Baghdad (Fides Service) - With the support of the Caritas Iraq co-ordination office based in Amman Jordan which keeps contact with 14 Caritas Centres in Iraq emergency aid is being provided for the people of Iraq. Responding to an appeal by Archbishop Gibrael Kassab of Basrah, Caritas Iraq has sent medicines and first aid kits to the people and a consignment of chlorine tablets to clean 1.5 million litres of water which is enough for the needs of 100,000 people for one day. More tablets will be supplied in the coming days. Bombing of Basrah has interrupted the supplies of electricity and water. This means than 60% of the population of 1.5 million have no clean water and there are mounting fears for an outbreak of disease.
Also in Baghdad Caritas continues to function despite the bombing. Archbishop Jean Benjamin Abi Sulaiman of Baghdad has declared that all churches are open to allow Christians and Muslims to take refuge during the bombing of the city. Relief aid from Caritas Iraq (medicine, ambulances, chlorine tablets, electricity generators) will meet demands for about two or three weeks. Caritas Iraq was founded in 1992 and it is a member of the federation Caritas Internationalis which comprises 154 agencies working in more than 200 countries.
Although bordering countries have closed their frontiers with borders with Iraq, preparations are being made to provide shelter and assistance for refugees, in the hope of avoiding a humanitarian catastrophe. The UNHCR offices in Jordan expect as many as 95,000 refugees from Iraq. The Catholic Bishops of Jordan will open church premises for the people fleeing war. In Syria, according to first reports, some 40,000 Iraqi citizens have arrived and they are being assisted by Caritas Syria. UNHCR is unable as yet to register them as refugees because they are clandestine arrivals. The Anatolian Development Foundation which collaborates with Caritas Turkey, says that on the Iraq Turkey border there are at least 40,000 Iraqi refugees are in precarious conditions but they are being sent back by the Turkish army. Aid to the Church in Need, Germany based Catholic aid organisation, has made 20,000 Euro available to the Nunciature in Baghdad. MS (Fides Service 27/3/2003 EM lines 29 Words: 379)