Fearful Indonesia quake victims face fresh battle for survival

Yahoo – AFP, Harry PEARL, September 29, 2018

Reeling from the one-two punch of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that
climbed up to 1.5 metres, residents set to scouring the rubble and the hospitals
for loved ones (AFP Photo/MUHAMMAD RIFKI)

Terrified residents in the quake-struck Indonesian city of Palu fashioned makeshift bamboo shelters or slept out on dusty playing fields Saturday fearing powerful aftershockswould topple damaged homes and bring yet more carnage and suffering.

Thirty-five-year-old mum Risa Kusuma -- her world upended Friday by the one-two punch of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that climbed up to 1.5 metres in height -- camped in her back garden and looked to God for some semblance of protection.

"Please pray for us," she told AFP. "Hopefully, Allah will protect me, my children, my husband, family and the people of Palu."

As rescue workers struggled to reach remote areas and the vast machinery of the international recovery effort geared up, the challenges for Kusuma and other residents of this small seaside city of around 350,000, were basic and immediate: Food. Water. Shelter.

Large queues formed as citizens waited in the tropical heat for life-giving water, and the basic sustenance of instant noodles.

Map of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where an 7.5 magnitude earthquake 

struck Friday (AFP Photo/AFP)

Essential supplies have been constricted by a tsunami that mowed down shops, overturned cars and ripped up parts of a coastal road in central Sulawesi.

The wave pushed a tangled mess of corrugated steel roofing, timber, rubble and flotsam some 50 metres inland. Elsewhere it uprooted trees and downed powerlines.

Some 24 hours after the quake hit, the city centre was a mix of collapsed and damaged buildings, shuttered shops and cracked roads.

On a main thoroughfare, crowds of residents-turned-looters used lengths of garden hose to siphon petrol from underground tanks at an abandoned petrol station.

Anser Bachmid, a 39-year-old father of one, told AFP the need was acute. "The public here need aid -- food, drink, clean water," he said.

"We don't know what to eat for dinner today," he said, in a morbid echo of a discussion held every evening by families the world over.

The wave uprooted trees and downed powerlines (AFP Photo/Bay ISMOYO)

As night fell, the city was plunged into enveloping darkness, because of a city-wide power outage which has also widely affected cellphone reception.

Just outside the city, families huddled under makeshift shelters built out of salvaged bamboo, tree branches and tarpaulins. Some cooked on open fires and hundreds took up residence on a football field.

But many in Palu have decided to leave. A steady crowd of trucks, cars and motorcycles -- weighed down with belongings -- could be seen streaming out of the city.

Routes in and out of the city have fallen victim to landslides triggered by the quake, reducing roads in some parts to single lanes barely wide enough for a car to pass.

For many residents trapped in this battle for survival, there is the added pain of scouring the rubble, the detritus and the hospitals for loved ones.

"At the moment we still don't know how many victims are still left under the rubble," said Bachmid.

#UPDATE Nearly 400 people were killed when a powerful quake sent a tsunami barrelling into the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, as hospitals struggled to cope with hundreds of injured and rescuers scrambled to reach the stricken region https://t.co/Q8HiHFdg1y by @harry_pearl

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 29, 2018

Map showing the devastating earthquake and population density on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi pic.twitter.com/ZBoLzwBbQI

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 30, 2018

Heartbreaking scenes in #Palu as distraught Indonesians inspect a huge pile of corpses looking for missing loved ones; desperately hoping to say one last goodbye or deliver a proper burial before the authorities dispose of the bodieshttps://t.co/764LWoNbJq

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 30, 2018

Abused Hong Kong maid Erwiana 'rises again'

Yahoo - AFP, Agus Purwanto, 28 September 2018

Erwiana now works on behalf of migrant workers

She was once the face of abused maids in Hong Kong -- imprisoned, starved and beaten so badly she lost control of her bodily functions.

But four years after her horrific ordeal made global headlines, Indonesian Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is a university graduate and fighting for the rights of domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city and beyond.

Erwiana completed a degree in economics this month -- the culmination of a dream that brought her to Hong Kong in 2013 before her life was turned upside down.

"Before I went to Hong Kong, I had been dreaming I could make enough money to study," the 27-year-old told AFP from her home in Indonesia's cultural capital Yogyakarta.

"After the incident, I thought I might have to give up on that dream."

Erwiana's employer Law Wan-tung was jailed after pictures of her extensive injuries went viral in 2014.

Widespread media coverage of Erwiana's torture had one unexpected benefit -- she was offered scholarships to study.

"I'm happy but it's bittersweet because even though I graduated university there are still many migrant workers who are persecuted and treated badly," she said.

She chose economics partly to understand "why so many people in this world have to migrate" for work.

"People should be able to live peacefully in their own country without having to work abroad unprotected," she said.

Erwiana plans to take that message to demonstrations outside the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Bali next month.

Erwiana's horrific ordeal made global headlines

She now works on behalf of migrant workers, including pushing for the release of former Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso who is on death row in Indonesia for drug smuggling.

Most domestic workers in Hong Kong are from poor communities in Indonesia and the Philippines and are vulnerable to abuse by employers and employment agencies.

Migrants from both countries have also suffered injury -- or worse -- in the Middle East and other parts of the world.

In February, the death of a Filipina maid in Kuwait, whose body was found this year stuffed in a freezer, sparked outrage in the Philippines.

Also this year, Indonesian domestic helper Adelina Sau died in hospital after being rescued from her employer's house in Malaysia's Penang state, with wounds covering her body. Her boss was charged with murder.

It is these stories that prompted Erwiana to fight for workers' rights, and never give up on herself even when she doubted her chances.

"I never imagined I'd be here -- I almost gave up," she said.

"I was so sick, I was a failed migrant worker and my injuries were all over the media.

"But because my family and fellow migrant worker friends gave me strength, I finally had the spirit to rise again."

VIDEO: A former Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih was imprisoned, starved and beaten so badly she lost control of her bodily functions. But four years later, she now fights for the rights of domestic helpers around the world https://t.co/RYY89JL6rA pic.twitter.com/kn1yXP9R6y

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 28, 2018

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih arrives at the Wanchai Law Courts to begin giving

 evidence against her former employer who is accused of abuse and torture, in

Hong Kong on Monday. (AFP Photo/Isaac Lawrence)

Related Article:

Erwiana Tells Court of ‘Torture’ by Hong Kong Employer

Indonesian maid to return to Hong Kong to help torture probe

Jokowi to Scrap ID Card for Indonesian Migrant Workers

Young elephant electrocuted in Thailand

Yahoo – AFP, September 15, 2018

The mahout (C) of 10-year-old elephant named 'Lucky', wildlife volunteers and
 police surround the animal's body in Samut Prakhan province, south of Bangkok,
in a photo taken by civilian volunteer charity Ruamkatanyu on September 14,
 2018 (AFP Photo/Handout)

Bangkok (AFP) - A young male elephant was electrocuted in Thailand after stumbling into a drain and crashing into a restaurant sign, police said Saturday.

Two elephant handlers were walking 10-year-old Plai Nam Choke -- or "Lucky" in English -- around a town in Samut Prakhan province south of Bangkok, offering passers-by the chance to feed him for cash.

But Lucky stumbled into an open sewer and collided with an electric signboard outside a restaurant, said police officer Nopporn Saengsawang.

"I received a call at 8:30 pm that the elephant was stuck in the drain," he said. "He likely died from electrocution."

Some rescue workers from a local charity group attempted CPR on Lucky for three hours after he fell.

The two handlers were charged with illegally moving the elephant and animal cruelty offences, Nopporn said.

Lucky hailed from the northeastern province of Surin, home to a famous annual elephant fair that features a parade by performing pachyderms.

Wild elephants can still be seen in Thailand's national forests, but their numbers have dwindled to about 2,700 from a peak of over 100,000 in 1850.

A large number have been domesticated for entertainment or tourism purposes, prompting accusations of animal cruelty.

Handlers are usually banned from walking elephants through cities due to space constraints, but many risk punishment in pursuit of living.

Research has shown that elephants caught in the wild and subjected to a lifetime of captivity suffer from long-term stress and tend to have shorter lifespans.

At least 21 killed in Indonesia bus crash

Yahoo – AFP, September 8, 2018

Indonesian authorities blamed faulty brakes for the fatal crash that saw the bus
crash and plunge into a ravine in West Java (AFP Photo)

Bandung (Indonesia) (AFP) - At least 21 people died and several others were injured when a bus carrying domestic tourists crashed and plunged into a ravine on the Indonesian island of Java, police said Saturday.

The crash happened when the bus with 37 people on board was heading to a holiday spot in Sukabumi region, West Java.

The vehicle was seen speeding downhill and lost control before plunging into a 10-metre-deep ravine.

"There were 37 people on the bus, 21 of them died while the rest were injured," Galih Bayu Raditya, head of the traffic unit at the local police precinct, told AFP.

Victims who were injured had been taken to several local hospitals.

"We believe the accident happened because the brake failed to function," Raditya said, adding that the vehicle's road-worthy certificate had expired in 2016

The bus was part of a four-bus tour from Jakarta heading to a rafting spot in Pelabuhan Ratu, Sukabumi.

Passengers from other buses who arrived safely at the destination told the police they had seen smoke coming from the engine of the bus before it embarked on the journey.

Authorities have issued repeated warnings that the route where the accident occurred was not suitable for buses due to the narrowness of the road and multiple tight corners.

On Friday, another bus carrying 21 people also crashed in the same region, killing one and injuring the rest.

Transport accidents are common in Indonesia, where buses and trains are often old and badly maintained.

In February at least 27 people died when a bus with 40 domestic tourists on board hit a motorbike and crashed in Subang region, also in West Java.