Church agency decries death of Afghan health workers

Church agency decries death of Afghan health workers

-09/12/05

The bodies of two member

Church agency decries death of Afghan health workers

-09/12/05

The bodies of two members of staff of a heath project supported by church and development bodies in Afghanistan have been uncovered in the Farah province, it was reported yesterday.

The murders demonstrate the worsening security situation in the country and the need for greater action to ensure the safety of those working on behalf of the Afghan people, says Christian Aid.

The men, who were working on a health project run by the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA), were kidnapped in July 2005. Nothing more was known about them until last week, when their bodies were discovered by their families.

According to a report issued by CHA the bodies showed evidence íthat the robbers had killed them with gunfire before putting their bodies in the ground.í

Another CHA member of staff was murdered and three colleagues wounded by suspected Taliban guerrillas, in the north-western province of Faryab on 20 October 2005.

ëThese security incidents are preventing us reaching the poorest people and cutting our involvement with a community whom we have been seeking to serve for a long time,í said Dr Mohammed Fareed Waqfi, the head of CHA. ëThe roots we have built with local communities are slowly being cut.í

Christian Aid believes the Afghan government, with support from donors such as the UK government, must redouble its efforts to guarantee basic security and the rule of law, not only for the benefit of non-governmental organisations (NGO) such as CHA, but for the Afghan people as a whole.

All Afghans, not only aid workers, suffer when the security environment is poor ñ around 1,400 Afghans are reported to have been killed in militia-linked violence so far this year.

Thirty-three NGO staff have also lost their lives in Afghanistan this year ñ the second year in which these figures have risen. Twelve were killed in 2003 and 23 in 2004.

Humanitarian organisations in Afghanistan are increasingly being targeted in such attacks. It is difficult to say exactly what is provoking these attacks, but the often blurred lines between the military and NGOs is undoubtedly a factor.

For example, Coalition Forces implement some development projects in Afghanistan under the auspices of essentially military teams called Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs).

When foreign military in the form of PRTs are associated with delivering aid to local communities this can severely damage the local perception of the neutrality of aid workers.

While recognising the weak rule of law currently existing in Afghanistan, Christian Aid and other church and humanitarian groups are deeply concerned that there has been an inadequate investigation of the CHA deaths. This threatens to send a message to would-be attackers that NGO staff can be targeted without consequence.

NGOs are having to restrict their movement and operations in various provinces or curtail their work entirely in others, making it impossible to effectively monitor projects in the field, engage with local communities and achieve development goals.

ëIf the situation continues to deteriorate or worsen, then it will have serious implications on the quality of our work,í said Sultan Maqsood Fazil of Christian Aid in Afghanistan. íA CHA member of staff told me that whenever he goes to the field he turns to his colleagues in the office and asks them to forgive him if he does not return alive.í

Christian Aid alongside other British NGOs working in Afghanistan is calling on the UK government to ensure that aid money is focused much more on areas that will improve security for Afghans, such as strengthening the police and justice sectors, which are still very weak.

Christian Aid is the development, assistance and advocacy agency of a range of Anglican and Free Churches in the UK. It maintains a wide range of global partnerships, working with communities irrespective of creed or status.

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Church agency decries death of Afghan health workers

-09/12/05

The bodies of two members of staff of a heath project supported by church and development bodies in Afghanistan have been uncovered in the Farah province, it was reported yesterday.

The murders demonstrate the worsening security situation in the country and the need for greater action to ensure the safety of those working on behalf of the Afghan people, says Christian Aid.

According to a report issued by CHA the bodies showed evidence ‘that the robbers had killed them with gunfire before putting their bodies in the ground.’

Another CHA member of staff was murdered and three colleagues wounded by suspected Taliban guerrillas, in the north-western province of Faryab on 20 October 2005.

ëThese security incidents are preventing us reaching the poorest people and cutting our involvement with a community whom we have been seeking to serve for a long time,’ said Dr Mohammed Fareed Waqfi, the head of CHA. ëThe roots we have built with local communities are slowly being cut.’

All Afghans, not only aid workers, suffer when the security environment is poor – around 1,400 Afghans are reported to have been killed in militia-linked violence so far this year.

Thirty-three NGO staff have also lost their lives in Afghanistan this year – the second year in which these figures have risen. Twelve were killed in 2003 and 23 in 2004.

For example, Coalition Forces implement some development projects in Afghanistan under the auspices of essentially military teams called Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs).

When foreign military in the form of PRTs are associated with delivering aid to local communities this can severely damage the local perception of the neutrality of aid workers.

ëIf the situation continues to deteriorate or worsen, then it will have serious implications on the quality of our work,’ said Sultan Maqsood Fazil of Christian Aid in Afghanistan. ‘A CHA member of staff told me that whenever he goes to the field he turns to his colleagues in the office and asks them to forgive him if he does not return alive.’