Refugees in a Precarious Situation in Northern Iraq
AMMAN, Jordan, APRIL 3, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Caritas-Iraq's liaison office in Amman announced that it is organizing a convoy of humanitarian aid which might leave for Baghdad within days.
The Caritas network said today that two Caritas centers in Iraq as well as churches that have been adapted to offer shelter, continue to give humanitarian aid to the wounded and others affected by the war.
The liaison office in the Jordanian capital said that «telecommunications in the interior of Iraq are almost impossible,» in part because of the bombings.
In northern Iraq, problems are arising within the communities of people who were routed by the war. Fuel for heating is scarce in an area where nighttime temperatures dip below freezing.
Also in short supply are medicines, warm clothing, potable water and an adequate toilet system.
The Caritas center at Dohuk reported that many people are leaving the city in anticipation of an invasion by the Turkish and American armies.
In the northern towns of Qaradagh, Jafaran and Sangaw there are 700 displaced families, for whom Caritas teams have prepared emergency aid.
Caritas mobile medical teams are also working in this area, concentrating their attention on the cities of Zazyan and New Halabja.
On the Iran-Iraq border region, Caritas is helping 800 displaced people in the towns of Parvizhan and Khosravi, providing them with food, potable water and mobile toilets.
ZENIT Daily dispatch - The World Seen from Rome
3. april 2003