A plea from Banda Aceh

The world seemed suddenly very small when I learned of the earthquake and tsunami in southeast Asia. My immediate thought was of my newfound friends living in the region. Although they are devastated by the losses, they are responding quickly to the need for relief and supplies. This urgent message asking for help arrived today from my colleague Eddy Suprapto, president of the Alliance of Independent Journalists in Jakarta, Indonesia.

He writes:
"The disaster, which occurred on December 26, 2004, also hit eight Asian countries and seven African countries, has been estimated of claiming more than 80.000 death. According to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, it has been estimated that at least 45.000 people were killed in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

AJI, an organization of journalists in Indonesia affiliated to the
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), has members in the affected areas, namely eleven (11) in Lhokseumawe and 25 in Banda Aceh and a security officer of the AJI office in Banda Aceh, excluding AJI members in Jakarta who have relatives in Aceh.

Currently, we are monitoring their existence and their families. From the latest report we received, all of AJI members in Lhokseumawe have been found safe, while in Banda Aceh, only nine (9) people have been found alive, and 17 went missing.

Therefore, we call on the community to participate and provide assistance for our colleagues who become the victims. Financial assistance can be sent to:

Account Number: 446-1479

Beneficiary Name: ALLIANCE OF INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS

Name of Bank: BNI Senayan Branch

SWIFT Code: BNINIDJA

Address of Bank: Jl. Gatot Subroto Kav. 55
Central Jakarta 10210

Other assistance can be sent to:
Secretariat of AJI Indonesia
Jl. Danau Poso Blok D1 No. 29
Bendungan Hilir Jakarta
Indonesia 10210
Phone: +62-21-5790-0489 / Fax: +62-21-573-4581


Jakarta, December 30, 2004
The Alliance of Independent Journalists
Eddy Suprapto
President

For further information, you can contact us at:

The Jakarta Coordinating Post
Eddy Suprapto (62-818-774-724)

Ulin Niam Yusron (62-818-912-361)

Abdul Manan (62-818-948-316)

Lensi Mursida (62-815-943-5493)

Yulia Siswaningsih (62-815-1322-0269 or
62-815-1127-9559)

Lina (62-812-839-0035)

The Banda Aceh Coordinating Post
Nani Afrida (62-812-696-0395)

The Lhokseumawe Coordinating Post
Zaenal Bakri (62-811-671-971)

Ayi Jufridar (62-811-672-648)

The Medan Coordinating Post
Dedi Ardiansyah (62-815-3313-0251)