Thousands left homeless also require help to rebuild houses
By
Reme Ahmad, Assistant Foreign Editor
A fresh wave of international aid arrived at the West Sumatran province as trucks snaked their way to reach these more remote villages now in ruins. --PHOTO: AP
PARIAMAN (WEST SUMATRA) - FOR nearly a week, padi farmer Munir, 46, and his family have been sleeping in a tent. He is glad to be alive, does not mind the mosquitoes biting every night, but wonders when he will get some cement, bricks or even planks to rebuild his home.
He is among the hundreds of thousands left homeless by last Wednesday's earthquake. Help is only just reaching people like him in the more remote areas barricaded by cascades of mud, as reconstruction and relief distribution efforts moved into full gear yesterday.
A fresh wave of international aid arrived at the West Sumatran province yesterday, even as trucks loaded with water, noodles and tents snaked their way on the winding road leading north out of Padang to reach these more remote villages now in ruins.
The local authorities have begun re-allocating resources to these places, in response to criticisms that rescue and relief efforts in the past days were too concentrated in the capital Padang, neglecting more badly affected areas like Pariaman and Padang Pariaman regencies.
Helicopters dropped vital supplies to farming communities that relief workers could not reach by road. More helicopters were on their way aboard United States Navy ships in a multimillion-dollar effort to aid victims of the earthquake.
For those still reachable by road, lorries, vans and buses transported relief supplies along with volunteers, including those from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Save the Children, Singapore's Mercy Relief and Muslim and church groups.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
