Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) JRS Dispatches No. 105, Date: 17 Jan 2002
Twice monthly news bulletin from the Jesuit Refugee Service International office
INDONESIA/MOLUCCAS: REPORT ON INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
JRS in the Moluccas set up a project in Buru island late last year. The team reports:
"The situation in the Moluccan island of Buru remains tense even though there were
no recent violent incidents in the past weeks. People are always prepared to flee each
time there are rumours of an attack. Displaced people feel helpless.
"Children suffer from a host of health problems. Malaria and malnutrition go hand in
hand in contributing to the deterioration of their health. Most have bloated stomachs
due to hunger as well as parasites, which remain untreated. Most of the schools
attended by children from Christian families have been burned and destroyed. There is
one nearby school where they can go but they have to change their names into
Moslem ones.
"While internally displaced people in Buru languish in these desperate conditions,
others from Buru who fled to Ambon are petrified to return home, fearing that they will
be in danger if they do, especially after an attack on one of the villages (Ewiri) in
December. They feel safer in the camps in Ambon despite the absence of basic
services as well as regular means of livelihood. At present, most of the internally
displaced people from Buru work as 'becak' drivers (a three-wheeled bicycle), coolies
and street vendors. The rest are jobless, especially the women."
JRS DISPATCHES is from the International Office of Jesuit Refugee Service, CP
6139, 00195 Roma Prati, Italy. Tel: +39-06 689.77.391; Fax: +39-06 687.92.83;
Email: dispatches@jesref.org; JRS on-line: http://www.jesref.org; Publisher: Lluis
Magrina SJ; Editor: Danielle Vella; Translation: Edith Castel (French), Francesca
Campolongo (Italian), Nieves Delgado (Spanish)
This report also found on OCHA's website at www.reliefweb.int
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