Indonesian children still traumatised by quake

BANTUL, Indonesia, June 2 (Reuters) Four-year-old Linda Lestari cries when you ask her what she is drawing. It may only look like a young girl's scribbling, but the dark and jagged shapes remind her of the rubble that is now her home.

The earthquake that killed more than 6,000 people on Indonesia's Java island has also left more than 40,000 children homeless, John Budd from Save The Children said yesterday.

While the aid trickling into devastated villages will eventually rebuild lives, for many children in the worst-hit Bantul area it may takes years to recover from the trauma of witnessing people buried under collapsing homes.

''The biggest problem is the psycho-social impact of the quake. Children are scared, crying, afraid to go inside a building,'' said Ayda Eke from UNICEF.

About five to 10 percent of children have suffered severe trauma, where they have become withdrawn, refusing to speak or play with other children, Eke said.

Inside UNICEF's first children centre tent in Bantul, young girls and boys gather each morning, dropped off by parents who must return to their makeshift homes, often on the side of the road or on the edge of rice fields, to await government aid.

The youngest, 14-month-old Fany, lies on her stomach, almost lifeless, caressed by her young father, who takes it in turns with his wife to bring her to the centre.

''Our house was badly damaged, but I am afraid of more quakes, so I bring her here,'' said Parjianto.

The tent has most of its sides rolled up, not just to let the breeze through to ease the tropical heat, but with the sides up it is less claustrophobic, allowing children to run in and out, chasing a soccer ball or a badminton shuttle.

''This children centre creates a safe place for the children and brings some normalcy back to their lives,'' explained Eke.

UNICEF will erect five child care tents by next week.

On one tent wall hang some of the children's drawings. Most are of a smoking volcano. Nearby Mount Merapi has been threatening to erupt for more than a week, another natural disaster these young children fear.

''The drawings indicate some level of psycho-social impact from the quake, but not all the children are drawing pictures of the damage,'' said Eke.

As their carers play games, some of the children squeal with delight, their memories of the quake temporarily buried in laughter.

HARSH REALITY But for Bantul's older children, the harsh reality of life in the damaged ancient royal city of Yogyakarta has not disappeared.

Teenagers stand in the middle of the road, dodging cars and motorbikes, begging for help. Some use Indonesian flags to wave motorists down, before handing out a cardboard box with the word ''Help'' and their village name scrawled on the front.

A group of eight teenage boys from Dukoh village collected 150,000 rupiah (16 dollars) on Wednesday -- the only aid their village of 80 families has seen since the 6.3 magnitude quake struck on Saturday.

The meagre amount of money was used to buy rice, long beans, eggplant, coconut milk, but the village must ration its food, so the communal outdoor kitchen only cooks two meals a day.

''The government has not sent anything here yet. Just local people help,'' said a frustrated Bambang Sumanto.

Reuters PDS VP0425