Fides Service

May 30, 2006

s the numbers of dead and injured in the earthquake which struck the central area of the island of Java (official death toll about 5,500) rises, Caritas is already at work. Government agencies, civil associations and international organizations are mobilized, the Indonesian government declared a state of emergency for three months to facilitate the arrival and distribution of aid. 

Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram of sympathy assuring his prayers for the souls of the dead and God’s comfort to the grieving families and encouraging rescue workers to persevere in their efforts. 

“So many families are expressing their solidarity by collecting relief aid in the country’s parishes. Many people are even volunteering, including students, workers, professionals and entire families... Now we plan to focus on boosting local networks and assist local staff who went into action as soon as the tragedy struck... Helping the helpers is the quickest way to intervene.”
Father Ismartono.

Caritas volunteers went immediately into action, says Caritas Indonesia Karina, working together with the emergency department of the Bishops’ Conference and supported by Caritas Internationalis network. Seven Catholic hospitals in and around Yogyakarta are treating the injured and medical personnel is on its way from other cities to help with the emergency. 

The archdiocese of Semarang and parishes in the affected area have opened churches, religious houses, schools, institutes to the homeless with assistance guaranteed by many volunteers. 

In the meantime the authorities keep issuing new figures with regard to the dead. Latest official figures give 5,500 killed, between 10 and 20,000 injured and over 100,000 homeless people. The worst hit area is Bantul, where 2,000 people were hurt and about 80% of the homes destroyed. To make things worse in the night it rained heavily. Yogyakarta airport has reopened to commercial airliners and the UN has set up its co-ordination center close to the airport to bring order to the flow of goods. Two tons of medicines were flown to the area from Aceh. There is a serious problem of shortage of clean water and the risk of disease is high. The World Health Organization has sent 50,000 emergency health kits and intends to start a vaccination campaign among the displaced persons. 

The Indonesian government appealed to the international community to send aid and government declared a state of emergency for three months to facilitate the arrival and distribution of aid and assistance to the victims. Jakarta hopes to complete the work of rebuilding within a year. UNICEF and Save the Children are providing aid and assistance for children affected by the earthquake, many lost their parents. The Islamic Conference Organization has urged its member nations to give rapid aid and assistance to the earthquake victims: Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country with a population of 220 million. 

"After daily aftershocks, contemporaneously the Merapi volcano produces a heat cloud that pushed west by the wind is destroying all the surrounding forest”, explained Father Vinio Dante Corda, a Xaverian missionary in Yogyakarta while looking out his window at the volcano, around 20km away. The Xaverian thinks that over 30,000 are wounded, and some 300,000 are homeless.

“The people are fleeing the areas at risk of being engulfed by the passage of the cloud”, continued the missionary.

Please consider sending your gift offerings to the following addresses, and we will in turn pass it along to them (100% of the donations).  Please make checks payable to Xaverian Missionaries, with Memo: Indonesia Earthquake.  Thank You for your support.

 

(From Fides Service and Xaverian News)