** SHORT MENU....
SUDAN: 200 MEDICAL STUDENTS TRAINED IN LOKICHOKIO IN THE LAST DECADE: On 28 February sixteen newly trained Sudanese nursing aides left the ICRC's Lopiding surgical hospital in Lokichokio, northern Kenya, to return to their home-based hospitals and clinics in southern Sudan.
IRAN/IRAQ: ANOTHER 502 PRISONERS REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM: On 16 March, a total of 449 Iraqi prisoners of war held in Iran and 53 Iranian detainees held in Iraq were repatriated under the auspices of the ICRC.
LIBERIA: 50TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN GETS UNDER WAY: The ICRC chose 15 March, the date on which Liberia celebrates the birth of its first president, to launch a number of activities connected with the campaign promoting the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions.
** STORIES IN FULL...
SUDAN 200 MEDICAL STUDENTS TRAINED IN LOKICHOKIO IN THE LAST DECADE
On 28 February sixteen newly trained Sudanese nursing aides left the ICRC's Lopiding surgical hospital in Lokichokio, northern Kenya, to return to their home-based hospitals and clinics in southern Sudan. Since 1989, when the ICRC launched its programme for nursing aides, around 200 Sudanese have received nursing, physiotherapy and laboratory training at Lopiding hospital.
The students are trained for six months as assistants in the operating theatre, ward nursing, anaesthesia and physiotherapy, or for four months in laboratory techniques. They also receive some basic instruction in the rights and duties of medical personnel during armed conflicts. The students are selected for their personal qualities (e.g. knowledge of English) and professional experience.
FAMILY REUNITED IN BAHR-EL-GHAZAL
On 23 February the ICRC organized the first family reunion in Sudan in more than four years.
Eight-year-old Majok Tong Akon was brought home to his father in Aweil after being separated without news from his family for almost one year. The little boy was registered by the ICRC in Wau last December. At this point he wrote his father a Red Cross Message which ICRC delegates delivered to Aweil. The father replied at once: "My dearest son Majok, I have received your message. Thank God you are alive. I had lost hope. We are fine. I hope you are well. [...] As you know I am here alone. Your brother is in the village. Please, I want you to come to me in Aweil. [...] Please greet those who are taking care of you. [...] May God bless you."
There was a positive response when the ICRC contacted local and national authorities for permission to reunite the family. Looking out of the window of the ICRC aircraft coming in to Aweil, Majok was all smiles and joy. Just minutes later he was in his father's arms.
Since November 1998 the ICRC has registered 349 unaccompanied minors displaced by the conflict in Wau and has been working to locate their families.
Further information: Laurent Dufour, ICRC Khartoum, tel. ++249(11) 47 64 64
IRAN/IRAQ ANOTHER 502 PRISONERS REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM
On 16 March, a total of 449 Iraqi prisoners of war held in Iran and 53 Iranian detainees held in Iraq were repatriated under the auspices of the ICRC. The operation, at the Mundharieh/Khosravi check-point on the border between the two countries, was supervised by ICRC delegates who registered and checked the identity of all those concerned, and held private interviews with each of them to ensure that they were going home of their own free will.
This event marks another step towards a final resolution of the humanitarian issues arising from the Iran/Iraq war, which ended in 1988. It follows similar operations in April and December 1998 and brings the total number of prisoners released in the past eleven months to over 6400.
Since the outbreak of the Iran/Iraq conflict in 1980, the ICRC has helped to repatriate more than 90,000 POWs from both sides.
Further information: Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 23 07
LIBERIA 50TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN GETS UNDER WAY
The ICRC chose 15 March, the date on which Liberia celebrates the birth of its first president, to launch a number of activities connected with the campaign promoting the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. These activities will continue for a period of several months.
The high point will be reached on 12 August, when a statue symbolizing respect for humanitarian law will be unveiled in Monrovia.
In order to make children and young people familiar with the institution's mandate, the ICRC is also organizing a series of concerts and other artistic events in urban and rural neighbourhoods. In cooperation with the Liberian Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, it has invited music groups to perform on stage.
On Monday 15 March nearly 800 young people gathered on a Monrovia beach to listen to 15different acts. The success of this event has meant that the ICRC has received a large number of requests from those wanting to take part in the next concert.
Further information: Roland Sidler, ICRC Monrovia, tel. ++231 226 306
During the weekend of 20 - 21 March 1999, for all information please call the press officer on duty Francoise Derron, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 03
New on the ICRC Public Server - http://www.icrc.org : - Update No 99/01on ICRC activities in Somalia, dated 10.03.99 - Update 99/02 on ICRC activities in Sierra Leone, dated 11.03.99