03/01/2005 - Humanitarian
and medical aid organised by Medecins Sans
Frontieres is being loaded onto the Greenpeace
flagship, Rainbow Warrior. The shipment of
mainly medical supplies and food is on its
way to Meulaboh on the west coast of Aceh
province.
Our ship, the Rainbow Warrior, is helping
medical aid organisation Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) to get relief supplies
to parts of Indonesia devastated by the Indian
Ocean earthquake.
While we are not an aid organisation, MSF
needs help to get supplies to areas in Aceh,
Northern Sumatra. Many of the areas devastated
are only accessible by boat and we have the
Rainbow Warrior in the region. The Warrior
and its crew of 19 will help transport food,
medical supplies and MSF medical staff to
the some of the worst affected areas.
"The northwest coast of Sumatra is certainly
one of the areas most severely affected by
the earthquake, but it has so far been logistically
difficult for aid organisations to reach the
region," says David Curtis, MSF emergency
coordinator in Jakarta. "In order to
save lives, a massive relief effort is needed.
By using the Greenpeace ship to transport
medical staff and supplies, we hope to reach
people in remote areas that we would otherwise
be unable to help. We plan to use the ship
to travel along the west coast with a full
package of food, medical supplies and materials
such as plastic sheeting and mosquito nets
on board.It will also carry fuel to enable
us to refuel the helicopters. We are aiming
to set up a base in the town of Meulaboh which
we know has been one of the most heavily affected
areas."
An MSF team - currently numbering 40 - has
been working in the town of Banda Aceh since
Tuesday night and is using four mobile teams
to bring medical care along the coast. According
to Ibrahim Younis, logistics expert with the
team, "The town is about 60 percent destroyed
and there are shortages of food and water
in some areas. There are still corpses on
the streets. There is a huge amount of work
to be done in this town alone, but the situation
along the northwestern coast is even worse.
We have carried out assessments by helicopter
and car and are treating people who have been
stranded for days with virtually nothing."
The Rainbow Warrior will be used as part
of a logistical set-up which also includes
MSF helicopters, planes and cars. "We
want to do what we can to provide help and
support to bring some relief to these devastated
areas. In this way, we hope to contribute
to the efforts to alleviate a tragic situation,"
said Dr. Gerd Leipold, Executive Director
of Greenpeace International.
MSF relief efforts in several of the countries
severely affected by the earthquake are experiencing
serious logistical difficulties in bringing
in aid. Airports are becoming blocked so that
planes bringing supplies are unable to refuel
and land. In Aceh there is an almost total
lack of fuel and transport.
