Residents Hungry and Emotional

KOMPAS/FABIO M LOPES COSTA

A family of refugees from Nduga sit on a lawn on Tuesday (23/7/2019) in Ilekma village, Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, Papua.

JAYAPURA, KOMPAS — Human rights activists in Papua have urged the central and regional governments prioritize assistance for refugees from Nduga, who have taken temporary shelter at 36 locations across Wamena, Jayawijaya regency. The refugees were in a state of high emotion because of hunger.

"Food distribution should be prioritized by the government,” said Father John Jonga Pr., a pastor and human rights activist who is a recipient of the 2009 Yap Thiam Hien award.

Wene Tabuni, a volunteer from Kingmi Weneroma church, said that around 5,200 refugees had fled to dozens of locations in Wamena, the capital city of Jayawijaya regency. Of these, 723 were children who could not attend school, as the temporary school near the church had been damaged.

"However, the most urgent need now is food aid for refugee children," said Wene, adding that he was nearly mobbed by several Nduga refugees in Napua district on Tuesday. "The refugees are angry because they are so hungry, while we volunteers don\'t have food to share with them," he said.

Kompas observed that food aid and other aid packages from the Social Affairs Ministry has still not arrived on Wednesday afternoon. The head of the Papua population and civil registration office, Ribka Haluk, did not respond when Kompas contacted her to ask about the lack of assistance for the refugees.

KOMPAS/FABIO M LOPES COSTA

Refugees from Nduga help till a farm on Tuesday (23/7/2019) in Ilekma village, Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, Papua. The refugees are accommodated at temporary homes and shelters in Wamena.

Nduga health office head Ina Gwijanggem said that the office was currently compiling data on the number of refugees who had died from December 2018 to July 2019.

"Based on the preliminary data we have gathered, 53 refugees from Nduga have died," Ina said. The Nduga regency administration has also started counting the number of refugees in Wamena.

Kompas observed on Wednesday that three employees of the Nduga health office were registering about 100 refugees, mostly women and children, in a room at Kingmi Weneroma church, where they were also vaccinating children below 15 years for polio and measles. The second round of the polio immunization program had reached merely 0.18 percent of its targeted 25,679 children by Tuesday.

The Nduga health office’s head of human resources, Ance Tatogo, said that the office’s data collection efforts prioritized women and children, after which it would gather data on men and the elderly.

"We have formed a 10-member health team [of administrative staff and nurses] to register and provide health services for all refugees in Wamena,” said Ance

(FLO/EDN)