UN Refugee Agency Invited To Return To Aceh For Tsunami Rebuilding Effort
The United Nations refugee agency has been invited to return to Indonesia's Aceh province to assist in providing shelter
as part of the longer-term effort to recover from the severe damage caused to settlements there by December's Indian
Ocean tsunami, the Government of that country announced.
"Today is an important day for us to start rebuilding houses and settlements," said Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the head of
the Indonesian Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias, as he announced the return of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at a ceremony outside a mosque near the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
"UNHCR has already made a valuable contribution to the relief effort in the area of temporary shelter and non-food
items, and is helping to source additional tents in Nias and to replace older tents in Aceh. Now UNHCR and RedR
Australia technical experts will also help provide permanent housing for those who need a place to live," he added.
The agency's assistance after the tsunami in Aceh was unprecedented for a body normally mandated to protect only those
fleeing violence or persecution. But it was asked to contribute because of the enormity of the disaster, agreeing to
leave in March when the initial emergency phase had ended.
On June 10, however, UNHCR signed a further agreement with Indonesia, sending a small team to Aceh to prepare the ground
for the arrival of the experts from RedR Australia, a non-governmental organization that provides technical experts in
shelter and engineering.
In the next phase of emergency rehabilitation, UNHCR's Representative in Indonesia, Robert Ashe, said the agency plans
to build 1,000 houses and help communities in Aceh restore their lives.
"What's most important is that we can really help all these displaced people who, six months after the tsunami, need
shelter and community life," added Janet Lim, UNHCR's Asia Pacific bureau director in Geneva. "At the same time, we are
now able to fulfil our obligations to all the donors who gave so generously to UNHCR for our tsunami relief operation."
As part of the UN Flash Appeal for the Indian Ocean tsunami, UNHCR asked for US$60 million for Indonesia, and has
received $23 million. In addition, $13 million has been made available for UNHCR's overall tsunami disaster relief
programme, and a good part of this fund is expected to be allocated to the Indonesia project.
Of these funds, UNHCR has so far spent some $9 million on the initial emergency phase of the tsunami relief effort,
including aid to Nias island after a major earthquake on March 28.