As the humanitarian relief effort continues in Dili and outlying
districts, an IOM site visit into the hills east of Dili has
revealed the existence of five more locations housing nearly 7,000
people who fled their homes during the recent conflict.



The displaced families are scattered around Hera village in the
areas of Port Hera, Carmelita, Mota Kiik, Akanunu and Ailok Laran.
Hidden in the hills and dry river beds away from the main road,
they have survived with little food or water since they left their
homes in Dili and Hera in late May.



“We have been too scared to leave this area since we fled two
months ago,” says Antonio da Silva, head of the Mota Kiik
camp. “But not feeling safe enough to leave meant that we had
no information about what was going on outside - here or in Dili.
We had started to become very worried about our lack of supplies
and increasingly difficult living situation.”



Following the discovery of the sites, IOM incorporated them into
the Dili camp registration system and started to distribute
government rice to the area for the first time early this week. The
deliveries resulted in an immediate reduction in tension in the
camps.



IOM also assumed the role of site liaison support agency for the
camps to facilitate access to other humanitarian aid. The IDPs
include a large number of pregnant women and children and the IOM
has asked for help from agencies specializing in health and child
protection, including UNICEF.



“We need to bring these new camps up to the standards that we
have tried to attain in Dili. This is the first assistance that
these people have received and we need to move as quickly as
possible to improve conditions in these sites,” says IOM Dili
Chief of Mission Luiz Vieira.



For more information, please contact:



Angela Sherwood

IOM Dili

Tel:+670 723 1576

E-mail: "mailto:asherwood@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">asherwood@iom.int