Aceh, Indonesia
The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami
Aceh in Indonesia, the stretch closest to the quake's epicenter, is possibly the worst affected amongst all and is now reporting over 35,000 dead and thousands more missing.
All the more ironic that the land most devastated, is now the least approachable.
The province of Aceh has been largely inaccessible to the world over the past few years due to a raging civil war and stringent government restrictions on foreigners including aid workers and journalists. However, as the unimaginable scale of the disaster is becoming clear, the mass of red tape is being loosened and humanitarian agencies are being allowed to move in. Making aid doubly difficult is the hostile terrain, which still has massive stretches of coastline buried in mud and water, thus cutting off roads, radio and all kinds of communication.
All aid is thus only through government bodies, relief agencies, NGOs and other corporates. I realize there is little knowledge of who is to be contacted and how donations can be made, so I have listed here some details obtained from local ministries and news agencies.
Readers, please pass this information to friends and family in Indonesia or to other Indonesians living abroad, so aid can reach the victims faster.
1) Government of Indonesia
Bank Account in BI - Bank Indonesia
Account Numbers for various currencies are as follows :
510.000.272 (Indonesian Rupiah)
602.074.411 (United States Dollars)
602.075.111( Japanese Yen)
602.075.991 (Euro)
2) Indonesian Red Cross Society
Bank Account in Lippo Slipi Branch
In the name of : Indonesian Red Cross Society / Palang Merah
Account Number :746-30-05218-4
3)Coordinator of Peoples Welfare; Republic of Indonesia
Bank account in BNI Harmoni
In the name of I Nyoman Meweh, Head of Welfare Bureau
Account Number: 07 000 311 2717 911
4) Indosiar
Bank account in BCA
In the name of: Indosiar
Account Number: 001 - 304 - 0009
5) RCTI
Bank account in BCA
In the name of: RCTI
Account Number: 128 - 300 -7000
As with all affected areas, what is urgently needed to aid the living is food, formula milk for babies, fresh water, medicines, clothes, blankets, mosquito repellant and generator sets. Ironically, the dead are demanding too. As soldiers and volunteers collect thousands of rotting corpses for mass burials, they face a desperate shortage of body bags and cemetery tools.
Anyone who would like to provide assistance in kind, donations and contributions can be directly delivered to :
The National Coordinating Agency for Natural Disaster and Refugees Relief (Bakornas PBP).
Jl. Ir. H. Juanda No. 36
Jakarta Pusat 10110
Tel. (62-21) 3458400
Fax. (62-21) 3505075/3458500
Contact Person: Mr. Sugeng (cellphone: +628164850361)
You may also contact any of the following private volunteers at the given numbers and your donations will be packed and flown across to Aceh.
Anupama : 62-812-8230287 (Mobile)
Anggie: 62-811-967058 (Mobile)
Mallika: 62-812-1005243 (Mobile)
Also, Wahana Cargo based in Jakarta has volunteered to courier aid for free to Aceh. They will pick up cargo from donors in greater Jakarta and deliver them to Halim Perdanakusumah Airport wherefrom there are scheduled Hercules trips at various times of the day. They can be contacted at the following address:
Wahana Cargo
Jln H Sidik, 88 Rempoa,
South Jakarta.
Tel: 62-812-1131688 and 62-811-856900
It is difficult to make sense of the morbid abstracts which emerge from a tragedy so real -- millions displaced, thousands dead, hundreds missing. Soon these numbers will numb us and even a doubling of these figures wont be anything more than a mere statistic for most of us. The danger we face is in losing touch with the goodness of our hearts, for sympathy is a myopic emotion, not to mention highly treacherous. As severe as it is in the initial thrust, its grip only grows feeble with the passing of time.
Let us yield to our urgent impulses and give without restraint. Let us not allow our solidarity to fade with the shift in headlines.
Aceh in Indonesia, the stretch closest to the quake's epicenter, is possibly the worst affected amongst all and is now reporting over 35,000 dead and thousands more missing.
All the more ironic that the land most devastated, is now the least approachable.
The province of Aceh has been largely inaccessible to the world over the past few years due to a raging civil war and stringent government restrictions on foreigners including aid workers and journalists. However, as the unimaginable scale of the disaster is becoming clear, the mass of red tape is being loosened and humanitarian agencies are being allowed to move in. Making aid doubly difficult is the hostile terrain, which still has massive stretches of coastline buried in mud and water, thus cutting off roads, radio and all kinds of communication.
All aid is thus only through government bodies, relief agencies, NGOs and other corporates. I realize there is little knowledge of who is to be contacted and how donations can be made, so I have listed here some details obtained from local ministries and news agencies.
Readers, please pass this information to friends and family in Indonesia or to other Indonesians living abroad, so aid can reach the victims faster.
1) Government of Indonesia
Bank Account in BI - Bank Indonesia
Account Numbers for various currencies are as follows :
510.000.272 (Indonesian Rupiah)
602.074.411 (United States Dollars)
602.075.111( Japanese Yen)
602.075.991 (Euro)
2) Indonesian Red Cross Society
Bank Account in Lippo Slipi Branch
In the name of : Indonesian Red Cross Society / Palang Merah
Account Number :746-30-05218-4
3)Coordinator of Peoples Welfare; Republic of Indonesia
Bank account in BNI Harmoni
In the name of I Nyoman Meweh, Head of Welfare Bureau
Account Number: 07 000 311 2717 911
4) Indosiar
Bank account in BCA
In the name of: Indosiar
Account Number: 001 - 304 - 0009
5) RCTI
Bank account in BCA
In the name of: RCTI
Account Number: 128 - 300 -7000
As with all affected areas, what is urgently needed to aid the living is food, formula milk for babies, fresh water, medicines, clothes, blankets, mosquito repellant and generator sets. Ironically, the dead are demanding too. As soldiers and volunteers collect thousands of rotting corpses for mass burials, they face a desperate shortage of body bags and cemetery tools.
Anyone who would like to provide assistance in kind, donations and contributions can be directly delivered to :
The National Coordinating Agency for Natural Disaster and Refugees Relief (Bakornas PBP).
Jl. Ir. H. Juanda No. 36
Jakarta Pusat 10110
Tel. (62-21) 3458400
Fax. (62-21) 3505075/3458500
Contact Person: Mr. Sugeng (cellphone: +628164850361)
You may also contact any of the following private volunteers at the given numbers and your donations will be packed and flown across to Aceh.
Anupama : 62-812-8230287 (Mobile)
Anggie: 62-811-967058 (Mobile)
Mallika: 62-812-1005243 (Mobile)
Also, Wahana Cargo based in Jakarta has volunteered to courier aid for free to Aceh. They will pick up cargo from donors in greater Jakarta and deliver them to Halim Perdanakusumah Airport wherefrom there are scheduled Hercules trips at various times of the day. They can be contacted at the following address:
Wahana Cargo
Jln H Sidik, 88 Rempoa,
South Jakarta.
Tel: 62-812-1131688 and 62-811-856900
It is difficult to make sense of the morbid abstracts which emerge from a tragedy so real -- millions displaced, thousands dead, hundreds missing. Soon these numbers will numb us and even a doubling of these figures wont be anything more than a mere statistic for most of us. The danger we face is in losing touch with the goodness of our hearts, for sympathy is a myopic emotion, not to mention highly treacherous. As severe as it is in the initial thrust, its grip only grows feeble with the passing of time.
Let us yield to our urgent impulses and give without restraint. Let us not allow our solidarity to fade with the shift in headlines.
Anonymous at 8:27:00 pm |
Information from Pulau Weh, island north of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia
I was in Pulau Weh when the sunami struck, in the ferry on the way to Banda Aceh. We had to go back to the island. I had been staying in Gapang (a tiny beach resort well-known by divers) with Ton and Marjan from the Lumba Lumba diveshop. Everybody was ok in Gapang, I was told by a Canadian couple, Joanne and Greg, who were there at the time of the tsunami. Everybody was also ok in Ibioh, a British tourist and a local told me.
The island is quite high and people managed to climb the hills and get saved. A police officer told me that only 4 people died in the whole island. Houses near the sea front have been destroyed. Phones were not working but there was still electricity, water and food in the island. Having seen the death and devastation in Banda Aceh, just across the sea from Pulau Weh, it is a real miracle.
Antonia Paradela antoniaparadela@yahoo.es
TV reports are starting to show aerial views of Banda, and Aceh villages. It looks like Hiroshima after the Americans bombed it. I have donated money to this cause, hopefully the AID will get there in time to prevent more deaths.
I'm seeking for info about my friend, Rifah Hadih who live ini Pidie', Aceh. I've trying to contact her, but i get any signal from her..if get any infortion, please contatct me at www.metalgrin-blog.tk