NEWS FROM
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
October 3 , 2000
For more information contact Jonathan Frerichs at (410) 230-2802.
In this news release:
- At One Palestinian Hospital, Injuries are "Report Card" on New Levels of Violence
- West Bengal Flood Relief is in Progress
- Board Reviews Work in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Future
AT ONE PALESTINIAN HOSPITAL, INJURIES ARE 'REPORT CARD' ON NEW LEVELS OF VIOLENCE
Baltimore, Oct 3, 2000 -- The tally of wounded people at Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem is a report card on the kind of violence taking place since Israeli-Palestinian clashes broke out last Friday. Almost all of the 60 casualties have had wounds in the chest, abdomen or head, tired hospital staff report. This is indicative of where Israeli forces are aiming their weapons, they note. Also, live ammunition is being used in addition to the rubber-coated bullets familiar from past riots. Unusually, many of the wounded this time have been women and young boys.
As the clashes erupted, Israeli soldiers occupied the hospital and fired live rounds at demonstrators, according to hospital staff. The facility remained closed for the fifth consecutive day today, with Israeli forces deployed nearby and on hospital land at times.
One casualty died from severe head wounds soon after arrival. Four others were admitted. The rest were treated and released. "We have seen a lot of stitches," said Craig Kippels, the Lutheran World Federation representative responsible for the hospital, which is situated, on the Mount of Olives.
The Lutheran World Federation in Geneva has protested to Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, about the use of force including live ammunition and the presence of security forces. "I consider that the actions by Israeli security forces at Augusta Victoria…are more likely to provoke further violence than to curb it," LWF General Secretary Ishmael Noko wrote Barak yesterday.
"Each day we ask the soldiers to remove their positions because their presence aggravates the situation," Kippels said. On Sunday, Israeli units at the hospital even flew the Israeli flag, an added provocation on the much-disputed land of East Jerusalem.
The Israeli presence also impedes ambulance traffic and, Kippels notes, patients with chronic needs, like dialysis, and those scheduled for surgery are unable to reach the hospital. Road closures and military checkpoints in the West Bank have also closed five LWF village clinics and a vocational technical school.
The hospital's board of governors, including two officials of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was meeting Friday when Israeli security forces occupied the grounds. Repeated requests for them to leave had no effect, Kippels said.
Since the days of the Palestinian uprising ten years ago, the customary target for riot police and soldiers has been the legs of demonstrators. Also, most Palestinian casualties in the past have been young men.
Another LWR partner organization, the YMCA Rehabilitation Center in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, reported that it was the target of high velocity bullets Sunday and Monday. There were no injuries at the center which treats and trains people traumatized by violence and disabilities.
Lutheran World Relief since the late 1940s has supported Augusta Victoria and related programs with Palestinian refugees. A recent LWR shipment included nine tons of health kits, school kits, bedding and soap for 18,000 Palestinians who are refugees, students, or hospital patients.
See also: October 6, 2000 -- Jerusalem Hospital Needs More Medicines for Causualties, LWR Responds
WEST BENGAL FLOOD RELIEF IS IN PROGRESS
Baltimore, Oct 3, 2000 – Following extensive flooding, Lutheran World Relief partner agencies in the Indian State of West Bengal are providing up to 20,000 families with emergency food, shelter, clothing and blankets.
An estimated 15 million people are affected by the floods, triggered by incessant rains in late September and judged to be the worst in 20 years. Staff of two partner organizations are moving from camp to camp and to marooned villages with the relief goods. There will also be medical care for as many as 40,000 people. As the waters recede, 100 new village wells will be installed and 1,500 family homes rebuilt.
LWR has provided $20,000 from emergency funds for the $1 million aid program in West Bengal, which is coordinated by the Action by Churches Together. With assistance from LCMS World Relief, LWR has also sent $30,000 for flood relief in recent weeks in two other Indian states, Assam and Andrah Pradesh.
BOARD REVIEWS WORK IN AFRICA, LATIN AMERICA, ASIA, AND THE FUTURE
Baltimore, Oct 3, 2000 -- Lutheran World Relief's board, meeting in regular session here September 28-29, reviewed $9 million worth of new projects and helped shape future plans. Projects before the group included efforts to relieve the food crisis in the Horn of Africa, especially a major food-for-work and seeds program in Southern Sudan. Other activities begun since the last board meeting in June included a project to engage and train youth for leadership in community development in Peru, the provision of $625,000 of medical supplies and quilts to five rural hospitals in India, and a 20-village partnership in the Philippines that addresses basic needs by drawing on the specialties of various community agencies.
LWR Andean Regional Representative Pedro Veliz gave a special report on Colombia. "Amid increasing corruption and violence related to the drug trade, the church is the only space in society for moral authority," Veliz said. "We must accompany the church in its response to those who are suffering." LWR has helped launch El Nino-related prevention and rehabilitation work with parishes and farmers in Colombia. Now the main focus for LWR's church partner agencies there is the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by civil war and local church-related initiatives at conflict resolution.
The board also met with a special planning group gathered to chart major trends and opportunities facing LWR in the years ahead. The expert group, drawn from international church, humanitarian and academic circles, is identifying issues of strategy, purpose and identity critical for LWR during the next 20 years.
Two new staff with key roles for Africa will be joining the organization soon, LWR President Kathryn Wolford announced. Tamara Duggleby will take over leadership of LWR's Africa program this month. Duggleby has worked with Christian non-governmental organizations, the Ford Foundation, and the UN's development agency. Asenath Omwega, who currently helps manage an LWR partner organization in Kenya, will become the regional representative for eastern and southern Africa, based in Nairobi.
