Jakarta (Antara) - The Egyptian political conflict has hampered the construction of Rumah Sakit Indonesia (RSI/Indonesian hospital) in Gaza, Palestine, Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MERC-C) Presidium Chairman Sarbini Abdul Murad said. "The Egyptian crisis has caused serious scarcities of construction materials such as cement and other commodities such as gasoline and diesel oil. It is also difficult to find rice," Sarbini told Antara here on Saturday. He said construction materials like cement were vital for a construction project, particularly the construction of RSI. "Through the normal lane, the entry into Gaza of cement from Egypt is very limited," he said adding that the possibility of obtaining the material as smooth as usual is quite small. He said that while the entry of cement to the Gaza Strip was quite limited, its price also became multiplied. According to Sarbini, initially the price per ton of cement was 400 shekel (about 28 dollar cents per shekel), now it has reached 1,000 shekel per ton. The tunnels which were usually used by Gaza Strip residents as a second means of obtaining basic needs were also destroyed as a result of the political crisis in Egypt. Therefore, the RSI volunteers are making all efforts possible so that they could continue the construction of the hospital. "Thanks God, in that way , we can obtain cement, although it is not as much as the normal target," Sarbini said. He said that the construction works still continued although it was slightly hampered by those constraints. "In the run up to the fasting month, volunteers remained focused on the construction of the hospital," the MERC-C chairman said. The idea to develop the hospital came up when the humanitarian team from Indonesia was delivering medical assistance for the residents of Gaza, Palestine, at the end of 2008 and early in 2009. (*)

Pewarta:

Editor : Tunggul Susilo


COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Jawa Timur 2013