East Timor: Civil unrest

A number of camps were set up in the vicinity of Dili to accommodate those whose homes had been looted and burned down. Although there are no official statistics on the number of houses that have been looted and burned down or damaged, Yayasan Sosial Naroman (Yasona) - the social arm of the Protestant Church in East Timor - estimates that around 60% of the houses in Dili have been destroyed. Shops have been damaged to a lesser extent and some government buildings have been looted. The conflict has in many ways directly affected most people and indirectly all. Every family has, to some extent, problems related to the conflict – damaged/destroyed homes, relatives who have been wounded or died as a result of the fighting as well as relatives who have left the country.

The situation has improved somewhat after the arrival of international troops.

Current situation: In Dili there are about 120,000 people living in five camps, this does not include the people in the three camps (Metinaro, Hera and Becora) outside Dili. Yasona will carry out a more detailed survey to locate those who have been "forgotten" or are hiding out of fear.

Assistance already provided by Yasona: Since the outbreak of the violence on 28 April Yasona has distributed rice, noodles, milk , baby food and cooking oil to the most vulnerable affected people. These distributions were carried out after a quick survey, in close collaboration with other NGOs. At a later stage tents and firewood were also distributed as well as medicines against diarrhoea, skin problems, head ache and fever. Yasona has been using its own funds to procure and distribute this assistance.

Planned activities: Yasona will continue to provide food aid and medicines as these are still urgently needed. However, for the medium to long term, Yasona plans to provide building materials for those people who have no resources and need outside assistance to rebuild their homes. Yasona will also provide seeds and planting materials to those who wish to restart agriculture or back yard production. There is also a need for psycho-social counselling as the conflict has caused significant trauma in many. Yasona will give priority to small groups of people who have received little or no assistance and to the camps outside Dili where other NGOs are less active.

It is estimated that there will be a need for food aid for about three months. Yasona will in the meantime carry out a survey to locate those people who are in the most urgent need of assistance in rebuilding their homes and restarting agricultural activities/back yard production.

Resources needed: Yasona plans for the first phase to concentrate on the provision of food (rice, oil, baby food), cooking utensils and fuel as well as basic medicines. It is estimated that the initial cost for food, cooking utensils, 400 tents, fuel for cooking, per diems for extra staff will be around US$ 53,000. Basic medicines will cost around US$ 5,000. The second phase will include assistance for around 100 vulnerable families in reconstructing their homes at a cost of around US$ 750 per house - including the provision of kitchen utensils. The initial estimated costs for the first and second phases amounts to around US$ 133,000.

There will be a another survey after three months to assess further needs. At the moment it looks as if there is need for assistance for at least 9 – 12 months.

Co-ordination: There is currently no ACT member in East Timor, but since the outbreak of violence, YASONA has been communicating with ACT members Kerkinactie Netherlands, the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) and the United Church of Canada (UCC) as well as the Uniting Church Overseas Aid (UCOA), which is not a member of ACT. NCCA has been assisting Yasona with funding for the relief activities.

YASONA has been attending a weekly meeting with other NGOs working on emergency aid and also participates in the Lively Hoods Sustainable Network (LSN) monthly meeting.

An ACT Appeal will be forthcoming within the next few weeks.