Afghanistan: Day of respect and mourning for the tragic departure of OMAR aid workers, killed in Badghis province

The Office of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan and its mine action programme in Islamabad and Afghanistan observed the date 10 August 2000 as a day of respect and mourning for the tragic departure of the OMAR aid workers, killed in Badghis province last Saturday, 5 August 2000.
The ceremony this morning was started by the recitation of some verses of Holy Quran, followed by prayers and sympathy expressions by over 200 people, including diplomatic missions, UN agencies, local and international NGOs, colleagues and friends.

Mr. Erick De Mul, the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan, commenced the ceremony with his speech.

Ms. Polly Bernnan, the Mine Awareness Advisor, delivered her speech on behalf of the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan. Later on Mr. Zekria Payab, OMAR Programme Manager read out the biographies of the late aid workers.

Before closing the gathering everyone was requested to commemorate the sad event in the condolence book.

SPEECH BY UN HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR

Commemoration service for OMAR staff, Islamabad, 10 August 2000

SPEECH LENGTH: 5 minutes including one minute silence.

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues, and honoured guests.

Thank you for joining us in this commemorative service to mourn the deaths of Saran Wal Shah Poor, Mohammed Ayaz Malangyar, Abdul Mansoor, Ghulam Dastageer, Dr. Azizullah Alekozai, Shah Mohammed, and Abdul Rahman, may their souls rest in peace.

By now, you are all aware that these seven men, staff of the Afghan NGO, OMAR, Organisation for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation, were returning from mission in Badghis when they were ambushed and brutally killed by a gang of armed men.

But let me tell you a bit more about what they were doing there:

After two decades of war, Afghanistan is one of the most mine afflicted countries in the world . These two OMAR teams were saving lives by teaching people how to avoid the dangers of the mines, bombs, shells, mortars, and other unexploded ordnance which litter the country, and which have killed or injured over 50,000 people in the last decade.

It is tragic that they lost their own lives while saving the lives of others. There can be no higher calling than this. As it says in the Quran, of the person who saves one life - it is as if he saves the whole world. There is no doubt that in the hundreds of communities in which they have worked over the years, these men saved many, many lives.

By gathering here today, and in locations throughout Afghanistan, the United Nations, the mine action community, NGOs, supporters of the humanitarian programme in Afghanistan, friends and colleagues of the deceased - all of us - express our grief at the loss of these seven men, our outrage at the manner of their deaths, and our respect for their lives and work.

We also send our deepest sympathy to their wives, children, families, and friends.

As we gather here in Islamabad to pray, and pay our last respects, thousands are likewise gathering in Herat, Jalalabad, Kabul, and Kandahar.

Today the mine action programme is suspended, so that its 5,000 members, as well as the thousands of other mourners from aid agencies and the wider community, can, like us, attend ceremonies to mourn the dead, and to protest the senseless act of violence which ended their lives.

This tragedy has sent echoes around the world. The Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, has expressed his sorrow, and extended his condolences to the families of the deceased. He too condemned this deplorable act, and has called on all parties to take immediate measures to bring those responsible to justice. I will now ask you to stand and join me in a one minute silence in memory of our fallen colleagues.

Saran Wal Shah Poor, Mohammed Ayaz Malingyar, Abdul Mansoor, Ghulam Dastageer, Dr. Azizullah Alekozai, Shah Mohammed, and Abdul Rahman, may you rest in peace, we salute you. We will always remember you as icons of peace, in a country ravaged by war.

SPEECH BY UNOCHA MINE AWARENESS ADVISOR

Commemoration service for OMAR staff, Islamabad, 10 August 2000

Representatives from OMAR, ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues, and honoured guests.

Words can do little to relieve the suffering of the families, friends and colleagues of shaheed Saran Wal Shah Poor, Mohammed Ayaz Malangyar, Abdul Mansoor, Ghulam Dastageer, Dr. Azizullah Alekozai, Shah Mohammed, and Abdul Rahman, may their souls rest in peace, but we share their sorrow.

The Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and the Humanitarian Coordinator for Afhghanistan, Mr. Erick de Mul, have already given voice to our grief, and expressed our outrage at the senseless act of violence in which their lives were taken.

While there can be no consolation for the deaths of these seven humanitarian workers, we will always remember how they lived.

Their time here with us was spent in service of their fellow Afghans, as they conducted their life saving work of mine awareness education from village to village, week to week, year to year. Between them, they had devoted 34 working years to this noble task, training around 150,000 people.

The Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan is the first, and remains the largest, humanitarian mine clearance programme in the world. It is also unique in that it is implemented by Afghans, for Afghans. The Organisation for Mine Clearance and Afghan Reconstruction, has been a part of the mine action programme since its inception, over a decade ago. In that time, it has trained several million Afghans in mine awareness, that is, the avoidance of the dangers posed by mines and unexploded ordnance, in addition to its mine clearance operations.

OMAR has lost fully two of its 15 mine awareness teams, while one other staff member, driver Abdul Nasir, narrowly escaped with his life. Seven women have lost their husbands, and 41 children their fathers. The mine action family, perhaps due to the dangerous nature of the work, is tight knit. For all of us, and we are 5,000 strong, an injury to one, is an injury to all, and the loss of one, is a loss to all. We have lost seven brothers.

Today we mourn shaheed Saran Wal Shah Poor, Mohammed Ayaz Malangyar, Abdul Mansoor, Ghulam Dastageer, Dr. Azizullah Alekozai, Shah Mohammed, and Abdul Rahman, may their souls rest in peace.

Every day, as we tackle the problems of mines and unexploded ordnace in Afghanistan by mine awareness education, demining, and explosive ordnance disposal, we will honour their memory. Through our continuing work, they will not be forgotten.