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UNICEF office opened in Atambua to assist East Timorese refugees

Dili, 6 October 1999 - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has established a Liaison Office in the border town of Atambua, West Timor, to bring emergency assistance to thousands of East Timor refugees.

Greg Fernandez, who ran UNICEF operations in Dili and East Timor before being evacuated on September 4, opened the office in Atambua on September 19 with four other evacuees from the UNICEF Dili office.

Fernandez, who returned to Dili earlier this week to assist in the local relief effort, says there are more than 140,000 East Timorese refugees living in squalid settlements in and around Atambua. The refugees, many of who are living out in the open, lack access to adequate levels of food, health care, clean water and sanitation.

Although local government agencies in Atambua are trying to assist the refugees, Fernandez said their resources are severely stretched.

"Before the refugees came Atambua had a population of 36,000, and now some of these people are also in need of assistance," Fernandez said.

UNICEF has provided five 2,000-litre water containers for the refugee settlements as well as jerry cans, kitchen utensils, and various basic hygiene supplies such as soap for bathing and washing clothes. Malaria, diarrhoea and upper respiratory infections are the most common illnesses among the refugees, and UNICEF has set up two mobile teams of doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists from among the refugee population to help provide assistance.

Other organizations that have recently established relief operations in Atambua include the International Committee of the Red Cross, World Vision, CARE and Catholic Relief Services.

Fernandez said cases of moderate malnutrition have been noted among refugee children, and that in response UNICEF has distributed two metric tonnes of Vitadele, a nutritionally fortified complimentary food. One packet of Vitadele (500 grams) provides a 6-24 month-old child with sufficient nutrition for a week to 10 days.

On September 12, Fernandez drove a truck from Atambua to Dili to pick up 7.5 metric tonnes of Vitadele UNICEF had stored in a warehouse. Although the UNICEF office in the Hotel Turismo had been looted and torched and some 6 tones of Vitadele had been destroyed, Fernandez managed to retrieve 1.5 metric tonnes of Vitadele to bring back to Atambua.

Over recent weeks Fernandez has also conducted needs assessments and helped coordinate UNICEF relief efforts in Kupang, Kefamenanu, and Soe.

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