wfn.org | UMNS# 037-Indonesian city of Medan provides aid for injured,

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Indonesian city of Medan provides aid for injured, homeless

Jan. 14, 2005

NOTE: Photographs, audio and related reports - UMNS stories #034-036 and
#038 - are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Linda Bloom

MEDAN, Indonesia (UMNS) - On the streets of Medan - where motorcycles,
trucks, mini-buses and pedi-cabs sluggishly push past a landscape of
small shops and meandering people - the effect of the Dec. 26 tsunami
that devastated the Aceh Province to the north is not immediately
apparent.

But at the Rumah Sakit Methodist Hospital, along with other hospitals in
the area, survivors of the tsunami are receiving the medical care they
couldn't get earlier. For some, like a 20-year-old man with an
amputation, the consequences have been severe. Others suffer from
malaria, pneumonia or leg fractures.

On Jan. 12, one of the hospital's patients is a 28-year-old man from
Banda Aceh, Mr. Supriadi, who developed an infection in his foot and leg
after being stranded for three days on the roof of a building. A member
of that city's search and rescue team, he had tried to outrun the wave
on his motorcycle. Pushed aside by the water, he swam to the roof and
waited for help.

Even after help arrived, it was difficult to reach Medan, he says.
Because flights between the two cities were too crowded, friends
escorted him on the bus. A Methodist church member then brought him to
the hospital.

It's not just the injured who are coming to Medan. Many have arrived
from Aceh Province, their homes lost in the tsunami. The Gereja
Methodist Indonesia (Methodist Church of Indonesia) has assisted some
900 refugees by providing food, blankets and some cash, according to the
Rev. Bunsui Tigor, a local pastor involved in relief efforts.

A section of Medan used in 1965 as a camp for ethnic Chinese fleeing
persecution from the Aceh Province has today become a boisterous center
for tsunami survivors. About 7,000 already have registered there,
according to Dr. Ace Andriadi, the center's director. Some are living
with relatives in the city, but about 200 sleep in empty houses nearby.

Roughly 2,000 people stop by the center every day to collect food, he
says, and 20 doctors are available for medical care. Support -
particularly in the form of supplies - comes from a variety of
countries, including Malaysia, China, Singapore and Thailand.

Eight women from Banda Aceh, all friends, have carved out a space for
themselves at the center. Through a translator, they recall how they
were alerted to the impending disaster as people ran through the streets
shouting "water coming, water coming." A man on a motorcycle reported
the water to be waist high, compelling some to seek shelter on the
second and third floors of an unlocked mosque.

With little food available after the tsunami swept through the city, the
women decided to leave for Medan. But they're not sure what they are
going to do in the future.

Through the assistance of Indonesian Methodists, at least 400
schoolchildren from Banda Aceh, including Muslim children, have
registered so far to attend a Methodist school in Medan during the
recovery period.

Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

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United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org