Millions in Iraq need greater humanitarian support, warns top UN relief official

[think]

From United Nation News:

Millions in Iraq need greater humanitarian support, warns top UN relief official

9 June 2015 – Millions of people are in need of a greater assistance across Iraq, said Stephen O’Brien, the new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, following a two-day visit to the strife-torn country.

“It’s imperative at this critical time we do more to mitigate the suffering of the Iraqi people. Much has been done, but the needs continue to increase and more is needed,” stated Mr. O’Brien, who assumed his post as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the beginning of June.

The humanitarian situation in Iraq is dire. Since January 2014, more than three million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes and over eight million people are in need of assistance that aid agencies cannot always provide them with, due to lack of access or because of funding challenges.

On his first mission in his capacity as Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. O’Brien yesterday visited Baghdad, where he met people recently displaced from Ramadi. Today, exactly one year after Mosul fell, causing mass displacement, he visited a camp for internally displaced people in Erbil, as well as refugees from Syria.

"All the families I spoke with had heart-breaking stories of fear, flight, loss and grief. International humanitarian law obliges all those engaged in fighting to protect civilians during hostilities, including by refraining from targeting them,” urged the Under Secretary-General....

Read more:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51107#.VXgpLM9Viko

American mainstream media news stories don't appear to exist for this subject....

[newfie11]

1. Exactly right

helping people goes a long way to winning them over.
Bombing , drones killing innocents , destroying homes just make the other side more appealing.
I really don't think the MIC cares. Their all about making money and the hell with humanity!

[gratuitous]

2. Sorry, the U.S. doesn't do "humanitarian" anymore

Quaint old exercises like the Berlin Airlift or Operation Vittles were fine in their day, but we don't do that nowadays. But if the Iraqis need us to blow stuff up reel gud, we can do that. Heck, we can do that even if they don't want us to do that. It's kind of our thing, blowing stuff up. Stuff and people, although we don't distinguish between them a whole lot.

Besides, why do they need so much humanitarian aid, anyway? Prolly that darned Al Qaeda or ISIS or something. Brought that on themselves, so really, this is on Iraq. If we help them, they'll just develop a culture of dependency. Our billionaires don't want to foster that, so I'm thinking what would really help Iraq is another round of tax cuts for the wealthy.

[think]

3. Well now I understand why the US media is ignoring this crisis.

Last edited Wed Jun 10, 2015, 09:31 AM - Edit history (1)

Great post dripping in well deserved sarcasm. TY.

[Mnemosyne]

4. ... nt