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IRAQ: Namibians Make Financial Donations
By Rosemary Nalisa
WINDHOEK, Apr 21 (IPS) - The plight of Iraqi civilians has touched the
hearts of Namibians who have started making financial donations to ease the
suffering of the displaced people in that country.
The Namibia Red Cross Society, which is spearheading the campaign to
solicit funds from members of the public, says the campaign began after some
members of the public approached it to help Iraqi civilians, especially
women and children.
Its deputy-secretary general, Geniene Veii could not disclose the amount
that has been collected so far, noting that the first phase was only carried
out in the capital, Windhoek, while similar exercise is underway in its
regional offices.
Following the outbreak of war in Iraq, the International Federation had
appealed for 80 million U.S. dollars to assist at least 305,000 people who
might be forced to flee their homes. But the conflict has not led to a
refugee crisis.
Now the Red Crescent Societies in the region - Jordan, Syria, Iraq,
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - are assisting Iraqis most severely affected by the
fighting with food, water, shelter and medical care, according to a
statement by the International Federation, made available to IPS, this week.
Before the current war, the United Nations' statistics said some 3.5
million people in Iraq were adversely affected by the sanctions imposed by
the United Nations as a result of the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's
regime in 1990.
In a recent survey, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicated a
malnutrition rate of some 25 percent among under-fives in Iraq. The figure
could be much higher now.
Veii says, although most donations collected so far are from ordinary
Namibians, the Red Cross has written to government departments and the
private sector to solicit more funds.
Veii has described the public's response as "positive", saying the funds
will be channelled through the Red Cross Society in Iraq, for buying basic
necessities that can be distributed to Iraqi civilians.
Red Cross volunteers are collecting the donations from shopping malls in
Windhoek, where many of the residents are against the war in Iraq.
Selma Angula, who spent 15 years in a refugee camp in Southern Angola
during Namibia's war of liberation which ended in 1989, says in any conflict
women and children suffer most due to their vulnerability. "In Iraq most
casualties were women and children. And I feel we need to help them with
whatever we have, so as to ease their suffering. Whatever we give will put a
smile on someone's face," she says.
One Namibian, who only gave his name as Paulus, accused the United States
and Britain of setting a bad precedent by solving conflicts through wars.
"Bombing Iraq or any other country will not benefit anybody, as violence
breeds more violence and these two countries being powerful nations should
be on the forefront of promoting peace through negotiations," he says.
Last month some 2,000 Namibians took to the streets of Windhoek,
protesting the U.S.-led war on Iraq. Some of them waived placards, which
read: "Today it is Iraq, tomorrow it is North Korea, (the day) after
tomorrow it is Zimbabwe", referring to the three states which are under
international sanctions.
The demonstrators called on the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan to step
down, for "betraying the trust of peace loving people throughout the world
by failing to intervene in the war".
They also blamed the United States and Britain for playing a major role
in strengthening the apartheid regime that colonised Namibia, South Africa
and Zimbabwe for decades.
In a petition, the protestors called on the United Nations not to
recognise the "puppet regime" that the United States is intending to install
in power in Iraq.
U.S. embassy spokesperson in Namibia, George Kopf, said they were taking
the petition seriously, but would not say whether or not it would be
forwarded to Washington. (END/2003)
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