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Bam Earthquake Emergency Coordinating Committee
Open Letter to International Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
Dear colleagues:
I am writing on behalf of the Bam Earthquake Emergency Coordinating
Committee (BamEECC) to raise our unequivocal and continuing concerns
regarding the relief efforts underway in Bam.
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>From the get go, the BamEECC has called on the generous public, both in
Iran and abroad, to give all in-kind and financial donations to reputable
organisations. We have stressed the fact that no donations should be given
to the Islamic Republic of Iran or its government-run 'NGOs'. We have
reiterated this call via media broadcasts in Iran, Europe and North
America, including during a live interview with the BamEECC's Coordinator
on BBC News 24 on January 2, 2004. Our reasoning behind this call is clear.
Reputable international and non-sectarian humanitarian organisations are
better able and willing to assist the people of Bam. On the other hand, the
Islamic Republic of Iran is not trusted by the population at large to
spearhead relief and reconstruction efforts because it is rightly seen to
be responsible for the massive human tragedy especially given its utter
neglect in creating adequate housing during its past 25 year rule, its
imposition of desperate poverty, its disregard for people's lives and
safety, poor building methods, lack of proper regulations, as well as its
refusal to heed recommendations made by a series of inquiries following the
1990 earthquake in north-west Iran. Clearly, the deaths of what is
amounting to over 50,000 people in an oil rich country are not the result
of natural causes. In addition to its culpability for the quake, the
government's inadequate, late and chaotic response has exacerbated the
situation; many could still be alive today had the authorities acted in a
timely and responsible manner like governments are supposed to in such
situations. Bam is one more blemish on this government's inability and
unwillingness to intervene on the people's behalf. For example, the
authorities only divulged information on the earthquake nine hours and only
met to address it ten hours after it had occurred. This was in spite of the
fact that the public in Iran had already begun spontaneously organising to
provide all the assistance they could muster. Messrs. Khatami and Khamenei
only visited the site four days after the quake and even then only to
excuse their inadequacies. Moreover, the premature calling off of Search
and Rescue operations, the mishandling of international rescue teams,
including delaying their access, delays in provision of translation
services and the mistreatment of these personnel in some instances, delays
in the offloading of aid from delivery trucks for hours and even days, the
obstruction of aid being delivered by the public who wanted to bypass the
government, the selling of aid in the black market and so on have all
exacerbated the situation and wasted valuable time and lives. If the
regime's callousness was unbeknownst to relief workers prior to the
earthquake, it has become crystal clear from their first hand experiences.
More tragically, the BamEECC has received numerous reports of people,
particularly children, dying as a result of the cold because vital aid has
not reached them in time; many are still awaiting tents, food and the like
ten days after the quake. To make matters worse, aid is not being given to
women-headed households in many instances; the authorities have expelled
numerous doctors and international aid workers from the area and are even
checking the identification of all those entering Bam in order to further
obstruct the transfer of aid and information on the government's negligence.
The BamEECC reiterates that relief efforts must be spearheaded and
monitored by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs in liaison and coordination with reputable international
organisations and institutions such as UNICEF, WHO, Medicins sans
Frontieres as well as local NGOs and the concerned public. In addition to
ensuring that aid reaches survivors, its other crucial tasks are to provide
the public with up-to-date information on the progress of relief and
reconstruction efforts as well as financial accountability of all monies
donated to this effort from governments, organisations and the public.
Moreover, the BamEECC requests an investigation into the following reports
received from various sources in Bam and Iranian newspaper reports and the
action undertaken to stop these forms of abuse:
* The government Baseej and Pasdaran refusal to pull out or assist women
who were unveiled.
* Reports that survivors are in some instances being charged for the
medical care they are receiving and families are being charged for burials.
* Women and children are being kidnapped and trafficked.
* Villagers from surrounding villages not hit by the quake but that are at
risk because they received their supplies from Bam are not receiving aid.
The BamEECC is closely monitoring the situation and will provide you with
up-to-date information on the situation. We await your immediate response.
Sincerely,
Maryam Namazie
Coordinator
Bam Earthquake Emergency Coordinating Committee
Bam Earthquake Emergency Coordinating Committee was established by
well-known Iranian human rights personalities to ensure that the people of
Bam are not forgotten. Committee Members are Maryam Namazie (Coordinator),
Mina Ahadi, Asad Golchini, Bahram Modaresi, Esmail Moloodi, Mehrnoush
Moosavi, Kazem Nikkhah, Fariborz Pooya, Nahid Riyazi, and Halaleh Taheri.
BM Box 8927, London WC1N 3XX, England, Tel: +44 (0) 07719166731, Fax: +44
(0) 870 1351338, E-mail: m.namazie@ukonline.co.uk or
bameecc@ukonline.co.uk; web: www.bamquake.org.
