U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) EAST TIMOR CRISIS Summary Fact Sheet #25 May 18, 2000
This will be the final USAID/OFDA Fact Sheet for the East Timor crisis. See /humanitarian/timor EAST TIMOR Overview - The international relief community mobilized to provide assistance in East Timor as the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) troops entered Dili and spread across the country to secure militia strongholds. The international relief effort focused on providing food, shelter materials, agricultural implements, and health services/immunizations to returnees. Concurrent with relief assistance, international organizations began focusing on rehabilitation projects such as the restoration of water, sanitation, and power-generating facilities. - Through the coordination of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the U.N. Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET), humanitarian organizations continue to implement projects based on six main priorities: facilitating the voluntary return of East Timorese from West Timor and other locations; ensuring food security through the provision of daily rations and seeds and tools; providing a rudimentary health care network; ensuring potable water in areas where the water system has been damaged or destroyed; revitalizing communities through education programs, psycho-social trauma counseling, and micro-credit schemes; and repairing and reconstructing approximately 35,000 residential shelters. - The World Food Program (WFP) organized a logistics cell, which operated from Darwin, Australia and later Dili, East Timor, to manage the transport of relief supplies to displaced persons and returnees. Because insecurity and the absence of vehicles and field staff in support of logistical operations initially hampered the delivery of relief assistance in East Timor, WFP and donor countries provided helicopter support to assist with the delivery of food and non-food commodities to isolated areas. Airdrops of food, conducted by fixed-wing and later rotary wing aircraft, officially began in East Timor on September 17. - East Timor is now relatively secure of militia activity (except for occasional incursions that continue to take place along some parts of the West Timor border area) and key distribution points are located in each of the major towns, facilitating the delivery of recovery assistance. - While relief assistance is ongoing, the focus of the international response is shifting to rehabilitation and reconstruction. International donors met in Tokyo on December 17, 1999 to discuss post-emergency needs and financing. Representatives from more than 50 countries pledged in excess of $520 million over the next three years to rebuild East Timor and to ensure its smooth transition to independence. In addition, the World Bank has allocated $30 million for emergency reconstruction of roads, ports, and power facilities. Current Situation - According to UNTAET, as of April 25, 2000, the total number of organized and spontaneous returns into East Timor from West Timor, other parts of Indonesia, Macau, and Australia now stands at 160,367. - Aid agencies report that, except for small pockets, the nutritional status of the population is satisfactory, with lower levels of malnutrition than would normally be expected among recently displaced persons. - Seed distributions by humanitarian agencies (including USAID/OFDA) prior to the last major planting season are credited by a recent Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/WFP assessment with helping to avert major food shortages. A food deficit still exists, however, and the WFP expects to continue to have to distribute food for the near future. - Some U.N. agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have expressed concern of a gap between the June 30, 2000 end of the emergency phase designated under the U.N. Consolidated Appeal and the start-up of longer-term development activities slated to follow under World Bank auspices. - A major concern for UNTAET and aid agencies is the increasing difficulty in reintegrating returnees from West Timor who are tainted by militia association. U.N. and NGO staff speak of increasing community tension as these people are reintroduced into East Timor society. - Distribution of permanent shelter materials remains behind schedule. - The Government of Indonesia (GOI) had previously announced that relief assistance would cease on April 1, 2000, the camps would be shut down, and the remaining refugees would be sent back home or relocated to other parts of Indonesia. Noting an agreement signed by the GOI last October in which the government agreed to assume overall responsibility for the safety and care of East Timorese refugees, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) succeeded in urging the GOI to continue to assist East Timorese refugees beyond April 1, 2000. USAID/OFDA Response - On May 7, 1999, U.S. Ambassador Stapleton Roy issued a disaster declaration in Indonesia in response to civil strife in various provinces. The disaster declaration allowed the U.S. Government (USG) to provide assistance in response to the East Timor crisis. On October 4, 1999, U.S. Ambassador Robert Gelbard declared a disaster in Indonesia for fiscal year (FY) 2000, enabling continued assistance in East Timor and other provinces of Indonesia. - Immediately following the violence that ensued after the referendum vote, USAID/OFDA dispatched regional advisors, a program officer, and an information officer to Jakarta. USAID/OFDA maintained a presence in Jakarta from August to December 1999 to coordinate its assistance with international donors, the U.N., U.S. Embassy, and USAID/Jakarta; report on the humanitarian situation; and liaise with implementing partners. Simultaneously, USAID/OFDA maintained a presence in Dili, East Timor to conduct on-the-ground assessments, program monitoring, and information gathering. Following the departure of USAID/OFDA staff in December 1999, USAID/OFDA conducted regular visits to monitor the situation and liaise with key humanitarian organizations. - USAID/OFDA has provided nearly $11 million in assistance in response to the crisis in East Timor since September 1999 for the provision and transport of relief commodities, logistical support to WFP, and funding to the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and local and international NGOs to meet the basic needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees. - Materials provided by USAID/OFDA include 500 rolls of plastic sheeting (temporary shelter for 5,000 families), 20,000 blankets, and 5,200 collapsible five-gallon water containers. These commodities arrived in Darwin on September 22, and were subsequently distributed by NGOs and the U.N. to beneficiaries in East Timor. The value of the commodities, including transport, is estimated at $482,950. - USAID/OFDA also funded the commercial transport of 300,000 humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) donated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). The HDRs, valued at $1.3 million, arrived in Darwin on September 18 at a cost of approximately $1.2 million. Approximately 180,000 DOD-provided HDRs were airdropped by WFP and INTERFET to IDPs while the remainder was stockpiled by WFP for contingency use in other areas of Indonesia. - USAID/OFDA-funded grants for East Timor, totaling $8,944,001 include: - $1,300,000 to WFP in support of logistics; - $320,000 to UNICEF for emergency assistance; - $1,390,000 to CARE for the distribution of food security supplies; - $267,300 to Concern for the distribution of shelter materials; - $587,631 to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for the distribution of mosquito nets; - $3,453,775 to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for the distribution of food and non-food supplies to returnees; - $1,138,295 to World Vision for basic food rations, agricultural inputs, non-food household supplies, and shelter materials; and - $487,000 to the International Medical Corps (IMC) for health activities. - USAID/OFDA does not plan to fund additional programs in East Timor after the expiration of current grants on June 30, 2000. Other USG Assistance USAID/Food for Peace (FFP) - USAID/FFP is providing $17.7 million in food commodities and support costs in East Timor. This assistance includes provision of 4,000 metric tons (MT) of corn and 5,900 MT of rice, valued at $5 million, to WFP in support of its first appeal to meet the basic grain needs of 360,000 people for two months. It also includes 4,500 MT of corn, 4,500 MT of rice, 550 MT of corn-soya blend, and 500 MT of soya beans, valued at $6.2 million, to WFP in support of its second appeal. - USAID/FFP also contributed 10,000 MT of rice and pinto beans, valued at $6.5 million, to CARE for IDPs and returnees in East Timor. USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) - USAID/OTI's program in East Timor totals $12,930,000. Of this figure, $1,430,000 in FY 1999 funds was committed by USAID/OTI for civil society activities, conflict resolution, and elections monitoring. - USAID/OTI assistance in FY 2000 totals $11,500,000, and is designated for activities that advance peaceful democratic change in East Timor by supporting community development, reconstruction, and employment projects; enabling key indigenous civil society organizations to participate as equal partners in relief, reconstruction, and nation-building activities; providing in-kind "start up" assistance and technical assistance to independent media outlets; and supporting East Timor political leadership and reconciliation. USAID/OTI's largest effort is the Transitional Employment Program, which is being implemented in all thirteen districts. - To advance its programs in East Timor, USAID/OTI established an office in Dili, staffed by three full-time expatriate personnel, in January 2000. USAID/Jakarta - The USAID/FFP office in Jakarta provided $127,000 to CARE for the transportation and distribution of USAID/FFP Title II commodities in East Timor. - The USAID/Public Health and Nutrition (PHN) office in Jakarta provided $415,395 to World Vision for supplementary feeding programs targeted at children under-five, expansion of basic primary health services, and child nutrition/health education in Dili and rural areas throughout East Timor. In addition, the USAID/PHN office in Jakarta provided $600,000 to the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) to assist in reestablishing primary health clinics in East Timor for coffee growing families. - USAID/Jakarta has committed approximately $4.37 million since October 1999 in support of the NCBA coffee project in East Timor. This funding has been used to support income generation, employment, rehabilitation of coffee warehouses and health clinics, and repair/replacement of damaged processing equipment. - USAID/Jakarta will obligate an additional $8.1 million in FY 2000 to further support NCBA-related income generation and employment activities and expansion of the number of rural clinics in coffee growing areas. - Approximately 17,000 families or 10 percent of the East Timorese population directly benefit from the USAID/Jakarta- funded NCBA coffee project. During FY 2000, USAID/Jakarta plans to increase the number of beneficiary families to 30,000. U.S. Department of State/Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) - State/PRM's assistance includes an initial $5.1 million to UNHCR ($2.6 million), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) ($1 million), WFP ($1 million), and OCHA ($500,000) to assist these organizations in meeting the needs of East Timorese. - On November 10, President Clinton provided State/PRM an additional $30 million in funds from the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account. These funds were allocated amongst UNHCR ($12 million, with an additional $2 million to be provided), the International Office for Migration (IOM) ($3 million), ICRC ($5.6 million plus an additional contribution for the ICRC regional delegation), WFP ($2.5 million), UNICEF ($1 million), and a consortium of international NGOs ($2.5 million) to assist with repatriation and reintegration of returnees. [Note: Approximately one- third of State/PRM's assistance has been utilized for humanitarian assistance and repatriation activities undertaken in West Timor.] U.S. Department of Defense - DOD provided $3,965,000 in humanitarian assistance to East Timor through the donation of 300,000 HDRs ($1.3 million) to WFP for airdrop to isolated populations, the transport of Portuguese relief commodities to Darwin, Australia ($865,000); refurbishment and transport of 20 trucks to East Timor for WFP's use ($300,000); and provision of air support to WFP for the delivery of food and non-food relief supplies to extended delivery points in East Timor ($1.5 million). - Within days of INTERFET's creation, DOD began providing critical support to INTERFET, chiefly in the areas of communications teams, logistics support, strategic airlift, humanitarian support, intelligence, and planning support. In addition, under the drawdown authority directed by the President, DOD provided assistance (primarily airlift) to support the participation of several nations in INTERFET. DOD's military assistance to INTERFET also included the provision of approximately 20 civil affairs personnel from Fort Bragg to the U.N. Civil-Military Operations Center (CMOC) in Dili. - To support East Timor in its transition to independence, DOD deployed the U.S. Support Group East Timor (USGET) to Dili and Darwin in February 2000. USGET works to facilitate and coordinate U.S. military rotational presence operations, including periodic ship visits, that provide engineering, medical, dental, and other humanitarian and civic assistance to the East Timorese people. USGET and the rotational presence operations remain under U.S. command and control, and are not part of UNTAET. Separately, DOD currently contributes three U.S. military officers who are serving as Military Observers with UNTAET. WEST TIMOR Overview - Following the violence that ensued post-referendum, East Timorese voluntarily fled or were forced by the militia to flee to West Timor, other areas of Indonesia, and neighboring countries. - As of September 28 (not long before repatriation began), the GOI had registered 244,310 IDPs in 37 camps at 11 locations in West Timor and on nearby islands. While the majority of IDPs were located in the West Timor districts of Kupang and Belu, many were also located in Surabaya (1,500), Denpasar (1,500), and the greater Jakarta area (2,500). - Although conditions in West Timor refugee camps have improved, they were initially poor, with inadequate shelter, water and sanitation facilities, and available services/commodity distributions. The quality of conditions was partially attributable to substantial militia activity within the camps, limiting international humanitarian organizations from being able to gain access to populations in need. - East Timorese militia elements in West Timor also have been responsible for intimidating and carrying out acts of violence against refugees in West Timor. These militia activities, and the disinformation campaign initiated by the militia to discourage potential refugees from returning to East Timor, were undertaken largely to deter the refugees from repatriating. - To dispel the negative information generated by the militia regarding conditions in East Timor, the GOI and the U.N. undertook an information campaign which, through radio broadcasts, print materials, and video tapings of respected East Timorese leaders, attempted to educate potential returnees about the actual situation in East Timor. - The formal repatriation process, overseen by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and implemented jointly with IOM, began on October 8. Although repatriation initially began slowly, partly because insecurity prevented the presence of monitors to ascertain/verify those refugees that wanted to repatriate, it quickly increased. At the height of the return period, UNHCR was utilizing ships, airplanes, and overland convoys concurrently. Current Situation - The GOI estimates that approximately 126,000 East Timorese remain in West Timor, although some humanitarian agencies estimate the number of refugees to be closer to 90,000. New figures for the number of refugees in West Timor will be available once UNHCR completes its most recent registration exercise. Of those remaining in West Timor, UNHCR has previously estimated that perhaps half will return to East Timor and the remainder will remain in West Timor or other parts of Indonesia. - Camp conditions in West Timor vary but remain below minimum standards in many areas, especially in Belu District. Surveys conducted by humanitarian organizations continue to reflect unacceptably high levels of malnutrition (particularly among children), which are being addressed through supplementary feeding programs. UNHCR regards water and sanitation as ongoing concerns. Shelter is not a major concern at present, as departures to East Timor have eased the shortage in this sector. - Beginning May 1, 2000, UNHCR expected to assume responsibility for distribution of a full food ration (2,300 calories per person per day) to the refugee population, utilizing WFP food and NGO implementing partners for distribution. - Food assistance from the GOI has been very sporadic, often less than one-third of a full ration, thus the UNHCR ration is expected to result in a substantial increase in the food supply for the refugee population. - Implementation of UNHCR's increased assistance in West Timor is dependent on GOI fulfillment of its commitments to remove former military, militia, and civil servants from the camp populations, as agreed under the memorandum of understanding signed in October 1999. Removal of these groups by the GOI is dependent on preparation of "translocation sites," few of which are operational. [Note: The GOI has estimated that camp populations include 2,200 militia members, 3,000 military personnel, and 8,000 civil servants (excluding family members).] - A further complication to the start of the UNHCR-managed food distributions is the extensive mixing of East Timorese among the West Timor population, either housed with relatives or interspersed among villages. UNHCR hopes to resolve this issue through the establishment of a systematic photo registration process. - Militia elements still control many camps and intimidation of potential returnees continues, though UNHCR reports less blatant acts of intimidation than in the past. - The UNHCR information campaign to provide objective information on conditions in East Timor to the displaced population in West Timor is credited with helping to stimulate the flow of returns in recent months. - At the same time, UNHCR officials in West Timor said in early April that two kinds of reports trickling back from East Timor may be having a dampening effect on repatriation: 1) reports of poor economic prospects and lack of employment in East Timor; and 2) reports of intimidation and violence against returnees. While reports from East Timor indicate that violence against returnees is isolated and unsystematic, UNHCR believes that some of the incidents are credible. USAID/OFDA Response - Throughout the Timor crisis, USAID/OFDA personnel conducted periodic visits to Kupang, Atambua, and Belu to determine priority needs, monitor the return process, and gather information from locally-based humanitarian workers. - USAID/OFDA has provided more than $1 million in support of the humanitarian situation in West Timor. Specifically, USAID/OFDA provided $165,000 to Yayasan Dian Desa, a local NGO, beginning in August 1999 for the construction of wells and latrines along the border area in anticipation of a large outpouring of East Timorese into West Timor. - USAID/OFDA also provided $180,000 to UNICEF and $694,613 to CARE for the provision of emergency assistance to refugees, including supplementary feeding, shelter materials, and water and sanitation assistance. - No further USAID/OFDA assistance is planned for West Timor. Other USG Assistance - Approximately one-third of State/PRM's assistance ($35.1 million) has been utilized for humanitarian assistance and repatriation activities undertaken in West Timor. - USAID/FFP provided 2,700 MT of rice, valued at $1.6 million, to CRS for East Timorese refugees in West Timor. - USAID/Jakarta's PHN office provided $5,870 to Project Concern International (PCI) for a health assessment and $367,965 to PCI for health care activities in West Timor. - The USG sought, through a series of visits, to generate high-level GOI support to: 1) gain international access to refugee camps, 2) diminish militia intimidation of and acts of violence against the refugee population, 3) gain the cooperation of the Indonesian military to squelch militia activity and support repatriation, and 4) speed the repatriation process. The visitors included Assistant Secretary of State Julia Taft, Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke, and USAID Assistant Administrator Hattie Babbitt. Background Following an overwhelming U.N.-supported vote for independence from Indonesia, pro-integrationist militias in East Timor rampaged and plundered through large areas of East Timor in early September. Many hundreds of civilians were killed in the ensuing violence. More than 450,000 East Timorese were displaced from their homes, including approximately 200,000 IDPs who fled to the surrounding hills and jungles of East Timor and another 250,000 who fled to West Timor and other areas of Indonesia. Homes and private assets on the island, including U.N. and NGO offices, were plundered or burned by militia forces during the rampage. Food stocks also were looted or burned. On September 15, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to send a peacekeeping force (totaling approximately 7,500 troops) to East Timor. The GOI officially handed East Timor over to INTERFET on September 27, paving the way for international assistance and suppression of militia activity. Funding USG humanitarian assistance in East and West Timor, totaling nearly 85 million, is provided mainly by USAID and State/PRM and delivered through local and international implementing partners. Note: The figures below represent cumulative funding for FY 1999 and 2000. - USAID/OFDA $11,673,689 - USAID/FFP $19,300,000 * - USAID/OTI $12,930,000 - USAID/Jakarta $ 1,516,230 ** Total USAID Assistance $45,419,919 Total State/PRM $35,100,000 Total DOD $ 3,965,000 *** TOTAL USG ASSISTANCE $84,484,919 * This figure does not include funding provided to NGOs in support of country-wide activities, implemented in part in East and West Timor. ** This figure does not include income generation and employment activities or rehabilitation projects funded through USAID/Jakarta's NCBA project. *** This figure refers strictly to humanitarian assistance and does not include DOD military assistance to INTERFET. distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - East Timor - /humanitarian/timor