FROM THE FIELD

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Caritas Internationalis President Denis Vienot and representatives will be participating in a conference convened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday that will highlight the plight of Iraqi refugees in neighbouring countries as well as within Iraq itself. The meeting will aim to press for action on Iraq's humanitarian tragedy.

Caritas Internationalis desk officer for the Middle East and North Africa Sebastien Dechamps will be at the meeting. He said, "There are 2 million Iraqi refugees in the Middle East region alone. Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and now Egypt cannot sustain indefinitely such a social and economic burden.

"The international community has to shoulder its responsibility to help these Iraqis, fleeing war, violence, and hopelessness. Our Iraqi Caritas colleagues couldn't be here for this meeting, but they tell me every day what a nightmare life has become for them."

Caritas Syria, Caritas Jordan, Caritas Lebanon and Caritas Turkey are all assisting thousands of refugees. But the situation is unsustainable according to Caritas, as few Iraqis are given legal status in their host countries and most are forbidden to work. Children often have to work odd jobs, under threat of discovery and deportation, for their families' survival. Children cannot go to school, for either financial or legal reasons, or for fear of having their families sent back to Iraq.

"The Iraqi refugees have to be given a means to support themselves, to be able to work and have hope for their futures," said Najla Chahda, Director of the Caritas Migrants Centre in Beirut, which has also had an influx of refugees.

Caritas Iraq meanwhile helps those trapped in the conflict in Iraq. It estimates there are some 1.7 million people uprooted from their homes within Iraq, seeking shelter wherever they can from the constant killing and violence.

Caritas Iraq helps the most needy, the handicapped, the elderly, the destitute, orphans and single mothers, and minorities. Caritas Iraq's Well Baby Programme, which began during the Gulf War in 1991, currently helps more than 40,000 children under five and expecting and nursing mothers, looking after their specific nutritional needs. Malnutrition rates among children are worse now than when Iraqis were living under embargo.

Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations present in over 200 countries and territories.

For more information, contact: Nancy McNally, Tel: +39 06 69879752 Mobile: +39 334 2344 136 mcnally@caritas.va or visit www.caritas.org

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]