The Jakarta Post, September 01, 2006
Ambon conflict victims fear planned eviction
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
At least 40 displaced families living in a temporary shelter in Ambon say they will
have no place to go if the city administration acts on its plan to evict them on Sept. 2.
Meanwhile, the provincial prosecutor's office is investigating local officials for
embezzling up to Rp 8.2 billion (US$891,000) of public money meant to help the
villagers build new homes.
The displaced families, who were made homeless by the 2000 sectarian violence in
the region, have been living in the MSF Waimahu shelter in Paso village for more than
five years.
Hailing from the Central Maluku and Buru regencies, most of the refugees said they
had received no assistance from the regional government.
Lince Ratumasa said her house in Wahai village in Central Maluku was razed by fire
during the sectarian conflict in 1999. The violence, which continued on and off until
2002, left thousands of Muslims and Christians dead, and forced hundreds of
thousands of others to flee their homes.
The conflict forced her and her family to leave for Ambon. Previously, she took shelter
in a Navy complex but moved to the shelter in 2003 after being evicted.
Lince said she would had nowhere to go if she was evicted again. None of the people
living in Paso had received assistance from the local government to buy building
materials for a new home, she said.
"We don't know where to go because we haven't got any government assistance at
all, although we have submitted our data to a refugee post," Lince told The Jakarta
Post.
Another displaced person, Lololuan, said he and his family would happily leave the
shelter if they could build a house. "We are victims and our houses were destroyed in
the fires. How can we build a new home if the government doesn't help. Until now, we
have got nothing," he said.
Head of the Maluku Displaced Persons Management Post Rahman Soumena said he
would coordinate with the Ambon city administration and social welfare office to give
the refugees more time to find new places to live.
He said many of the displaced villagers did not want to return to their home towns
because they were still traumatized by the conflict and would prefer to stay in Ambon.
"They want to continue living in Ambon but on the other hand, the Ambon city
administration has announced it can no longer afford the newcomers since the city is
already crowded," Rahman said.
When asked about the lack of assistance provided to the displaced people, he said
his office was still prioritizing dealing with conflict victims living in shop-houses inside
Ambon city in the Batumerah and AY Patty areas.
"We'll coordinate to help find a solution for the displaced people (in the MSF shelter),"
he said.
The prosecutor office has launched an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of
refugee funds worth Rp 8.2 billion earmarked for conflict victims in Tual, Southeast
Maluku.
"Currently, we are gathering data and information. We've ordered the Tual Prosecutor's
Office to follow up evidence about the alleged misappropriation of the fund," deputy
head of the Maluku Prosecutor's Office, Muhamad Ali, told the Post.
Head of the Maluku Refugee Care Team, Frans Putnarubun, said there was evidence
officials in Southeast Maluku regency had embezzled some of the money for
displaced people the regency had received from the 2003 state budget. The money
was supposed to be distributed to displaced people in two stages, he said.
"The second phase of distribution should get to 2,177 families... but none of them
have received it yet," he said.
Despite this, Frans noted a report from the local social welfare office to the province's
regional supervision body claimed the money had been distributed.
"We'll continue investigating the use of this relief fund for displaced people to find out
whether there really has been a misappropriation, or the money has been received by
the people who are entitled to it," Frans said.
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