| Subject: AP: Disease
Rampant in West Timor Camps Associated
Press NY-10-02-99 1305EDT
Disease Rampant in Timor Camps
By DAFNA LINZER
KUPANG, Indonesia (AP) - In the ramshackle Tuapukan camp,
home to 10,000 refugees from East Timor's chaos, Indonesia's red-and-white flag flies
proudly above unfinished roofs of dried palm fronds and straw.
The show of support for Jakarta is expected in a camp that
is home to families of pro-Indonesia militias and low-ranking Indonesian troops. What is
surprising are the horrendous, overcrowded conditions that even they are forced to
tolerate.
Some 230,000 East Timorese, most believed to be
independence supporters intimidated by rampaging militias, are living in scattered
encampments across West Timor. Many say they were forcibly taken after a landslide vote to
separate from Indonesia.
Access to their camps is severely limited, even for
international air workers trying to help them. Outbreaks of malaria and measles are on the
rise, and health officials fear the situation will only worsen with the onset of the
monsoon season next month.
In Tuapukan, hundreds of refugees squat under leaves or
plastic tarps hastily thrown up along a traffic-clogged dirt road. Cooking tables and open
latrines are side by side. There is no water. Black exhaust from passing trucks hangs in
the air.
Dr. Hendra Wajaya, who works inside the camps, estimated
Saturday that up to half the children in Tuapukan are suffering from diarrhea, which
already has proved fatal there. Tuberculosis is another concern.
Local health officials say a lack of sanitation is speeding
the spread of disease through Tuapukan, located nine miles east of Kupang, the West Timor
capital. One nurse expressed concern for 10 newborns, who were delivered healthy but are
now at serious risk of infection.
Dr. Mappi Gaspar, field director of Doctors Without
Borders, said her staff members had gained access to several camps and were trying to
improve sanitation conditions.
Indonesian troops and militia rule this section of
countryside where four camps, home to roughly 40,000 people, run one after another for
miles outside the city.
Scattered blue or orange tents pepper a browned landscape
thirsty for water, but most people live under crude huts.
It was unclear whether those in Tuapukan came to West Timor
freely or were forced. Indonesian officials in Kupang said Saturday that safety concerns
made it impossible for foreigners to enter the camp.
Refugees in other camps said they were told three weeks ago
to board Indonesian military planes for West Timor or be killed.
In Asumta camp, worn out mothers breast-fed their babies,
shoeless children stared at the brown earth and swarms of black flies buzzed in the air.
A few men quietly inquired into the whereabouts of the
militia, telling aid workers stories of torture back in East Timor.
Fermina Sanchez hugged her 6-month-old son close to her
chest as she stood on the steps of a church complex where she is staying.
``My husband stayed behind in Dili,'' she said. Looking
downward at her five other children gathering around her skirt, she added, ``We need to go
home.''
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