Green Left Weekly has received a desperate appeal from Papernas (the National Liberation Party of Unity) in Indonesia for emergency solidarity in the wake of severe floods in Jakarta and surrounding heavily populated areas.
Poor drainage systems and a lack of flood control facilities meant that many residential areas, including the urban poor shantytowns that often line the now overflowing storm drains, are totally inundated, forcing the evacuation of at least 400,000 people.
"Thousands of our members and thousands of the urban poor have been seeking our assistance", Papernas's Katarina Pujiastuti told GLW. "Even the home of Dita Sari, our candidate for the 2009 presidential election, is flooded to the ceiling.
"Papernas and its member mass organisations have opened our offices in Jakarta and Bekasi to organise assistance for the main evacuation sites.
"The Urban Poor Union (SRMK) that works daily in helping the urban poor get free health treatment has opened emergency tents in two evacuation sites in West Jakarta Barat, each sheltering about 3000 people.
"But we urgently need help in obtaining emergency supplies of food, drinking water, vitamins, clothes, medicine, milk, blankets and sanitary napkins."
Please send emergency contributions to Papernas via the following account:
Account number: 1000596325
Bank: Bank Commonwealth Indonesia
Swiftcode: BICNIDJA
Clearingcode: 9500307
Account holder: Yulia Evina Bhara