R

esidents displaced by Merapi’s volatile eruptions continue to venture up the volcano’s slopes to check on their livestock.

The fate of the livestock is in their hands, some said.

“[The livestock] stay alive only if we take good care of them. If not, they will die,” Sutrisno, a resident of Purwodadi village in Sleman, Yogyakarta, said.

Residents who flaunted government warnings and entered Merapi’s danger zone have contributed to Merapi’s death toll.

Many recent victims had returned to their villages to check on livestock during a lull in Merapi’s activity and were killed when the volcano unexpectedly disgorged hot clouds.

The latest eruption early Friday claimed at least 88 lives, increasing Merapi’s death toll to 128. The number is expected to increase as more dead bodies are discovered underneath debris. On Monday one evacuation team found six more dead.

According to Sutrisno, 65, who is currently living at an evacuation center at Gadjah Mada University, people living on Merapi’s slopes depend on livestock for their livelihoods.

“If [the livestock] die because of the hot clouds, we can accept that. But if they die from hunger, we cannot accept it,” Sutrisno, who owns seven cows, said.

Sutrisno expressed full support for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s proposal for the government to buy residents’ livestock or compensate them for animals lost in the eruptions.

He did not care about the price, he said. He just doesn’t want his cattle to die of hunger because he is taking refuge far from home.

“Don’t blame us if we keep returning home to feed our livestock if the government doesn’t [pay us] soon,” he said.

Kepuharjo subdistrict head Heri Suprapto said residents generally supported the government’s plan and urged the President to make the purchases as soon as possible to stop residents from ignoring the government’s ban on returning to their homes.

“This will help alleviate some of the stress of refugees who are thinking about the safety of their livestock,” Heri said.

Coordinating Public Welfare Minister for Agung Laksono said the buying team would start identifying livestock within a radius of 20 kilometers from Merapi’s peak on Tuesday.

For cows or buffalo bred for meat, the government will pay Rp 22,000 (US$2.50) per kilogram. For dairy cows the price will range from
Rp 5 million to Rp 10 million, depending on the animal’s age and whether they have produced milk.

Agung said the government has allocated Rp 100 billion for the purchases. “This is not just lip service. We’re moving forward [with the plan] and buying according to market prices.”

The government payment plan aims to ease the impact of the Merapi disaster by focusing on the eruption, the refugees and their livestock, he said.

In a bid to prevent residents from returning to their homes to feed livestock, volunteers and military personnel have evacuated animals within a 20 kilometer radius of Merapi’s peak.

The livestock were placed in a secure location while waiting for the government purchase.