Posted on 06/04/2004 8:03:12 AM PDT by dead
Geneva
Natsios says 1 million could die if aid cannot reach them
Describing Darfur in the Republic of Sudan as "the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world today," USAID Administrator Andrew S. Natsios warned June 3 that close to a million people could die if conditions do not allow humanitarian aid to reach the victims rapidly.
"We estimate right now if we get relief in we will lose a third of a million people. And if we don't, the death rates could be dramatically higher, approaching a million people," Natsios said.
"These people have no way of supporting themselves, and they are in terrible condition. That is just a prediction. We don't know for sure. We pray that it is not true," he said.
Natsios expressed these fears at a press conference in Geneva, where a U.S.-U.N.-EU-sponsored meeting on Darfur brought together donor countries, U.N. agencies, nongovernmental organizations, the government of Sudan, and the governments of some neighboring countries.
He also announced a new U.S. pledge of $188 million between now and the end of calendar year 2005 that would bring U.S. total contributions for Darfur to nearly $300 million since February 2003.
U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland also addressed the press briefing, saying the funding gap for Darfur of $236 million must be filled "with the utmost urgency to enable us to save hundreds of thousands of lives."
Egeland said conference participants agreed on targets for the next 90 days, including feeding up to 1 million displaced persons across the Darfur region, providing water to IDP (internally displaced persons) camps and host communities, providing basic drugs and access to health care for 90 percent of the IDP population, providing materials for constructing shelter, and deploying human rights and protection staff.
International aid officials at the conference acknowledged that a high death toll is likely in Darfur, even under the best of circumstances. "We are going to have a large number of people die, no matter what we do," Natsios said. "The question now is how can we minimize the death and the suffering."
The USAID administrator emphasized that four conditions are needed to reduce the mortality rates.
The first is unimpeded access, he said. The government of Sudan had made some progress by eliminating travel permits to get into Darfur, but they have imposed other requirements.
The second condition would be an increased presence of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and U.N. agencies on the ground and setting up the infrastructure for the delivery of relief.
The third and most important condition, Natsios said, is to provide security against the jingaweit Arab militias that have been attacking African villagers, particularly those from the Zagowa, Fur and Masolit ethnic tribes.
"While the regular military operations by the Sudanese military have dramatically dropped since they signed the accords in N'Djamena with the rebels a couple of months ago, there has been an increase, not a reduction, in attacks by the jingaweit," Natsios said.
"Unless the jingaweit are put under control and these atrocities are stopped, people will not accept relief commodities in the camps," he said. "They actually tell us that even though they are dying of starvation they don't want the food because as soon as they get it the jingaweit come in, take the food, rape the women, and shoot the men."
The fourth condition is funding for a massive relief effort. "We pledge today," he said, "an additional $188.5 million between now and the end of calendar 2005 ... to deal with this crisis."
Natsios said he also wanted to make clear the U.S. position with respect to the North-South peace negotiations and the crisis in Darfur. "There has been a suggestion, somehow, that we are separating the two. We are not separating the two.
"The fact that a peace agreement has been signed after 22 years of civil war between the North and South is a great accomplishment," he said. However, the United States has made clear to the Sudanese government at the highest level that there can be no normalization of relations as long as the atrocities by the jingaweit continue.
Natsios said the United States is looking to Egeland and the United Nations, along with NGOs, to provide leadership on the ground, and he expressed full support for Egeland's efforts.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Sounds like a little less food and more weapons for the Christians would solve this problem. The "aid" these people need is a lesson in how to defend themselves from thugs. Send every village a case a of small arms, a dvd player, and the complete collection of Clint Eastwood westerns.
Has this corrupt community of leeches ever (once!) prevented or ameliorated any natural of man-made disaster?
How many trillion dollars have they burned through in the last 20 years alone for doing nothing?
300,000,000 divided by $150 (what I spend as a single male on groceries per month) would feed 2,000,000 people.
I'm sure grains in bulk could drastically reduce the $150 figure.
Isn't this Koffi's backyard?
I've missed FR, but I'm back with a vengance...
Greetings From GoreCentral...
Great to see you again! All's well up here. I hear Tennessee's a nice place, despite the fact that it birthed the Goron. Good luck in the new digs!
If they get involved and successfully deal with this disaster, then the United States will not invade Iran and Syria.
If they are able to demonstrate a better model of handling these situation, then we can all learn a valuable lesson. If successful, the United States will be more than happy to adopt these new methods.
If France and Germany fail to achieve these goals, then the United States will be fully justified in it's current methodology. Syria and Iran will be next on our target list.
That's what happens when you're a relatively peaceful bunch of people.
Of course this won't happen, but what if a bunch of mercenaries came in and eliminated the "jingaweit problem". Get some meat on these people, then give them guns and shooting lessons. Someone needs to teach these folks how to fight back.
The UN is nothing but an international Mafia.
I guess this means we're going to clean up Iran and Syria next...
It is Koffi's backyard. However, he would anger key members in the UN who would unseat him if he stepped in to help. His job is more important than humanity.
Ain't that the truth!
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