Special report: Earthquake in Indonesia
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, May 29 (Xinhua) Hundreds of quake survivors filled up the main roads in the earthquake zone in Indonesia's Yogyakarta province Monday to beg for money to buy food, as aid didn't reach them quickly enough.
Saturday's earthquake killed over 5,000 people and displaced around 200,000 others in Yogyakarta and the Central Java town of Klaten.
They carried boxes to collect money from motorists in the southern town of Bantul, the worst hit by the devastating earthquake.
"My family didn't eat anything the whole day," a man said repeatedly to the passing motorists.
Their presence has caused chaotic traffics on all roads heading to Bantul.
The vehicle convoy of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reportedly failed to reach the refugee camps in Bantul on time due to the on-street donation.
"The aid distribution must be sped up," the president said during his visit to Imogiri district in Bantul.
Bantul Regent Idham Samawi called on the survivors to halt their actions and return to refugee camps waiting for the relief team. But the stomach cannot wait.
An angry victim told local television Jogja TV that food and water should have arrived immediately in worst hit areas.
"This time is different from the tsunami disaster in Aceh (in December 2004). The roads are still there, the trucks carrying emergency supplies should have reached us within hours," the unnamed man told the television.
In Klaten, refugees eat dry rice and instant noodles as aid and donation are centered in Yogyakarta.
"Those who are suffering from the quake are not in Yogyakarta only. What we eat here is from neighbors, not from the government," said Sarmiyem, a mother who has lost her home in the disaster.
A U.N. plane carrying emergency supplies, including food, water and tents, landed earlier in the day on Solo, a town 60 km north of Yogyakarta. Enditem |