Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service)- In a statement sent to Fides the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions PIME has launched an appeal for solidarity and aid for the people of Ivory Coast. “It is two years now - since September 2002 - that Ivory Coast has been slipping ever deeper into a pit of violence and political-economic intrigues from which there seems to be no escape. The PIME missionaries - here since 1973 and present in various parts of the country - share the sufferings and drama of the people often risking their lives” the statement said.
One of the missionaries, Fr Cesare Baldi who has just returned from Abidjan, said he lived tragic moments of fear and tension in days of fighting around the airport, situated very close to the Catholic Mission, full of bullet holes but still open. “The humanitarian situation is desperate - Father Cesare said -. A sea of homeless people from the north are pouring into the outlying districts of the capital Abidjan. They are running from rebel fighting and abuse. People are also flocking to other missions on the north/south border and in Bouaké. Between the end of 2002 and the beginning of 2003, we provided assistance for more than 15,000 refugees. Now the exodus southwards has started again. Nothing works in rebel controlled area: schools, hospitals, dispensaries have been closed for two years now, so have the roads and farming and commercial activities are suffering”.
“To be brief, this extremely uncertain and dramatic situation is making life impossible for the people and for our missionaries who have worked for years to alleviate the suffering of the poorest and most in need and who, even in this present situation of danger and violence but are determined to continue to offer Christian witness of solidarity and brotherhood” the statement concluded.(L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 3/12/2004 righe 28 parole 378)
