ACT member MECC delivers relief items to Iraq
By Guy Hovey, ACT field communicator
Baghdad, 06 May 2003 The threat of being hijacked along the highway to Baghdad is a concern shared by many people who travel
this road and one of the dangers the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) convoy faced as it travelled from Jordan to Iraq's capital this weekend to
deliver much needed relief items. The convoy, made up of six trucks and driven by local Iraqi drivers, was loaded with 250 winter tents, 19,200 cans of
meat, 1,000 food packets made up of oil, tea, beans, sugar, rice and detergents, 6,380 blankets, 2.2 tons of BP5 high protein biscuits and a 40 foot
container of medicines. Several members of the global alliance, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International donated the relief items - Norwegian
Church Aid, International Christian Orthodox Charities, Church World Service. The medicines, which were immediately delivered to hospitals in the area,
were donated by ACT member Diakonie Austria. MECC coordinator Edmond Adam said that the items are for a pre-positioned emergency stockpile as there is a
real fear that current rations distributed to people by the old Iraqi regime under the oil for food program will run out mid-year, at which point people
could start experiencing severe food shortages. "The outlook is bleak if people don't start earning salaries soon enabling them to buy food," said Adam as
he showed us the stockpile stored at the Old Ancient Church of the East in Baghdad. The MECC stockpile is enough for 1,000 families in Baghdad and Mosul
but Adam is realistic about how far the supplies will stretch and stated that "millions of families could be without adequate food in a couple of months."
This view is reinforced by the ACT Regional Coordinator Eszter Németh, who added that "as the food for oil scheme was administered by the Iraqi Ministry
of Trade, the distribution system is no longer in place". It would appear that Iraq is heading for a classic 'cash famine', as families are unable to buy
available food due to a shortage of work, cash and rising prices. Already, a kilo of apples can cost a month's salary said Németh. This is a view
supported by Father Bashar of the Chaldean Church in Baghdad, who is worried that the lack of work to support families will lead to increased lawlessness
as desperate families turn to crime to feed themselves. One problem is that government work places have been destroyed. "The coalition says that people
should return to work but how can they when their places of work have been destroyed or looted? There's nothing to go back to," said Adam of MECC. As
the temperature rises each day and people remember the extremely high temperatures of last summer, preparedness operations such as the MECC emergency
stockpile will become more important. However, an aid worker in the city commented that "the funds we have are too meagre for what lies ahead." There are
also worries of possible outbreaks of disease, as already inadequate water supplies have been potentially contaminated by untreated sewerage from broken
down treatment plants. Adam believes that water-born diseases could pose a threat this summer, "although reports from the north of the country say that
current disease levels are not above the norm." Eszter Németh advocates flexible and rapid funding from ACT donors. "What is needed is the ability to be
able to react immediately when a crisis is identified" she said. With the summer coming crises can develop rapidly and soon spin out of control. It is
clear that a wait of weeks or even months for funding to arrive will mean a delay in response time, often with deadly consequences for the most vulnerable,
children and the elderly. |
