Caritas Jerusalem coordinates emergency aid to Iraqi people

Yesterday, Caritas Jerusalem sent a delegate to Amman to prepare a large emergency delivery to the Iraqi population. The emergency delivery is funded by Caritas' partner, the German NGO The International Emergency Help. The delivery consists of 200 tents, 10,000 gas masks as well as medicine and disposables expected to cover medical needs of 10,000 people for three months. The supplies will be sent from Germany the coming week. If the United States launches a military attack against Iraq, the humanitarian consequences for the Iraqi civilian population could be severe and many internal refugees can be expected. The emergency delivery aims to meet some of the needs that will arise in such a case. The delivery will be sent to the Diana region in northern Iraq. Yesterday, the delegate prepared the logistics in cooperation with Caritas Jordan and Caritas Iraq. If the borders to Iraq will not be open for the supplies, they will stay in Amman. The beneficiaries will then be Iraqi refugees, expected to come to Jordan during a potential war. Caritas Jerusalem still prays for a peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis, where political and diplomatic means are used to solve the conflict, not war. Caritas Jerusalem highly appreciates the generous assistance from its partner, the International Emergency Help, which enables Caritas Jerusalem to help other people in need in the region. Caritas Jerusalem is a Catholic humanitarian organization engaged in relief, development and social service projects throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It is part of Caritas Internationalis, a humanitarian network, which numbers 154 Catholic Member Organisations, (including CAFOD) operating in 198 countries and territories. source: CAFOD