Amman/New York, November 4, 2004 - Doctors Without Borders/M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) is closing its programs in Iraq. The international humanitarian organization took the decision in view of the extreme risks currently run by aid workers in the country. Given the still considerable humanitarian and medical needs of the Iraqi people, the decision was reached with a great degree of regret and sadness.Due to the escalating violence in the country, MSF considers it no longer acceptable to expose its staff to the serious risks that apparently come with being associated with an international humanitarian organization.
?It has become impossible for MSF as an organization to guarantee an acceptable level of security for our staff, be they foreign or Iraqi,? says Gorik Ooms, General Director of MSF in Belgium. ?We deeply regret the fact that we will no longer be able to provide much needed medical help to the Iraqi people.?
I've always had the impression that these folks don't scare easily. This suggests that conditions in Iraq continue to deteriorate.
The link above is to the press release at the MSF site. There's also a CBC story on this.
Iraqi's have been abducting their own doctors and releasing them after a ransom is paid.
Pharmacists who sell drugs to foreigners get shot.
If the insurgents would do that to their own people, there is no hope at all for humanitarian groups.
Very, very bad situation indeed. In addition to the reality that solar points out there is, of course, the concern with massive counter-insurgencies like the one beginning in Fallujah.
For the take from an 'ordinary' Iraqi you can do no better than Riverbend's blog.