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Monsoon's failure compounds East Timor's litany of woes

Source
The Australian - January 27, 1998

Andrew Perrin, Dili – The troubled Indonesian province of East Timor is facing yet another catastrophe - this one generated not by politics but by the failure of monsoon rains due to the El Nino effect.

A report has been sent from the AusAid office in Dili to the Australian Government requesting urgent assistance for thousands of Timorese hit by failing crops and the increase in price of basic necessities, such as rice, on the back of the Indonesian currency crisis.

The report states that the worst hit region is the island of Atauro, 32km off the coast of Dili. So far this year the mountainous island has received no rain and the crops which provide the staple diet of the island's population of 7000 – corn, pineapples and bananas – have all failed. The water supply is also dangerously low.

Across the island [of Atauro], schools are closing early as children battle the debilitating effects of starvation, the report says. The problem has been magnified by the absence of pigs and goats most of which were wiped out two months ago by a bout of swine fever.

On the mainland, communities along the north coast from Liquica in the west to Los Palos in the east are facing similar problems. The report says that many people are subsisting on the seeds for next year's corn crops. Most of this year's crops have failed, but two days of heavy rains last week have eased some of the pressure.

Still the situation is critical as the increase in rice prices pushes it beyond the means of many Timorese. So far this month rice has increased in price by 33%.

The provincial government of East Timor has agreed in principle to provide 10 tonnes of rice to Atauro but so far nothing has been delivered.

Due to the ongoing political turmoil in East Timor, overseas aid is restricted in the province. AusAid, the Australian government's overseas aid agency, is in Timor assisting with water supply and veterinary needs. The peak body representing non-government aid organizations in Australia, ACFOA (Australian Council for Overseas Aid), has written to the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, requesting that he raise the issue as a matter of priority with the Indonesian Government on his trip to Jakarta this week.

"We are very concerned about the contents of this report", said Janet Hunt, executive director of ACFOA. "We have asked that Mr. Downer specifically raise the issue of East Timor with the Indonesians to explore with them what assistance Australia could provide."

An AusAid spokesman said that the Government ha received the report, but no mention of it would be made during Mr. Downer's visit to Jakarta.

"We are receiving similar reports from many parts of Asia and although we are treating the East Timorese situation with the utmost seriousness, it will be assessed in the context of the whole of Indonesia. Mr. Downer will discuss the drought with Indonesia, but will not enter into specifics on East Timor," the spokesman said.

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