrooms or in the open. Food, water and fuel were hard to come by.

Though smaller in scale than the catastropic destruction that was left in the wake of the Dec. 26 tsunami, which washed whole towns and villages off the map, the human suffering that the 8.7-scale earthquake has wrought on the once-idyllic island of Nias is felt no less intensely by the island's population.

Not that help from outside has been wanting. As was the case in the Aceh tsunami disaster, help has come in by the planeload and by sea, sent over by concerned citizens overseas and elsewhere across the country as soon as news of the disaster spread. And as was true in the wake of the Dec. 26 calamity too, friendly countries near and far have been prompt to extend a helping hand to ease the suffering of the populace.

If something good has come out of this latest disaster, it must be that it has strengthened the bond of solidarity and mutual understanding — both on the national and international front — that governmental mismanagement, oppression and discrimination have for so long buried and pushed into near oblivion.

All this, however, does not detract from the disturbing impression that the various natural disasters that have occurred over the past months have proven this country's capabilities to deal with natural disasters to be grossly inadequate. As regards the Dec. 26 tsunami and more recent Nias earthquake, it is easy and certainly tempting to lay the blame for the nation's inadequacy on the sheer scope and extent of the destruction.

Nevertheless, one cannot escape the impression that neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka have shown themselves to be much more ready to act in the face of disaster. The very fact that international teams have often been first to offer help in some of the most remote of the disaster-stricken areas should give us plenty of reason to think about upgrading our own relief capabilities.

To be sure, this may not be as easy a task as it may seem. For one thing, money in sufficient amounts must be set aside to establish the organizational framework and set up the infrastructure and equipment necessary for such a task. In the face of such constraints, the government and the nation are well advised to make the best use of the international offers that have been made by governments and organizations abroad to come to our and to the region's help.

Above all, the local populace of our coastal regions must be made aware of the vital importance of keeping their protective coastal environments intact. This is particularly true given the inclination of Indonesians to dismiss or take lightly the possibility of disaster until it actually strikes. Hopefully, though, the devastation which the disasters of past weeks have wrought in the area can serve as a reminder that prevention is always better than the cure.

Friday, April 08, 2005 Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Gunung Sitoli

On a day when she was supposed to tap latex on her five-hectare rubber plantation, Ameria Hura, 32, was instead sitting and chatting with her relatives in Hiligodu village, 12 kilometers from the town of Gunung Sitoli in north Nias.

It's been eight days since the earthquake halted the economic activities there.

Tapping latex — the main source of local revenue in Nias — is her family's only way to earn a living. Some other farmers earn a living from copra and cocoa.

"We're out of money. However, tapping latex nowadays is useless because after the quake, no rubber traders come to the local market to buy our latex," she said.

Her family usually earns about Rp 60,000 (US$6.66) a day from selling 15 kilograms of latex.

Amosi Lase, who owns a rubber trading company Rejeki, said that he was not buying latex from the farmers because he still had 150 tons of latex sitting in his storehouse four kilometers from Nias island's main seaport in Gunung Sitoli.

"The quake did not ruin my storehouse. However, the seaport is now closed for trading. There is no shipping company to transport my latex to Sibolga," he said.

Meanwhile, Yanto, the owner of shipping company PT Gunung Silewi, said he had three ships and three trucks ready to transport Nias' produce to start the economic wheel, but he could not access the port, which is crowded with relief aid and panic-stricken Nias residents who wanted to leave the island.

"If the authorities can arrange administrative procedures at the sea port for trading, the trading could restart," he said.

Vincent Antonius Kurniawan, 26, who runs his family's rice supply company in Gunung Sitoli, also urged the authorities to designate space at the seaports in Sibolga and Nias for trading to fill the rice supply gap in Nias.

"My customers from several districts in Nias have contacted me to buy rice. I sold some of my stock to them from my warehouse. But the supply is quickly dwindling and it will finish in two days, meanwhile my customers are waiting for more," he said.

Vincent said that besides rice from aid, some customers who still had money preferred to buy rice rather than depending on the uncertain aid.

The young entrepreneur said his family's store in the main business area was wrecked in the quake. His parents are still recovering from some injuries in Medan.

"My family told me to rest in our house in Medan. But I remembered my workers here. They would be out of work if we leave Nias. Meanwhile, my customers here also need supplies," he said.

Vincent said that some of Nias' economic players, most of whom are Chinese-Indonesians, left Nias to recover from the trauma of the quake.

"I'm sure they will be back soon though," he said.

Meanwhile, he is struggling to restart Nias' economic wheel because once the wheel is running, the people of Nias can quickly stand on their own feet to rebuild the island.

"We cannot depend on relief aid forever," Vincent said.

Local markets in Gunung Sitoli opened three days after the quake, selling the existing supplies of salted fish, rice, instant noodles and kitchenware.

However, restarting business at the time when distribution of aid is not well channeled, security at the seaports and storehouses becomes an important issue.

"I have spoken to the local trade and industry authority here to ask them to help arrange security and transportation," he said. "Just give us a permit to assign one ship, only one ship, for trading," he said.

"But I haven't got the answer yet," he added.

Meanwhile, the Gunung Sitoli port administrator, Sudirman, said that trade and industry officials from Jakarta and Medan had come to him to talk about the possibility of opening the port for trading.

"We have talked to the government's transportation company PT ASDP here to start receiving goods," he said.

PT ASDP, which has three trading ships in Nias, is now using the ships solely for passengers and relief aid.

PT ASDP official Junjungan Siahaan in Gunung Sitoli said the trade and industry officials had talked to him about it.

"If the traders want to load latex onto the ships, they are welcome. But they have to use the aid trucks from Sibolga, which were used to transport aid here," Siahaan said.

"They cannot use their own trucks because I'm following orders to concentrate on transporting relief aid."

Friday, April 08, 2005 Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Gunung Sitoli

Yeniria Telemanua, 12, and her brother Natalius, 9, started off on the two-hour, 10-kilometer journey from the hilly area where their parents grow water spinach and cassava leaves to Beringin market in Gunung Sitoli.

The elementary school students have not been in school since the 8.7-magnitude earthquake late last month forced the administration to temporarily close all schools in Muawe village, Gunung Sitoli district.

The scrawny pair are among hundreds of children living on higher ground, who must work to help their parents due to the disaster.

They wake up at 7 a.m., not to go to school but to transport vegetables from their small farms to Gunung Sitoli's markets.

The quake destroyed their home, forcing them to live in temporary shelters.

"No relief aid has arrived in our village," Yeniria said. "And our parents, who grow tropical plants to obtain latex, have run out of money again."

"Before the quake we used to help our parents sell vegetables after school. But usually we only helped our mother carry her load, and we didn't walk but went by bus," Yeniria said.

Now, each child must make the long journey to the market carrying six bunches of green vegetables, which they sell for Rp 500 each.

When they were halfway through their journey, a small stall bought six bunches of water spinach from Natalius. However, because Yeniria's supply had not been sold yet, the pair had to carry on walking.

If they sell all their vegetables, the children can buy half a kilogram of rice from the market.

"The rice is Rp 12,000 per kilogram. We hope we can bring half a kilogram home for our family today," Yeniria said.

Another child, Herman Lase, 13, was seen hawking fish at shelters in Gunung Sitoli.

"My father used to sell fish to market vendors. But now only a few people come to the market, so he told me to sell it in town," the student from Saewe village said.

The three children's schools survived the earthquake but classes are yet to resume.

"We probably won't go back to school if our father and mother aren't able to tap latex. We don't have money for school," Yeniria said.

Nias Elementary Education Agency head O'ozatulo Ndraha said that 50 percent of school children had not been able to attend school due to the quake.

"We plan to erect tents where we could hold classes. While school won't fully resume, we can at least encourage the children so they retain their spirit to learn," he said.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005 The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A U.S. navy hospital ship arrived off the coast of Nias island on Tuesday, joining a big international relief effort to provide medical help and food aid for hundreds of thousands of people affected by the March 28 earthquake.

Joining the USNS Niagara Falls, which dropped anchor on Monday off Nias, the 1,000-bed USNS Mercy will provide aid both aboard and ashore with a range of medical specialties, including trauma, surgical support, orthopedics, ob-gyn, pediatrics, dental treatment and laboratory facilities.

All of those services, however, will not be immediately available, as the crew awaits the arrival of doctors and nurses from the United States, expected later this week.

"The ship will initially have one operating room, which can be used up to 12 hours per day as well as two intensive care units (ICU). Once it picked up more staff on Sibolga, it would have about 175 extra medical personnel, five ICU beds, 45 regular beds and three operating rooms. X-ray suites, laboratories and CAT-scan equipment would also be operational when the extra crew arrives," Captain Rick Morrison, deputy surgeon for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told AFP on Tuesday.

Medical help also came from the Russian mobile hospital, which has been in Nias since Friday, with 33 rescuers, doctors and nurses along with two specially trained search dogs and medical equipment.

The medical team has provided assistance for around 48 patients, mostly with broken bones.

"We also provide one helicopter, as well as an airplane placed at Polonia airport in Medan," head of the Russian team Vladimir Boreiko said during a press conference on Tuesday.

A Hungarian rescue team has also arrived, working together with rescuers from Australia, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, delivered some 500 baskets of food as well as three four-wheel drive ambulances and six motorbikes handed to the Indonesian Red Cross. Seventeen more ambulances were reportedly on the way.

However, some reports said that foreign rescue teams were preparing to leave after spending a week sifting through the debris of thousands of collapsed buildings.

Boreiko said the Russian team would be in Nias for two weeks unless the Indonesian government asked them to continue the mission.

An estimated 1,300 people were believed to have been killed during last week's quake, most of those on Nias, but fatalities also have been reported on neighboring Simeulue island and nearby Singkil regency in Aceh.

Gunung Sitoli town, the capital of Nias, was worst affected, with at least 600 bodies recovered according to police reports, in addition there were more than 3,000 people injured and some 7,000 buildings, including hospitals, that were destroyed.

Relief groups have taken around 430 seriously injured people to hospitals on mainland Sumatra. A city health official in Medan told AFP that around 300 Nias residents were in intensive care units in 10 hospitals in Medan.

Meanwhile, UNICEF said some 15,000 families were homeless in Nias, with half of them living in houses of relatives and friends and about 7,500 others were without shelter.

Some people were unable to get home after being treated for their injuries, such as Beil Mefu Wao, 17, who was taken by helicopter on Friday to a hospital with injuries to his head and limbs.

However, after being released from the hospital, he had no way to return home to Sorake village, some 140 kilometers southeast of Gunung Sitoli.

"I do not know how I can get home," said Wao in tears, sitting near the hospital. "I want to go home, I have been declared healthy, but I do not know how I can get home.

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

JAKARTA: Around 30 percent of inmates from Gunung Sitoli Penitentiary in Nias, who escaped during last week's massive earthquake, have reported to local police stations, according to a senior officer at National Police Headquarters.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zainuri Lubis said on Monday that around 53 of 178 inmates on the loose had turned themselves in to police.

During the 8.7-magnitude earthquake, the inmates fled from the prison as it was ripped apart.

"Since the building was damaged by the quake, they cannot return to the prison, but they still have to report daily to police stations," Zainuri said.

He said the police would pursue the remaining inmates and would add jail time to the sentences of those who were uncooperative. — JP

Tuesday, April 05, 2005 Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Gunung Sitoli

For two days, Fajarman Harefa has been crying out in pain because his left leg is broken. He was injured after his house on Nias island collapsed when the 8.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the island.

Only when his brother, Darma Harefa, treated the wound with antiseptic and wrapped it in simple cloth, Fajarman felt some relief.

Darma said he had to treat his brother although he had no medical or first aid experience.

"I'm confused, I don't know what to do to treat my brother's leg. He is in pain and I feel sad seeing him like that," 20-year-old Darma, a resident of Namohalu Esiwa district in Nias regency, told The Jakarta Post recently.

After his brother cleaned his wound, Fajarman was then taken by volunteers to a medical post in a school near Pelita Gunung Sitoli field.

At the post he was left untreated, prompting some volunteers to suggest that he be evacuated to Medan for medical treatment.

Fajarman said he was disappointed that he did not receive immediate medical attention.

"I was not given medical treatment at the post for hours, now I am told that I will be taken to Medan for treatment," said Fajarman before being taken to Medan on board a Singapore government Chinook helicopter.

Another quake victim, Adimani Halawa, also had to endured pain in her left leg, which was completely torn apart when the restaurant where she worked in was flattened in the quake.

"At the time of the disaster, I tried to run out of the restaurant. But the lights went out so I couldn't find the way out. Suddenly, the restaurant building collapsed and I was hit on my left leg. I fainted and woke up in the morning," the 25-year-old woman recalled.

The woman then tried to find cloth to cover her wound and then walked to the street, hoping to get help. But a day after the quake, there was no one to help her.

"Everyone was busy looking for their relatives under the collapsed buildings. For a whole day I tried to survive, and I lost lots of blood," she said.

She finally reached the medical post on the second day. There, what remained of her leg was wrapped in a bandage.

"Until now, I don't know the fate of my family," Adimani, whose family lives in Helaombo village in Gomo district, Nias regency, told the Post on Friday.

A volunteer at the medical post near Pelita field said on Friday that medical supplies at her post were not enough to treat quake victims. Due to the shortage of medical supplies and equipment some of the victims had to be evacuated out of the island to Medan or Sibolga, in North Sumatra.

Health minister Siti Fadilah said during her visit to Gunung Sitoli that her office had sent 27 doctors from Jakarta, including surgeons.

The ministry, she added, would also immediately send medical supplies to treat quake victims in Nias.

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

JAKARTA: To assist relief work on earthquake-devastated Nias island, Merpati Nusantara Airlines has added two additional flights each day between Medan and Gunung Sitoli and Sibolga.

The extra flights will be effective until April 9, using locally produced CN-235 aircraft.

"We are flying more frequently to the disaster-stricken area to transport logistics, relief workers and relatives of quake victims," Merpati corporate secretary Jaka Pujiyono said in a press release.

He added that fares for flights to Nias would not be increased.

The March 28 earthquake caused Merpati to suspend services to Nias for four days. — JP

Saturday, April 02, 2005 Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post/Nias

It has been four days since earthquake refugee Nujila Zendato and her five children have eaten a proper meal, because food has not been handed out to her and other displaced people.

That is what prompted her to storm on Friday the disaster control center in Gunung Sitoli here and scream for food.

"We want rice! We haven't eaten for four days, we're all hungry!" screamed the mother to Nias administration secretary FGM Zebua.

Her demand was to no avail, though, as Zebua could not be sure when the food relief would be delivered to the refugees.

"Be patient, ma'am.. the food is on the way here from Sibolga (North Sumatra). We'll give it to all of the refugees," Zebua said.

He said the rice supply here before the earthquake was only around 50 tons, and that had already been distributed to several districts. They are now waiting, Zebua said, for the relief distributed by the Ministry of Social Services, which was still apparently held up in Sibolga regency.

Hearing that information only angered Nujila further because, as she claims, very few, if any refugees in Nias have been given rice.

"There's no way that 50 tons were distributed. Many refugees are still hungry. We've been surviving on bananas only," said Nujila, who works as a farmer in Lalai village, Hiliduo district.

Along with her husband and their five children, she moved to the mountainous area above Gunung Sitoli, after Monday's earthquake destroyed their house. All of her family members survived the temblor.

Data from the disaster control center shows that there are 20,000 refugees out of a total of over 422,000 in Nias regency. That does not, however, include the refugees in South Nias regency, which has population of around 300,000 people.

The refugees are living in terrible conditions, and most complain of weakness and fainting spells due to a lack of rice. Some have scoured around destroyed houses to find instant noodles and other items.

Ridwan Koto, who is staying at a shelter for the West Sumatran ethnic group at Gunung Sitoli elementary school with about 100 displaced people, says he feels fortunate if he can eat instant noodles and share with other refugees.

"My house was not badly destroyed, so there was some food left. Anything edible, we eat together. We'd die of starvation if we had to rely on the government to distribute food," said Ridwan, who lost two siblings in the earthquake.

Another West Sumatran refugee Hasmaini Sikupang, 41, said he was sick, tired and embarrassed to look for handouts everywhere, but even when he did, he could find nothing.

"It's either finished or has not arrived yet. I'm so confused. We hope the government gives us some food soon," said Hasmaini, who has been teaching at SMP 1 junior high school for 16 years.

Aside from rice, he said the refugees were hoping for clean water facilities. Water has become scarce, to the point that most people have to walk over two kilometers up a hill in order to bathe.

Meanwhile, Minister of Social Services Bachtiar Chamsyah said in his visit here that the trouble with the aid distribution was related to transportation problems as roads and the runway at the local airport had been badly damaged.

"There are around 365 tons of rice on the way to Nias and South Nias. This stock should be sufficient for the refugees for the next few months," Bachtiar said.

Saturday, April 02, 2005 The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

South Korea — which actively participated in relief operations in tsunami-hit Aceh — sent its condolences to earthquake victims on Nias and Sumeulue islands and dispatched a medical team, the South Korean Embassy in Jakarta announced on Friday.

The 8.7-magnitude quake struck the islands late Monday and claimed hundreds of lives.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and foreign minister Ban Ki-moon sent on Tuesday their condolences to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda respectively.

"On behalf of the people and the government of the Republic of Korea, I would like to offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to you and to the victims and their families," Roh said in his message, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post by the Korean Embassy.

"On behalf of the Korean people and on my behalf, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to you and to the victims of the disaster," Ban said in his message.

The embassy's press and culture attach‚, Kim Sang-sool, told the Post that the Korean Food for the Hungry International (KFHI) dispatched on Thursday a 11-member medical team from Korea to Nias.

A Korean non-governmental organization, Good Neighbors, has already sent a five-member team to the quake-hit area.

Kim also said his government and the Indonesian government were discussing relief funds and materials to be sent to Nias.

Friday, April 01, 2005The herculean task of reconstructing Aceh had not even begun when another catastrophe struck again on Monday in the same area of northern Sumatra.

More than 200,000 Indonesians perished in the Dec. 26 tsunami and it is estimated that at least 1,000 more died this week as local and foreign volunteers search for survivors on Nias Island. About half a million people lost their homes in Aceh and thousands out of a population of 400,000 in Nias are now homeless.

The generosity of neighboring countries is very touching with many people flocking to Nias to help just three months after the Dec. 26 disaster. Some of those good people were on their way out of Aceh or nearing the completion of their humanitarian work in devastated Aceh, when they found themselves badly needed again in nearby Nias. Notable among them is Malaysia, and despite its ongoing dispute with Indonesia over two oil blocks off Borneo island, the Malaysians are sending hundreds of volunteers and medical personnel at this very moment.

Although it could be considered a lesser disaster relative to the apocalyptic tsunami, the Nias earthquake will nevertheless have an affect on the recently issued blueprint for reconstructing Aceh. Although the blueprint did include Nias, which was affected somewhat by the first catastrophe, the government promptly announced its decision to review its blueprint on reconstructing Aceh to also include the latest devastation on Nias.

It is not clear at the moment whether the time frame in the blueprint — rehabilitation work from April 2005 to April 2006 and reconstruction work up to 2009 — will also be changed. The same question can be posed for the total cost of reconstruction, which exceeds Rp 40 trillion (US$4.2 billion), mainly funded by international donations.

While we commend the blueprint, which is now being disseminated around Aceh to allow public input, the reconstruction of Aceh still appears to be problematic. There were problems prior to these two disasters, occurring the day after Christmas and the day after Easter, respectively. The government has been focused on trying to deal with a dilemma on reconstructing Aceh. This is not to ignore the need to look beyond physical reconstruction or the need to heal the massive psychological wounds suffered by the Acehnese.

One of the key questions concerning the reconstruction of Aceh will be, whether or not the government should allow the reconstruction work to carried out by foreigners as demanded by the Acehnese, or take on the task wholly on its own?

Apart from their inherent distrust of the government, the Acehnese are well aware that Indonesia is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It would be unfair to the Acehnese, however, to say that other provinces do not harbor the same distrust toward Jakarta; the sentiment seems to be quite similar throughout the nation. The difference is, with its separatist history, the Acehnese can afford to say so more openly where other provinces cannot. Other provinces seem to have less alternatives when it comes to development in their respective provinces directed from Jakarta.

Without belittling any effort forged by the government in reconstructing Aceh — some agencies like the social affairs ministry are taking care of thousands of orphaned Acehnese children — the government would do well to accommodate the aspirations of the people of Aceh.

There are two key reasons why this should be so. One, Aceh is not a typical Indonesian province. It is a special case. Its deep distrust toward the central government is not without justification. A foremost and staunch supporter of a free Indonesia in 1945, Aceh has since been disappointed by Jakarta too many times to count.

This is partly because of a flurry of broken promises by the government since day one of the nation's independence. Two, there is still an armed conflict going on between Aceh separatists and government troops. Aceh is one of two provinces in the country with a significant separatist problem.

This does not mean that the government should stand back and let the foreigners do their work together with the Acehnese. It is not a viable option as the Acehnese are likely to be less than equipped to do the massive reconstruction work. On the other hand, the foreigners need a capable partner in the field. A middle way has to be found out where all parties, including the Acehnese, the foreigners and the government, have a stake in the work. The government may well do the planning while the Acehnese could be given access to monitor the use of the funding.