Indonesia donates cash for displaced Afghans

Islamabad (Office of the United Nations Co-ordinator for Afghanistan), 31 August 2001-- His Excellency Mr. Jack Said Gaffar, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia to Pakistan, today presented a cheque for US$ 10,000 to the Office of the United Nations Co-ordinator for Afghanistan.
Mr. Gaffar noted that the Government and the people of Indonesia expressed their sympathies with the Afghan people, in this time of tremendous difficulty. He added that Indonesia, the largest Islamic country in the world, prays for peace in Afghanistan.

The funds will be channelled into the small-scale emergency assistance programme in the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Assistance. The money will be used in Herat, where there are currently approximately 200,000 displaced Afghans in six camps. In Herat, the funds will be used to employ displaced persons to produce quilts, allowing them to earn money and at the same time protect other displaced families, who might otherwise freeze in winter.

United Nations Co-ordinator Mike Sackett expressed his deep appreciation for the Government of Indonesia's support to the people of Afghanistan.

"While the needs of the Afghan people at this point in time are almost overwhelming, cash contributions such as these are essential to be able to provide non-food items to the hundreds of thousands of displaced inside Afghanistan," Sackett said. "We will be sure the money is put to good use," he added.

The contribution from the Government of Indonesia is particularly welcome, Sackett said, because it serves as a strong signal that humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan through the United Nations comes on behalf of all member states, including over fifty Islamic countries.

In 2000 and 2001, conflict and drought have triggered the new displacement of approximately 900,000 Afghans in various areas inside Afghanistan. Estimates of Afghans stranded in villages, who are too poor even to pay for transport, vary between one and two million. The people of Afghanistan are facing the most serious humanitarian crisis in the history of the country.

The aid community has appealed for over US$ 283 million for Afghanistan in 2001. So far, US$ 114 million have been pledged, or 40% of funds needed. Severe funding shortfalls are affecting programmes in human rights, water and sanitation, mine action, co-ordination, refugee repatriation, and most activities aimed at rehabilitation, especially agriculture.

For further information, please contact:

Stephanie Bunker
Public Information Officer/Spokesperson
Office of the United Nations Co-ordinator for Afghanistan
Islamabad, Pakistan
92 51 2211451; mobile 92 320 2261325