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Chaos in East Timor
Following the September 4 announcement in East Timor that its people have chosen independence, this Indonesian island has made a rapid and violent descent into chaos.
During the past week in East Timor, hundreds of people have been killed, tens of thousands driven from their homes, and the immunity of safe havens has been repeatedly violated.
The black-shirted anti-independence militia have responded to the vote for independence by opening fire on civilians, aid workers, and United Nations personnel in Dili, East Timor’s capital. The International Red Cross reports that no safe place remains in this territory of 800,000 people.
Meanwhile, thousands of non-Timorese residents have fled, fearing they will have no protection in a region no longer ruled by Indonesia.
World Vision has declared East Timor a Category III disaster, which is the most serious.
Last weekend, World Vision relief workers distributed food to refuges at a United Nations compound and a catholic shelter. More than 30 sacks of rice, boxes of cooking oil, canned fish, noodles, and soaps were received by some 2,000 people in the two locations. But militia attacks on both those compounds have halted our operations. We have evacuated all of our staff. When our last staff member departed on September 7, there were no remaining nongovernmental aid workers in East Timor.
World Vision will resume operations in East Timor as soon as it is safe to do so. We anticipate mobilizing in three locations: 1) Australia, where we are pre-positioning staff, supplies, and equipment; 2) West Timor, where we will help meet the most urgent needs of refugees who have fled East Timor; and 3) Dili, where we will recommence emergency operations and food distribution.
Please pray for families caught in the middle of the violence. Pray also that our staff will soon be able to resume assistance to those in need.
$2M Aid Effort Set for Turkey
World Vision has embarked on a $2 million aid effort for survivors of the devastating August 17 earthquake in Turkey. Pharmaceuticals and medical supplies were airlifted several weeks ago. Up to $1 million worth of winter-weight clothing and shoes to benefit 20,000 people is scheduled to arrive by sea on October 11, before the onset of cold weather.
“The smell of decaying corpses is overwhelming in places,” reported World Vision aid worker Philip Maher from Turkey. “In addition to the health dangers from decaying corpses, the rotting garbage, mountains of rubble, and broken sewers are causing officials to be concerned about the spread of dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis, and diarrhea.”
Maher has been arranging for the distribution of rehydration packages, diabetic and blood pressure medications, antibiotics, and hospital provisions. The supplies will be distributed in coordination with World Relief, World Vision’s partner in this effort. World Vision’s Canadian office is organizing the $700,000 medical supplies effort.
World Vision needs to raise $100,000 in cash to cover the cost of shipping and distributing relief goods to Turkey.
Please remember the earthquake victims in your prayers.
Rebuilding Kosovo
It is estimated that 300,000 people in Kosovo require housing assistance.
The challenge for World Vision and other aid organizations is to shelter as many people as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“We’re running out of time,” says World Vision’s shelter coordinator. “Many of these remote villages will not be accessible once the winter weather starts.”
In the region of Prizren and Suhareke, World Vision is helping to provide shelter assistance for 3,200 homes for more than 20,000 people.
In other regions, World Vision plans to distribute some 7,200 building repair and weatherization kits. |