Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Indonesia still suffers
By Jennifer Evrard
The DePaulia (DePaul U.)
06/19/2006

(U-WIRE) CHICAGO — The ruinous earthquake that toppled much of central Java's infrastructure has not yet finished wreaking havoc on the area. As of today, 5,700 people have died, 15,000 are injured and over 100,000 people are homeless, according to The New York Times.

Patients spill over the thresholds of area hospitals, and medical supplies are limited at best. Officials cite hospital supplies as the most urgent need in the region. Basic items such as antibiotics, bandages and suture material are running out quickly, according to cnn.com. With close to 2,000 people camped out on the floors of Yogyakarta's principle hospital, no amount of gauze will solve the problem.

Those who have been rendered homeless are camping outside in the rain, huddling around campfires and using fallen debris for shelter. The towns of Klaten and Bantul in central Java were hardest hit, and many have been forced to forage for food to keep themselves and their families alive. Many other, more remote areas of the island were also devastated by the quake, and authorities expect the death toll to rise as rescue teams and aid agencies survey the damage.

"Reaching people in the more remote villages has been challenging, but we're confident that we'll very soon be delivering aid to those people who've been cut off from relief until now," said Craig Owen, an Oxfam spokesman, to the The New York Times.

The sting of hunger as surely set in, though. Villagers lined the streets of the damaged cities, empty plastic cups and boxes outstretched in an effort to acquire funds.

Aid has been slow to reach the pummeled region, as the runway at the Yogyakarta airport was splintered and parts of the terminal collapsed during the rumble. However, the airport reopened Monday to commercial and emergency traffic, according to The New York Times.

Beginning Tuesday, the flow of aid picked up, as groups like Catholic Relief Services, the Red Cross and the International Medical Corps began to take their efforts further inland to areas that have not yet been surveyed. Heliocopters, according to The New York Times, were seen for the first time since the quake, also on Tuesday.

Financial aid is not far behind. The Indonesian Finance Ministry announced to the United Nations that it will provide subsistence grants to quake survivors, as well as grants to help rebuild homes and infrastructure. Numerous countries have pledged money to the effort, as well as personnel and basic supplies. United States military personnel, according to The Times, built a field hospital on a soccer field Wednesday. Many relief groups from within Indonesia are using their experience from the 2004 tsunami to help them further the effort.

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake did a number on Java's environmental status, as well. Mt. Merapi, an active volcano that is part of the Ring of Fire, has been close to explosion for close to a month; infact, some aid agencies were preparing for its eruption when the earthquake struck. The 9,800-foot volcano lies just north of the central city of Yogyakarta, and has been spewing up to 150 gas clouds per day, along with hot lava, according to The Times.

Indonesia is home to 130 active volcanoes, more than any country on the planet. Of these, Mt. Merapi is most active, and a dozen of its eruptions have resulted in human casualty. The volcano is considered to be sacred-each year, a priest climbs to the top and makes an offering.

The majority of Indonesia's population is Muslim, and many see the recent string of disasters that have befallen the country as a message from God, either as punishment or to test the love of the people.

"These [disasters] all come from Allah," said Yudhoyono, a former military general, to The Times, "we must be grateful and tests like this should be met with resolve and humbleness."

In addition to the most recent disaster, Indonesia has had to face an enormous influx of Avian flu cases in recent weeks. Officials have confirmed 33 human deaths and 48 infections from the A(H5N1) virus, out of 224 worldwide, according to cnn.com. Vietnam is the only country with more reported cases.

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