UAE Indonesians fly home

Dubai: Indonesian residents in the UAE, personally affected by the earthquake that hit the ancient city of Yogyakarta and killed thousands, are flying out in droves to be with their family.

Johan Arief Hisdaron, an engineer at an oil company in Jebel Ali, is flying to Jakarta, from where he will try to get to Yogyakarta. He told Gulf News that the earthquake had taken the lives of his grandfather and three cousins.

"Why did it happen? The area was peaceful; we've never ever had any problems [with earthquakes]," he said, sounding shocked.

He said his grandfather and relatives lived in a small village 10km away from Bantul, the district hardest-hit by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

Destruction

The town of Bantul and villages in its immediate vicinity were almost completely destroyed, accounting three-quarters of the deaths and with 80 per cent of homes gone.

Hisdaron is still trying to come to terms with the loss of his family and the village in which he grew up.

"It was a really nice community with really nice people. It was like a big family; everybody knew each other's name," he said.

Hisdaron is not alone. Teduh Yulyono, a committee member of the Indonesian Muslims Association, told Gulf News that his colleague, who lost his home in the disaster, had already left for Indonesia.

"His wife, his children and his parents are homeless now. The house they lived in was completely destroyed," he said. Hisdaron told Gulf News that he was not going home empty-handed. "I'm bring some medical supplies with me, like bandages. I know some of them are desperate for help," he said. However, the Indonesian Muslims Association and the Indonesian Consulate General are not accepting any donations in the form of medical supplies but they are accepting cash donations.