Kids 'starving' near Canadian base

[GAP]

They are known to have a far out adgenda, but this time the Senlis Council actually made sense in agreeing that the CF need to provide security,  but that reconstruction/aid needs to get its' arse in gear.

Afghanis need food, Ottawa told
Kids 'starving' near Canadian base: Think-tank

Warns that new strategy required to win Kandahar
Oct. 25, 2006. 11:44 AM BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH OTTAWA BUREAU
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1161726632759&call_pageid=1140433364397&col=1140433364286

OTTAWA—Afghan children are "starving" in a refugee camp 15 minutes down the road from a Canadian military base and there's been no attempt to deliver emergency aid to help them, a frontline researcher says.

"I can't understand why no aid has been delivered," said Norine MacDonald, a Canadian lawyer who heads the Senlis Council, an international policy think-tank that aims to provide analysis, ideas and proposals on foreign policy, security, development and counter-narcotics strategies.

It is funded by the Network of European Foundations, a group of 11 trusts and charities, including the Children's Aid Foundation.

"It's a vicious circle — the military doesn't do aid and the aid (groups) can't get on the ground because of the security situation, so nothing happens. I just don't think that's acceptable," MacDonald said yesterday.

"We just can't keep on saying we can't do anything."

MacDonald, who has spent the last year living in Kandahar, came to the nation's capital to warn that widespread starvation in southern Afghanistan is claiming lives, provoking unrest and helping fuel the insurgency.

While Canadian development officials boast about providing microfinance loans and rebuilding infrastructure, Kandahar is facing a "starvation crisis" on a scale usually found in Africa, MacDonald told a news conference.

"They're getting it fundamentally wrong and the Canadian military, the young men and women who are fighting there, are paying the first price and Afghans are paying the second," she said. "If we don't change our policies now, right now, this month, next month, dramatically, we will suffer more losses and we will lose southern Afghanistan."

In a report released yesterday, the council urged Canada to deliver an emergency package of food and aid. The organization called on Canada to take the lead in getting NATO to rethink its plan to win over local residents.

Saying that Canada needs to "adopt" Kandahar, she urged Ottawa to encourage Canadian citizens and organizations to become involved in helping Afghans.
more on link

 

[McG]

Saying that Canada needs to "adopt" Kandahar, she urged Ottawa to encourage Canadian citizens and organizations to become involved in helping Afghans.

What does she think we should do and how does she think we should do it?

 

[GAP]

The admissions she made about the job of the CF were grudging, but in listening to the interviews on CBC radio and CPAC tonight, they have said the CF is doing it job well, but that CIDA isn't.

There is lots of reasons for some of the complaints, most of them have been posted on these threads in one form or another. The senlis council did not emphasize the good job the CF is doing in reconstruction at all, they just pointed out the CF is combatting the violence and that they need to continue to do so, otherwise the Taliban come back.

I think what I liked about it was that, while it was a pissy piece of work, the word is getting out of the value of the mission.

 

[GUNS]

I for one would be more than willing to send extra food in my son's monthly care package if I knew it would find its way into their hands.

I would need to know what food would be appropriate for A'stan children, first

 

[McG]

... they have said the CF is doing it job well, but that CIDA isn't.

There is truth there (it was frustrating) but I think there is already movement to fix some of the problem:

Travel restrictions too tight for aid workers in Afghanistan: MacKay
Canadian Press
Printed in the Globe & Mail
22 Oct 06

OTTAWA — Canadian diplomats and aid organizers in southern Afghanistan have been under tight, government-imposed travel restrictions ever since diplomat Glyn Berry was killed in a roadside bomb attack in January — and the constraints appear to be hampering reconstruction efforts.

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has acknowledged the limits and is trying to get them eased.  “We are working as effectively and efficiently as possible to free up any restrictions that stand in the way of development, that stand in the way of the progress being made,” Mr. MacKay said following a recent speech to diplomats.

“We're looking for every means of efficiency to do that, both in our department and CIDA and at National Defence.”

Some frustrated overseas staff have likened the constraints to being “nannied” by Ottawa, a source at Foreign Affairs told The Canadian Press.

The question of how much reconstruction is taking place in southern Afghanistan, and how effective those efforts have been, are among the main political lines of attack by opponents of the war. Critics complain the mission has been all fighting and no aid.

Last week, the Senate committee on security and defence heard how the army has been trolling Ottawa, attempting to get already-approved Canadian reconstruction money spent on projects that are sitting in limbo.

“We're making progress,” Mr. MacKay insisted. “We're making a big difference in the lives of Afghan people that directly impacts as well on our own safety and security.”

But officials charged with delivering millions of dollars in Canadian aid are rarely allowed to venture beyond the heavily fortified compounds of the Kandahar airfield and the nearby provincial reconstruction team (PRT) base, which is located within Kandahar city itself.

Instead, local Afghan officials are often required to present themselves at the PRT to discuss projects.

When officials do get outside the base, it's usually as part of heavily-armed military convoys that Canadian contractors who are working on reconstruction say offer little opportunity for interaction with locals.

At one point last spring, the constraints included a prohibition on travel by road for the most senior diplomatic staff, forcing the Canadian army to scrounge helicopter flights from allies, said sources at the Defence Department.

Officials at both Foreign Affairs and Defence refused to discuss specific security arrangements for civilian staff in Kandahar.

During an appearance before the Senate committee last week, Brig.-Gen. Al Howard was asked how often public servants venture beyond “the wire” to do their jobs.

“I really do not want to get into who is allowed move where for security reasons,” replied Brig.-Gen. Howard, a senior military planner and adviser to chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier.  “It is really not my purview to discuss the movements of the CIDA officers.”

The director of development at the PRT base was equally reluctant to discuss the restrictions.  “We still believe we can do the job,” said Helene Kadi, a CIDA employee. “We're still able to move contracts and do the job effectively.”

Getting redevelopment right is seen as the key to success in Afghanistan. The belief is that the more ordinary citizens notice improvements in their lives, the less likely they are to support the Taliban or other extremist and criminal elements.

In an effort to slow down redevelopment, insurgents have made targets out of civilian aid workers. Last March, four Macedonians were kidnapped, murdered and their booby-trapped bodies dumped in the desert outside Kandahar.

Berry's well-publicized death in January had a big chill on the Canadian aid effort.

The 59-year-old, who had almost 30 years of foreign affairs service under his belt, volunteered for the job of senior diplomat with Canada's provincial reconstruction team.

He died and three soldiers were wounded when a suicide bomber smashed his explosives-laden car into their lightly armoured G-Wagon.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I read of a bit more money coming through CIDA, but how much can get done with the security situation the way it is?

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Senlis Council = Polaris Institute

My God, does no one question this group's motivation or politics?  How many reports do we have to read quoting this political organization and questioning Canada's activities in theatre before their bias is acknowledged?

 

[GAP]

Senlis Council = Polaris Institute

My God, does no one question this group's motivation or politics?  How many reports do we have to read quoting this political organization and questioning Canada's activities in theatre before their bias is acknowledged?

That is precisely why I preceeded the article with this

They are known to have a far out adgenda, but this time the Senlis Council actually made sense in agreeing that the CF need to provide security,  but that reconstruction/aid needs to get its' arse in gear

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Seen, my comments were directed at the unquestioning media.

 

[GAP]

Seen, my comments were directed at the unquestioning media.

+1 The Media is gobbling it up  like it was the new moon....This is not new news, just a refocus.

 

[a_majoor]

A return volly posted on "Small Dead Animals"

http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/004896.html

A Tim Hortons Soldier Fires Back
From the comments of the CTV Politics blog (responding to a quote from the Senlis Council's Norine MacDonald in this CTV story);

Re: The Afghanistan conundrum
by Trevo on Sun 29 Oct 2006 08:29 AM EST | Profile | Permanent Link

I'm not quite sure where you're going with the "Our military base in Kandahar has a Burger King and a Tim Hortons. And 15 minutes away, there are children dying of starvation," comment.

Is it a time issue that determines who should help these children you mention? Is the Tim Hortons you go to, far enough away that you don't care about starving children? Do you really think that because our coffee is closer to starvation, we should feel guilty? So are you saying the closer I am with my coffee to the problem of starving children, the worse I should feel? Further to that, because you are really, really far away, it’s not your concern?

What are you doing about the children of Afghanistan? You're sitting back in your recliner, after turning up the thermosat and having a warm shower, and deciding we (Canadian soldiers)should feel bad for having a coffee becuase we're closer than you to starving children. So you put down the newspaper, tell the kids to go outside and play, and head over to your computer to “throw” your opinion out there. We're trying to help these kids. We're giving girls the chance to go to school and we are doing our best to make this a safer place for everyone. Some of the greatest people i have ever met in my life have died trying to help these people. We leave our families, missing birthdays, funerals, new births, hockey games, and every comfort we as Canadians can enjoy. Now, we have a Tim Hortons to microscopically ease the burden of putting our lives on hold for 6 months, and bring our morale up for the 7 minutes it takes to drink a double-double.

For me personally, the hardest part of my job was not going to Afghanistan, Bosnia, or Kosovo, but it was the fact that I put my life on the line so that people like you can have these opinions.

Mcpl Trevor Hill (Ret.)
1 RCR


(Thanks to reader Jim L. for this - and to those others of you who find these hidden gems and send them along for consideration.)

Posted by Kate at October 31, 2006 11:28 AM

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I for one would be more than willing to send extra food in my son's monthly care package if I knew it would find its way into their hands.

I would need to know what food would be appropriate for A'stan children, first

I don't know what the rules are, but can the soldiers and families put money together to buy gifts/donations for local villiages?

 

[George Wallace]

I don't know what the rules are, but can the soldiers and families put money together to buy gifts/donations for local villiages?

That has been done on numerous occasions in the past.  Remember the Izzie Dolls?  Church groups on Bases have contributed many different types of aid in the form of old clothes, blankets, toys, etc.  Of course it has been largely up to the larger Aid Groups to organize the large scale projects, but CF personnel and families have contributed in the endeavors.  Quite often the CF Medical and Dental staff on a Tour will do some community work in remote locations.

The problem with Afghanistan today is the level of fighting that is going on.  The aircraft flying in are full of replenishment item for the Battle Groups that there is no room to put 'Aid Supplies', gifts, and sometimes personal mail.  Bullets, Fuel, and Rations are more important.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

This was true even in the Bosnia days.  Well-intentioned people would put together aid efforts (knitting blankets, socks, toys, old shoes (!) or what have you), and then look to the Army to get the items overseas and distributed.

The advice I gave to the media then still stands today:  you're much better off selecting an Afghan-related charity and donating money to them than to gather items in the hope that, somehow, they'll get to those who need them via the military.

 

[GAP]

That has been done on numerous occasions in the past.  Remember the Izzie Dolls?  Church groups on Bases have contributed many different types of aid in the form of old clothes, blankets, toys, etc.  Of course it has been largely up to the larger Aid Groups to organize the large scale projects, but CF personnel and families have contributed in the endeavors.  Quite often the CF Medical and Dental staff on a Tour will do some community work in remote locations.

The problem with Afghanistan today is the level of fighting that is going on.  The aircraft flying in are full of replenishment item for the Battle Groups that there is no room to put 'Aid Supplies', gifts, and sometimes personal mail.  Bullets, Fuel, and Rations are more important.

When MJP was in Bosnia he initiated a school supply collection. I contacted all the schools in Winnipeg  (I think a similiar one was done in Edmonton on one of the other ROTO's) collecting school supplies and texts. Apparently we filled a semi or two...then 2 PPCLI expanded it to all kinds of stuff. As a result they shipped over 5 containers of stuff for distribution during their ROTO. Kinda proud of that grasshopper I am I am....  ;D

I can't see that working here...there, the stuff went by ship, and I don't see a lot of big, wide cannels running through Kandahar province.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

You want to send American dollars to the CIMIC guys, with specific instructions on how to spend it. Donations of goods are almost useless. They seldom get to the people you want, and when they do, they end up in the bazzarr for sale. The CIMIC guys can do wonders with small amounts of cash. Unfortunately, trying to pry it from the Task Force is near impossible, and the hoops CIDA makes you jump through are even worse. It took me longer to process the forms and deal with the diplomats than it did to build the school. Once again, DO NOT send goods. It only taxes the system and the soldiers and doesn't really do any good. They need dollars.

NGO's will blame the military for lack of security. When we provide it, the complain we're interfering with their mandate and soverienty. Ask the Afghan workers in Kabul who quit working on the IRC house because of the marble floors and walls they were installing along with the very expensive furniture and trappings they put in. When they questioned the NGO's if this kind of money would be better spent on the locals, they had their wages and hours cut.

Camps may be for IDP's, refugees or immigrants. Sometimes they contain all three. Seldom is anyone in charge. Camps can spring up because three families decide that's where they're going to squat. Then they get joined by more and more. Unless an NGO decides to take it on as a project, the people have to fend for themselves. Roll a military truck or two into one, and start offloading goods, you'll have a riot and will have to shoot your way out. These are the pervue of the NGO's. If they're not working them, it's their fault, not ours.

 

[vonGarvin]

I can't see that working here...there, the stuff went by ship, and I don't see a lot of big, wide cannels running through Kandahar province.

Oh, they're there...right next to the oil fields and pipelines

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Oh, they're there...right next to the oil fields and pipelines

Where did they get the time to build them? I thought all the workers were toiling away in the Bush-Halliburton poppy fields.  ;D

 

[Good2Golf]

Hmmm...nice of the Senlis group to hold this information about starving children back from the CF/PRT so that they could make a point upon return to Ottawa.  The point they make is that they didn't co-ordinate assisting the children with the CIDA rep in the area.  This is pretty reprehensible...making the kids take the hit for the Senseless Senlis Group to be able to think it's making a valid point...pricks!  :rage:

As noted by others, $$$ works wonders -- and is not much of a burden on the 130s going in to Kandahar.  As an example, my unit collected money locally and from home, and we were able to buy supplies for a girls' orphanage that the CIMIC folks from TFA had passed to us as a group to sponsor.  We purchased heaters, wood, fuel, supplies, etc... with it.  We also passed out some little things for the girls to keep as trinkets, but keeping them warm throughout the winters was what was important for them.

Senlis Group takes the cake...like a few clicks on the CIDA website (or this one Canada in Afghanistan) would provide points of contact to assist/co-ordinate relief efforts in Canadian areas of responsibility.  Otherwise, they come off as manipulative, dishonest people.

G2G

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Anyone over there now that has a group that needs help? maybe I raise a few bucks here in my office.