ICRC News 18 / 18-May-00
ICRC News 18 / 18-May-00
** SHORT MENU....
Sierra Leone: Aid continues despite difficulties:
ICRC activities continue in Sierra Leone despite the fighting that resumed
there on 5May. As soon as hostilities broke out, the ICRC and the local Red
Cross set up a first-aid post on the Hastings-Waterloo highway in the
Freetown area, where violent clashes took place.
Russian Federation / northern Caucasus: ICRC begins visits to detainees:
On Wednesday 17 May, ICRC delegates began visits to persons detained by the
Russian authorities in connection with the conflict in Chechnya.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: ICRC aids hospitals:
On 14 May, an ICRC aircraft landed at Kisangani, in the north-east of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 1,200 kg of medical supplies on
board.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: ICRC reunites children with their
families:
It has been so long since Raphael Kyanga last saw his children, aged six,
eight and 13, that he still can hardly believe his family will soon be
reunited.
Russian Federation / northern Caucasus:
Efforts continue to improve medical care in Grozny:
During a follow-up visit conducted by ICRC staff in Grozny last week, three
of the city's main hospitals were given additional medical supplies to help
them continue to treat patients in the face of enormous difficulties.
Yugoslavia / Kosovo: Seeds of hope washed away:
When the war ended last year and Shaban Zeneli and his family returned to
their farm north of Pristina, he was prepared for months of hard work to
give his family a new start.
** STORIES IN FULL...
Sierra Leone
Aid continues despite difficulties
ICRC activities continue in Sierra Leone despite the fighting that resumed
there on 5May. As soon as hostilities broke out, the ICRC and the local Red
Cross set up a first-aid post on the Hastings-Waterloo highway in the
Freetown area, where violent clashes took place. The most seriously wounded
were evacuated to Connaught Hospital in Freetown. Medical supplies
sufficient for one month were distributed to four other treatment
facilities and the capital's maternity hospital, which are supported by the
ICRC.
There has been no suspension of the ICRC's medical programme at the
provincial hospital in Kenema, a city located in the east of the country,
which has remained calm. During the past week, despite reduced staffing,
the ICRC surgical team carried out a dozen operations on patients wounded
in earlier fighting. In addition, the ICRC continued to renovate hospitals
and build new facilities.
Moreover, after 10 days' interruption, the ICRC has resumed its
distribution of basic supplies (such as blankets, sleeping mats, soap, and
buckets), tools, and seed to those most in need, who have been made
especially vulnerable by the situation that has prevailed in the country
for a decade.
Although the current lack of security places limits on its activities, the
ICRC has met the vital needs of a group of 300 persons settled near a
village some 20 km from Kenema. The entire programme to provide seed and
supplies should benefit approximately 300,000 people, including internally
displaced people, returnees, and particularly vulnerable groups.
Finally, the ICRC and the National Red Cross Society are working together
to restore contact among relatives dispersed by recent events and
especially to find the parents of children separated from their families.
Further information: Juan Martinez, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 22 81, or
mobile ++41 79 217 32 17
Russian Federation / northern Caucasus
ICRC begins visits to detainees
On Wednesday 17 May, ICRC delegates began visits to persons detained by the
Russian authorities in connection with the conflict in Chechnya.
An agreement setting out procedures for these visits was recently reached
with the Russian Foreign Ministry and the authorities responsible for
detention-related matters. ICRC visits will thus be conducted in accordance
with its usual practice. The first visits will take place at a detention
centre in the northern Caucasus, then, in coming weeks, at other places of
detention in the Russian Federation.
These visits are being conducted after Russian President Vladimir Putin
gave assurances to ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger, during talks in
Moscow on 30 March 2000, that ICRC delegates would be granted access to all
persons detained in connection with the conflict, wherever they are being
held.
Further information: Erik Reumann, ICRC Moscow, tel. ++70 95 926 54 26 or
Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 23 07
Democratic Republic of the Congo
ICRC aids hospitals
On 14 May, an ICRC aircraft landed at Kisangani, in the north-east of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 1,200 kg of medical supplies on
board. This aid was intended for hospitals in the city, where clashes
between Ugandan and Rwandan armed forces broke out on 5 May. An ICRC staff
member is on the scene to supervise distribution of the supplies and direct
other Red Cross activities.
When hostilities erupted, the ICRC began providing 11 of the city's
hospitals with emergency medical aid, which has enabled them to care for
159 war-wounded, mostly civilians. The ICRC and volunteers from the Red
Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have also cleared
away rubble and cleaned the premises of two hospitals and several buildings
in the city centre damaged by bombs; meanwhile, repair work in the
operating theatre and radiology unit of the city's general hospital is
under way.
In addition, the ICRC launched an information campaign in the local press
to warn the population of the dangers of unexploded shells and other
munitions. Volunteers from the National Society marked various sites and
made them secure, so that civilians - children in particular - would not
fall victim to these deadly weapons.
Further information: Juan Martinez, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 22 81, or
mobile ++41 79 217 32 17
Democratic Republic of the Congo
ICRC reunites children with their families
It has been so long since Raphael Kyanga last saw his children, aged six,
eight and 13, that he still can hardly believe his family will soon be
reunited. Yet he says he always knew the ICRC would make his dream come
true of seeing his children again. Raphael finds it hard to contain his
joy, knowing that in a few hours they will finally join him and his wife in
the eastern town of Goma. His children belong to the first group of
unaccompanied minors ever brought by the ICRC from the
government-controlled part of the Congo to the rebel-held east of the
country to be reunited with their families.
Since 1998 Raphael's children have been stranded in the capital, Kinshasa,
separated from their parents by the conflict that has effectively split the
country in two. The Kyanga family is just one of hundreds, perhaps
thousands, torn apart by the fighting that erupted there in August 1998.
The break-up of these families is among the most tragic consequences of the
hostilities. Faced with this challenge, the ICRC, supported by hundreds of
volunteers from the country's Red Cross Society, has been working
tirelessly to reunite unaccompanied children with their parents or other
relatives who can take care of them. Since late 1998, the ICRC's presence
in eastern Congo has made it possible to arrange for nearly 300 children to
rejoin their families.
Further information: Juan Martinez, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 22 81, or
mobile ++41 79 217 32 17
Russian Federation / northern Caucasus
Efforts continue to improve medical care in Grozny
During a follow-up visit conducted by ICRC staff in Grozny last week, three
of the city's main hospitals were given additional medical supplies to help
them continue to treat patients in the face of enormous difficulties. All
three facilities have also received assistance from other humanitarian
organizations and the government.
Courageous and determined hospital staff are doing their best to make
things work. They are currently carrying out basic renovations, including
plastering, whitewashing, window replacement and roof repairs, while also
caring for patients. They provide outpatient treatment and, whenever
possible, send inpatients home at night.
The most serious problem is still the lack of water, which often needs to
be supplied in bottles; there is also no constant supply of electricity,
because of lack of fuel.
ICRC staff have been assured, however, that emergency care is available
around the clock in Hospital No 9, where traumatology, surgery, gynaecology
and resuscitation services are available. Since the end of April, seven
major and 45 minor operations have been performed there, and six mine
victims have been admitted. At the time of the ICRC visit, this facility
had 13 inpatients and the Republican paediatric hospital had 23, while
Hospital No 1 was treating only outpatients.
Further information: Erik Reumann, ICRC Moscow, tel. ++70 95 926 54 26 or
Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 23 07
Chile
Parliament pays tribute to the Red Cross
The Chilean parliament met in special session on 9 May at Valparaiso to pay
tribute to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as part
of observances of the 8 May World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. Members
of parliament representing each of the six main national political parties
took the floor to emphasize the importance of the Movement's activities
nationally and internationally, and their commitment to the rules of
international humanitarian law and to Red Cross principles. The session was
attended by the entire Central Committee and many volunteers of the Chilean
Red Cross, and by the ICRC regional delegate for southern Latin America.
A ceremony had been held the previous day in Santiago, during which new
volunteers of the National Society promised to uphold the fundamental
principles of the Movement. Representatives of the country's highest
authorities, notably the President's wife and the Defence and Health
Ministers, were in attendance. Following a report on the National Society's
activities given by its President, the ICRC regional delegate outlined the
main items on the agenda of the ICRC and the Movement, including proposals
for solving the emblem issue.
Talks with the new government
The ICRC regional delegate also had several discussions in the Chilean
capital with members of the government of President Ricardo Lagos, which
was formed less than two months ago. In particular, he met with the
Interior and Defence Ministers, the Foreign and Justice Vice Ministers, and
the Director of Prison Services. With all of these, he raised issues of
great importance to the ICRC, such as Chile's ratification of or accession
to instruments of humanitarian law to which it is not yet a party (the
Ottawa treaty banning landmines, the Statute of the International Criminal
Court and the 1980 treaty on conventional weapons).
Further information: Maria Ines Peytrignet, ICRC Buenos Aires, tel. ++54 11
43 28 77 71
1
Yugoslavia / Kosovo
Seeds of hope washed away
When the war ended last year and Shaban Zeneli and his family returned to
their farm north of Pristina, he was prepared for months of hard work to
give his family a new start. Their house had been destroyed, leaving him
and his wife, their seven children and other relatives with only an
outbuilding in which to shelter through the harsh winter.
Despite the hardships, life started to improve: his son began studies in
Pristina, and the 1.8 hectares of land that have been in the family for 200
years were prepared for planting.
By the end of April, the large field close to the house had been planted
with potatoes. But disaster struck on 2 May when a torrential downpour -
the region's worst in living memory - left half a metre of hail and water
on the ground, flooded the housing and forced the family to sleep in their
truck.
"It was like the war all over again", said Shaban. "We thought we'd have to
flee to the hills again".
When the water subsided three days later, the crops had been ruined and the
family's well - their only source of drinking water - fouled with mud.
Water had to be fetched from a spring a kilometre away.
The ICRC, which last year carried out emergency cleaning of some 6,000
wells in Kosovo, has launched an urgent programme to clean 460 wells in
this low-lying area, which will benefit more than 9,500 persons. The
engineer in charge, Bajram Krasnici, himself lives in the affected village
and is aware of the people's needs. And when he turned up with his team to
clean Shaban's well - an operation lasting about an hour - the family was
delighted.
"Although our main programme came to an end in February, we have the
experience and expertise to deal quickly with problems like this", said
Geoff Allison, head of water and habitation programmes in Kosovo. "And,
clearly, we couldn't stand by and do nothing in this situation".
Further information: Caroline Douillez, ICRC Pristina, tel. ++381 38 590
074
During the weekend of 20 - 21 May 2000, for all information please call the
press officer on duty Corinne Adam, on (mobile) 41 79 202 36 80