by Mathias Hariyadi

A parish priest told AsiaNews about the earthquake damage. It speaks of the quiet life of Christian communities in the area, often a few hours drive families away from cities

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The parish church of St. Mary in Seru (Yapen Regency, Biak Island) suffered severe damage during the earthquake measuring 7.1 that struck Papua and other islands in the area on June 16. The parish priest Father Ignatius Widodo, Order of the Sacred Heart, told AsiaNews that "the church building currently can not be used any more." "It 's urgent - he explains - to determine with engineers the structural soundness to permit the use and eliminate the risk of collapsing altogether."

Seru, capital of Yapen Regency is just a 30-minute flight with by airplane from the main island Biak. Biak is approximately 6 hours flight from Jakarta and two from the provincial capital Jayapura.

In this remote area, close to Papua island, rich in natural resources, but often regarded as "underdeveloped", the churches are not permanent buildings but are built with flimsy material. The earthquake has damaged several of them.

Father Ignatius says that "the church of St Peter in the Waropen subdistrict was severely damaged." Waropen is the remotest area from Seru , it takes 2-3 hours on small boats through the rivers to reach it. "My congregation - continues the priest - in SP5 (Satuan Permukiman, a group of neighbouring houses) is only 5 families. In SP6 there are more than 20 Catholic families and some others are a group of neighbouring buildings belonging to local wood pulp industry”.

There is no electricity in Seru and basic essentials are scarce. Some aid has been brought by plane from Biak. "The residents hardest hit by earthquake are using a generator, because electrical systems were seriously damaged," said the priest, who explains that he can talk only through the solar battery of his mobile phone.

Many small Protestant churches have also suffered serious damages. The core of Seru is small, you can visit the entire town in just 10 minutes. But it is pretty and has a splendid view. Catholics and other Christians of the area are mainly migrants from other islands are, from Tanah Toraja in Central Sulewesi, Java, Kei Island in Southeast Maluku and elsewhere.  

• indonesia
• earthquake
• catholic
• church
• aid
• seru
• island