March 21, 2003
DRI ready to ship supplies to refugees By ANNA DAVISON Direct Relief International today will send its first aid shipment to the Middle East to help victims of the war. The Santa Barbara-based nonprofit group, which sends medical supplies and equipment to the world's poverty-stricken and disaster-struck zones, has packed antibiotics, sutures and other medical essentials. They'll be carried by American physicians -- working for another aid agency -- to the Ruwaished refugee camp, located in Jordan about 40 miles from the Iraqi border. The camp can accommodate up to 20,000 people. This is a relatively small shipment -- just 120 pounds -- but DRI's Goleta warehouse is stuffed with about $10 million worth of medical supplies. It's ready to go, but "we do tend to try to wait until someone can tell us specifically what is needed," said DRI President and CEO Thomas Tighe. "I wish we had more insight." "We don't know what's going to be needed, or when or where," added Katherine Poma, senior program officer with the organization. "This could be a huge humanitarian crisis." Ms. Poma said DRI is monitoring the situation "day by day, hour by hour," waiting for the attacks to subside so that representatives of non-governmental organizations can get into Iraq and assess the damage. DRI board member Andrea Capachietti is in Geneva at the United Nations headquarters, Ms. Poma said, "gathering information; collecting data." "Obviously nobody's going to be able to go into Baghdad at this point," she added. "But there may be the possibility of getting things into Kurdistan." "It's just impossible to predict what's going to happen," Ms. Poma remarked. "It's just a situation no one is looking forward to." Because the possibility of war has been talked about for months, DRI has had some time to lay the groundwork to get crucial supplies to the places where they're needed -- if they're needed. "You do your footwork," Ms. Poma said. "You make sure you've got your contacts. You know who you're dealing with, your route, before you even pack the supplies. . . . We've got our feelers out. We're in contact with other agencies." Representatives of various nongovernmental organizations have formed an "Iraqi Working Group." Together, the various aid agencies, including DRI, are trying to make sure they respond efficiently -- by sharing resources and avoiding duplication. "We're trying to do the best job we can at coordinating," Mr. Tighe said. But there's one thing particularly hard to prepare for: the possibility that this war might be waged using chemical, biological or even nuclear agents. DRI staff is well aware that in the event of such an attack, sutures, antibiotics and bandages will be of limited use. "That's a huge problem," Ms. Poma said. "That's a major concern of all the (non-governmental organizations). None of them have the means or the training or the ability to deal with that kind of situation. "If that happens," she continued. "We'll just have to go to 'Plan B.' And nobody quite knows what 'Plan B' is." To donate to Direct Relief International, call 964-4767. |
Are you affected by the possible war
with Iraq? |