Aid Shipment for Dili: Timor Leste

A massive aid shipment is on its way to East Timor to deliver desperately needed supplies to thousands of people displaced by the ongoing crisis according to an article in the ABC New Australia.

Around 150 tonnes of tents, blankets and emergency provisions have been sent on a barge from Darwin today. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has sent an emergency response team to East Timor to help the tens of thousands of people living in refugee conditions.

It is the biggest single shipment of aid since East Timor plunged into civil unrest six weeks ago. The huge load includes tents, blankets, sheeting and gerry cans for those living in makeshift camps and will arrive in Dili today.
The UNHCR says a new camp will open next week to take the strain off the 30 or 40 others, some of which are housing at least 10,000 people each.

At least when the aid arrives, it will be distributed fairly by the various aid agencies under the watchful eye of Australian and UN troops. Unlike however what happened in Aceh, Sumatra after the tsunami struck there over a year ago. There, a lot od it found its way to the black market which is a sad state of affairs.