President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has sent humanitarian assistance in the form of two thousand packages for the earthquake-affected people in Ambon, Maluku Province, and for those displaced by riots in Wamena, Papua Province.
Packages containing basic necessity items totaling two thousand from President Jokowi were handed over to the Maluku Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) head on Tuesday (Oct 1), Erlin Suastini, head of the information, media, and press bureau of the Presidential Secretariat, noted in a statement here on Wednesday.
Each package contains five kilograms (kg) rice, 1 kg sugar, a liter of cooking oil, a box of tea bags, a box of biscuits, and a mineral water bottle.
The aid will be disbursed to earthquake victims in the districts of Ambon, Central Maluku, and Western Seram.
According to data of the Maluku administration, the earthquake that rattled the province on September 29, 2019, claimed 30 lives and caused injuries to 156 others.
Related news: Ambon quake wrecks 171 houses in its path
Related news: Ambon's 6.5-magnitude earthquake leaves 23 dead
Moreover, 1,380 packages from Jokowi were currently en route to Papua and expected to arrive on Wednesday.
The packages were sent to Papua by the Air Force's Hercules A-1320 that departed from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in eastern Jakarta on Tuesday.
Moreover, 3,620 additional packages will be dispatched in two stages, notably on Thursday and Friday respectively.
In the meantime, deadly riots simmered in Wamena at a rally that native Papuan students had held on September 23.
Some 33 people, including a medical doctor, were killed, while at least 77 others sustained injuries in the riot that also left several thousand residents, mostly non-native Papuans, with no choice but to take shelter in the local military and police compounds.
The dead and wounded comprised non-native Papuans, who were assaulted by rioters brandishing machetes and arrows. Several of them had migrated to Papua from their hometowns in provinces, such as West Sumatra and South Sulawesi, to earn a living.
Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto recently pegged the refugee count owing to the deadly riots in Wamena at 3,225.
Related news: 31 dead in Wamena rioting: Health Ministry
Related news: 3,225 refugees in Jayapura, confirms coordinating minister
Translator: Bayu Prasetyo, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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