Red cross facing challenges in Kenya

| Friday February 8, 2008 00:00

The organisation's Secretary-General Abbas Gullet says although there was enough resources to cater for the over 300,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance, his organisation was finding it difficult to reach them as they were spread in so many places throughout the country.

His call came as ODM accused the Government of discrimination in the treatment of the displaced persons.

Kenya Red Cross is concerned after areas initially considered safe havens and where they had set up camps began sliding into violence, resulting in people moving out of the camps to other areas.

Matters became complicated when those internally displaced volunteered to return to other areas where they are in need of food aid, he said. The Kenya Red Cross boss now wants the Government to assess the situation and make a decision considering that the organisation was opposed to moving people to their areas of origin since it would be perceived to be ethnic cleansing.

'While there are enough resources to cater for the displaced because the numbers are not very big, the key issue now is security after areas that were considered to be safe and where we had set up camps were no longer secure after they were affected by the violence,' Gullet said when he addressed chief executive officers on the current crisis at the Grand Regency Hotel Tuesday.

So far, the Kenya Red Cross has collected over Sh100 million in cash as well as over 4,000 metric tonnes of food and other essential items which he said proved there were enough resources in the country to cater for those in need.

*Notices to leave
Gullet said the crisis was no longer about elections after people from other ethnic groups in Central Province were given notices to leave the area. The Government, he said, should move quickly and restore order since some groups were now in control in some parts of the country.

He said it should also clear the roads now that it is evident that young people had erected illegal roadblocks to steal from the people. Politicians had lost control of their supporters while women and children bore the brunt of the violence, even in the camps, as some people were taking advantage of the situation to molest them, he said.

Meanwhile, ODM blamed the Government for failing to expeditiously repatriate the displaced people in various camps to their ancestral homes.

Speaking during a press conference at Parliament buildings in Nairobi, ODM secretary general Anyang Nyong'o said the exercise to repatriate the displaced people should be carried out in an 'expeditious manner, devoid of any discrimination'.

However, Special Programmes minister Naomi Shaban on Monday assured that the displaced would be resettled at the Government's expense. Dr Shaban said the Government would undertake the massive exercise by the middle of this week.

Tuesday the ODM MPs asked Dr Shaban and Internal Security minister George Saitoti to move with speed to ensure the displaced were ferried to their ancestral homes 'as soon as possible'.

The ODM MPs expressed confidence with the mediation efforts, saying they were optimistic it would assist in resolving the issue of displaced people. (The Nation)