Replies

1. 
   Rich_ | Nov 27, 2001 10:40am | #1

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   KABUL, Afghanistan (EP)
   Efforts to bring food and aid to millions of starving Afghan civilians has been hampered by both the elements and man-made problems.

   Members of Action by Churches Together International, a network of Christian churches and aid agencies, report that the onset of winter is already causing difficulties with relief efforts. Agencies already working in Afghanistan say that airdrops of food and supplies from the U.S. are not helping the situation.

   Thor-Arne Prois, the director of the ACT coordinating office, said the airdrops are jeopardizing the credibility of humanitarian aid in the region and were not an effective means of meeting the desperate needs of the people of Afghanistan

   "It is dangerous to do this", warned Prois, who worked in Afghanistan for four years as a representitive of Norwegian Church Aid, one of ACT's members. "These airdrops are not meeting the most basic principle of humanitarian aid--that aid should be given to those who need it most."

   ACT members of the network are concerned that the simultaneous air strikes and airdrops constitute a total confusion of humanitarian and military actions. Such confusion could compromise the neutrality and impartiality of humanitarian actions made in the future by non-governmental organizations, called NGOs, working within the country.

   "Why should Afghan authorities and the population trust 'real relief actions' by the UN or NGOs in the future, once the concepts of impartiality and neutrality have been broken?", Prois said. "At best, these airdrops are a symbolic gesture."

   ACT members who have worked in the region for 20 years through local partners say that experience shows airdrops are a dangerous and ineffective means of assisting people in need. Prois stressed that there is no guarantee that the food will reach those in need.

   "Chances are that you risk assisting only the strongest who are armed and in organized groups", he said. "It also carries a high risk of provoking fights and riots over meager resources and the likelihood that the food will end up for sale in the markets."

   Even as aid efforts continue by both the U.S. and NGOs, ACT members have received alarming reports from their partners in Afghanistan that people are already dying of hunger.

   Tens of thousands of internally displaced Afghans in rural areas, as well as people in villages and cities, are in desperate need of help. The majority of the population has been forced to live on the edge for many years now due to internal fighting. Before the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., more than 3 million Afghan people already depended on food aid for their survival.

   The latest crisis has only worsened conditions for the most vulnerable as resources are disappearing. Officials with the United Nations World Food Program said 7.5 million people are facing starvation due to years of drought and civil war. Villagers and refugees living in the mountainous areas are especially at risk as these areas are essentially cut off from the rest of the world once the first snows fall around mid-November.

   The NCA's main priority is to deliver food to people in the Kabul and mountainous central areas. An estimated 150,000 families, about 60 percent of the population of these areas, are extremely vulnerable.

   The number of beneficiaries is rising steadily and 3,400 families have already received NCA food aid. ACT reports that the Taliban have reportedly stopped paying people's salaries in the capital of Kabul, leaving people without any means of providing for themselves.

   Church World Service sent 1,000 shelter kits to central Afghanistan. bringing food relief and shelter to people who fled the cities in fear of the air strikes. ACT member Christian Aid is focusing on the western region of Herat to get food and tents to thousands of families in need.

   The local partners of the ACT members say that it is not difficult to bring in the relief goods, but warn that access across the border becomes more difficult during winter. ACT members say they are determined to use the small window of opportunity left before the start of winter to reach the people of need.

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   Rich_ | Nov 27, 2001 10:59am | #2

   *I feel a real need to add my thoughts to this:Because of how the article is written I wonder about the veracity. Ever hear of EP, in the byline? Me neither. Never heard of ACT either, but that doesn't mean much. Still, I wonder because the article seems to jump around with the figures, only one source is quoted, and there is no author, other than the news agency. Also, other than a food packet dropping on someone's head, how is the airdrop 'dangerous'? Well, maybe not in a physical sense. If so, the article is a bit alarmist that way.The strongest always get first dibbs on the spoils, and it's not like they're dropping food where the Taliban are. Even so, to make the case for the food ending up on the market kinda' negates the influence of any ground troops. (Starting 11/26, the USMC is in Afghanistan, one role is to quash any uprising among the people.)So some workers have been in the region for 20 years. Just how much experience do they have with U.S. military airdrops? And the Taliban wasn't even in existence that long ago, so the hunger problem is a pre-existing condition it seems.And who, exactly, are the local partners? Where have they been in the last few years? Is this thing so hush-hush that we never hear of them? Even in the Euro news?I wonder too if the NGOs think they are in competition with the airdrop. Maybe they think the airdrop is diminishing their effectiveness.

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   Luka_ | Nov 27, 2001 11:11am | #3

   *Interesting read. Including your take on the matter.

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   xJohn_Sprung | Nov 28, 2001 12:09am | #4

   *Rich --Is there a date on this piece? It sounds like it could have come from the time before the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, when nobody was expecting the Taliban to collapse so fast. NGO's are an unfortunate wild card. They can end up prolonging the war by feeding the enemy. Some have their own evangelical agenda which can be counterproductive. Sometimes they're just plain stupid, like those two airhead missionaries we rescued from the Taliban. Too bad we don't have an intelligence test for granting passports.-- J.S.

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   Rich_ | Nov 28, 2001 12:59am | #5

   *Wow, John.Re your Q: There is no date on the article although it recently (11/13/01) appeared as news.Re your comments: What do you know about NGOs? (I had never before heard the acroynm.) Interesting that you say NGOs can prolong the war by feeding the enemy. The article made that point concerning the airdrops. Maybe no food aid from nobody, eh?I'm also interested in how an evangelical agenda can be considered counterproductive. In regards to what? Also, what is so stupid about putting feet on you beliefs? You may not believe the same thing, but to call it stupid or airheaded? Humanitarian actions, no matter from where they originate, follow the common theme of putting the needs of others above self. Is that stupid? C'mon, would you rather we all just stay safe on the couch. Can't really call it a belief if you aren't willing to do something about it.This is not a defense of evangelism, per se, but I do see the genuine need for this type of relief aid. To a large extent, it is the churches which provide the relief so the appearance is that it's those dumb missionaries.BTW: Just from the people I know: a single male with a B.S. in Engineering went to Sudan and Nambia two years ago and again this year to show the people how to build water wells. Last year, two married men, one with a PhD in Theology and M.S. in History, the other with a B.S. in Theology and a longtime General Contractor, went to that area where the Chechen rebels have been fighting. The goal? To build homes and churches. (The people in that area of the world asked them to come.)Also last year, a married man with a M.S. in Economics went to Romania to build an orphanage. And a single female with a M.S. in Math went to Yugoslavia to help teach kids. Another single female with a M.S. in Physics went to Vietnam to teach ESL. She ended up on the Cambodian border. They ducked bullets, escaped wanton looting by roving gangs, dodged bandits on the highways, survived detention by corrupt authorities, revoked or stolen passports, curfews, no sanitation, disease, etc. Every one of them wants to go again.

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   xJohn_Sprung | Nov 30, 2001 12:15am | #6

   *Back in the Vietnam days there was a bumper sticker that said "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" This time it looks like they gave a war, and they've got party crashers. These crashers don't know what they're messing with. They get in the way of military operations, they get themselves captured, and our military has to go rescue them. I'm not saying that all missionaries are airheads, but those two that we rescued were interviewed on TV, and removed all doubt in their case: absolute airheads.> Interesting that you say NGOs can prolong the war by feeding the enemy. The article made that point concerning the airdrops. Maybe no food aid from nobody, eh? Remember the three "accidental" air strikes on NGO food warehouses? How many other accidental strikes were there? The Taliban needed food to get through the winter. The NGO's brought it in, though with the best of intentions, but defended it with nothing more than the smiles on their faces. Of course it would have been confiscated by the Taliban. As to what the article says about the air drops, I don't think that source has any credibility. At least with military air drops, they know what they put where. Not that the military never makes a mistake, but at least they know what they're up against.> I'm also interested in how an evangelical agenda can be considered counterproductive. In regards to what? The Taliban and al Quaida are telling the people that America wants to destroy Islam. Christian missionaries come along and do nothing but help them prove their point. Trying to spread one religion at the expense of another very deeply entrenched religion is just a source of pointless conflict. It's like a Chevy dealer knocking every hour on the hour on the door of a guy who's got seventeen Fords. Their efforts to convert people only strengthens the resolve of those people not to be converted.> Also, what is so stupid about putting feet on you beliefs? You may not believe the same thing, but to call it stupid or airheaded? Humanitarian actions, no matter from where they originate, follow the common theme of putting the needs of others above self. Is that stupid? Well, party crashing a war, not knowing what they're getting into, how smart is that? Remember Patton, dying for something doesn't do any good. As for considering the needs of others, they sure don't think about the needs of our military forces. They pick and choose their "others" to justify doing what makes them feel good.> ... one with a PhD ...Alas, I also know some PhD's who aren't too bright.> (The people in that area of the world asked them to come.) *Some* of the people asked them to come. They don't look at the whole picture before they barge in. > They ducked bullets, escaped wanton looting by roving gangs, dodged bandits on the highways, survived detention by corrupt authorities, revoked or stolen passports, curfews, no sanitation, disease, etc. Every one of them wants to go again. And these are the smart ones? ;-)-- J.S.

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   Cloud_Hidden | Nov 30, 2001 03:55am | #7

   *JS, great answer. I have the same thoughts on missionaries, though I tend to liken them to telemarketers trying to convince you that their phone service is better than yours.Nonetheless, there is evidence that the food drops can be harmful. I'm thinking of the 1200 lb drop as reported today that collapsed a house and killed its resident. So the large packet drops are suspended but the small packet drops will continue. Did we think that dropping 1200 lbs of anything _wouldn't_ hurt someone?

4. 
   Lisa_Long | Dec 02, 2001 10:32pm | #8

   *For the record, those relief workers were there, and imprisoned, long before 9/11. The relief agency they work for has been in Afghanistan for years, building shelter for Afghan people without homes. Out of respect for the authority they were working under, those workers should have stuck to witnessing their faith with their works, not with words, as they had agreed to do in the first place.

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   Rich_ | Dec 02, 2001 10:32pm | #9

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   see 1st post