ICRC News 27 / 20-Jul-00

** SHORT MENU....


Senegal:
Red Cross distributes food

Volunteers from the Senegalese Red Cross Society have provided food to
3,800 displaced people living in and around Kolda, in the Casamance region.
Most fled their homes last April as a result of the dangerous conditions in
the border area with Guinea-Bissau.

Republic of the Congo: Child and mother reunited:
Alanga Cleves was back in her mother's arms on 5 July after three years of
separation. In May 1997, the 11-year-old had fled the village of Mbomo,
over 900 km north of Brazzaville, together with her aunt to escape the
menacing situation in the area.


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Senegal
Red Cross distributes food

Volunteers from the Senegalese Red Cross Society have provided food to
3,800 displaced people living in and around Kolda, in the Casamance region.
Most fled their homes last April as a result of the dangerous conditions in
the border area with Guinea-Bissau.

After being registered by Red Cross staff, each beneficiary received five
kilograms of rice and three of millet from the volunteers, who were
assisted by an ICRC delegate.

Last year the ICRC and the Senegalese Red Cross distributed 159 tonnes of
food to displaced people living around Ziguinchor, also in Casamance.

Further information: Philippe Beauverd, ICRC Dakar, tel. ++221 824 12 97


Republic of the Congo
Child and mother reunited

Alanga Cleves was back in her mother's arms on 5 July after three years of
separation. In May 1997, the 11-year-old had fled the village of Mbomo,
over 900 km north of Brazzaville, together with her aunt to escape the
menacing situation in the area.

Wandering from village to village, the pair eventually crossed into the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. In early 1988 misfortune struck again
when Alanga was separated from her aunt. She lived for a while in a former
refugee camp before making her way on foot for 400 km and arriving back in
her native country, where she was finally taken in by villagers.

Informed of the girl's appearance, ICRC tracing staff brought her first to
Kinkala then to Brazzaville, where she stayed until her mother could be
found. Even then her difficulties were not over: the trip home took ICRC
staff and Alanga three exhausting days of negotiating swampland and
crossing some 40 rivers on makeshift bridges and a ferry that was barely
afloat. But when she finally reached Mbomo, her mother was waiting along
with a jubilant welcoming committee of 6,000 - the whole town!

1Further information: Natalie Kohli, ICRC Brazzaville, tel. ++242 81 12 08


During the weekend of 22 - 23 July 2000, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Corinne Adam, on (mobile) 41 79 202 36 80