•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Banda Aceh. Monday marked the third day of a hunger strike by students demanding housing for homeless tsunami survivors in West Aceh district.

“Our friends have agreed to continue the hunger strike until their demand is fulfilled — that the government immediately build houses to assist tsunami victims who have not yet received theirs,” said Chaidir, chairman of Student Solidarity for the Defense of Education (Sombep), an association of student organizations from universities in the district town of Meulaboh. He said the strike began on Saturday.

The students, staying in a tent near the camps of around 400 people displaced by the Indian Ocean Tsunami, have been there since Dec. 26, the fifth anniversary of the disaster, which killed about 220,000 people — most in Indonesia.

After three days without food and water, the hunger strikers — their mouths sealed by black duct tape — are said to be weak.

Three of them have had to be brought to Cut Nyak Dhien Hospital in Meulaboh for blood transfusions owing to their frail condition. “But they are still refusing to eat and drink as a form of solidarity with their colleagues who are still on hunger strike,” Chaidir said.

Data from the now disbanded Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) show that 1,569 families have not yet received homes, despite holding permits proving them eligible for the aid, he said.

“The sad thing is that he female students’ faces are getting paler and their condition weaker. They cannot sit anymore, but they are still persevering and refusing to be taken to the hospital,” Chaidir said.

Students and activists in Meulaboh, which was near the epicenter of the quake and one of the most heavily damaged areas, are also collecting coins from the public to assist the local government, so that the remaining homes can be built.

Edi Chandra, coordinator of the Campaign for Houses for Tsunami Victims Movement, said that as of Dec. 28, Rp 7.5 million ($810) in coins had already been collected.

West Aceh district chief Ramli Mansur said he supported the student’s hunger strike. “I hope the central government builds the rest of the houses for tsunami survivors quickly to prevent the students from falling victim to their hunger strike,” he told the Jakarta Globe. He added that he hoped the students “are not being influenced by people who are not victims of the tsunami.”

Ramli said he had established a special team to verify the number of tsunami survivors who have yet to receive new homes.

“To prove my support for the struggle of students and tsunami victims, I have not yet signed the asset handover from BRR because there are many problems left unsolved in West Aceh,” he said.