CHICAGO (ELCA) -- International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $18,000 this month to support relief efforts in Indonesia after a series of sectarian clashes between Christians and Muslims. Riots there have caused thousands of residents to flee their homes.
Violence in Ambon has prevailed since January 1999, according to the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission. Ambon is the capital of the Maluku Islands in central Indonesia.
Outbreaks of violence spread throughout the Maluku Islands in July 1999. In May 2000, the conflict continued to increase "after the landing of Muslim Jihad troops from Java and South Sulawesi. The most recent conflict on Ambon, June 21, resulted in a large number of people becoming displaced," Ishida said.
"Houses, shops and other properties have been destroyed in riots. The elderly, women and children have fled to the relative security of the mountains. Thousands of terrified residents have also fled = riot-torn=20 cities by boat, after their neighborhoods were destroyed by fire. The flow of refugees continues," Ishida said.
It has been estimated that 60,000 residents have been displaced in the Christian areas of Indonesia, but the exact number of new displaced persons is difficult to determine, he said.
The funds sent by the ELCA will help support the relief efforts of Action by Churches Together (ACT), a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. ACT is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF.
"The main goal is to alleviate the suffering of people, especially the most vulnerable -- children, women and the elderly," said Ishida. Relief assistance will "also be used as an entry point for grassroots violence reduction and reconciliation," he said.
Food, shelter and medicine will be provided over a three-month period for 20,000 displaced people in Christian camps and 15 Muslim camps, Ishida said. A "mobile health team" will care for 10,000 patients and a "health post" will serve 27 camps.
The rainy season will affect the health conditions of the displaced people, Ishida said. "People sleep on plaited mats with mud and water leaking everywhere. Piles of waste are growing. Hygiene is nonexistent." Rooms are overcrowded and resources such as soap and toothpaste are scarce, he said.
"In spite of a declared state of emergency and pleas by the international community, fresh outbreaks of violence in Indonesia continue and the situation may get worse," Ishida said.
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INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS:
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survivors of major disasters outside the United States, Puerto Rico or
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Lutheran World Relief
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http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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