MIRI – The natives of the destroyed Uma Sambop longhouse are in dire need of aid including food and necessities following the disaster that left over 700 of them homeless, yesterday.
As such, the Society for Rights of Indigenous People of Sarawak (Scrips) is starting a campaign to collect these essentials for the victims and has sent out an SOS to native groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) requesting swift aid for the victims.
“There were altogether 86 housing units built next to one another in the longhouse that was burned to the ground.
“The victims were left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.
“What’s worse is that they have no fire insurance at all. As such, there is no way for them to recover their losses.
“For now, we are sourcing food supplies especially since there are nearly 700 people needing food every day.
“The government welfare authorities are deploying aid, but there is a need for NGOs to come in and help out as the victims will require daily aid for many weeks to come,” Scrips secretary-general Michael Jok told The Vibes.
He lamented that almost all of the rural longhouses in Sarawak have no fire insurance coverage as insurance companies do not want to cover such old structures.
“That makes it a total loss in the event of fire tragedies with no way to recover the losses since insurance companies do not cover rural longhouses,” he said.
Jok called on all native groups to chip in and help the Uma Sambop folk.
“They are now living in any makeshift structures or sleeping on the floor of any nearby houses they can find or with friends or relatives nearby.
“They need a host of daily essentials but food is the most crucial, like rice, canned food, biscuits, and drinking water too,” he said.
Yesterday, a massive fire engulfed a longhouse in the Sg Asap Resettlement Scheme, 50km from the Bakun Dam in central Sarawak.
The longhouse is one of 15 resettlement longhouses built about 25 years ago to house the 15,000 people uprooted by the building of the Bakun Dam.
The fire that started around 3pm destroyed about 80 housing quarters built adjacent to each other in the longhouse called Uma Sambop.
Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department said fire teams rushed to the site from Belaga town and also from as far as the Bintulu fire station, which is about 250km away. – The Vibes, July 13, 2022
