Countries locked in conflict that no one can get to and help
2017-01-23 09:41:55 Written by Megan Palin news.com.au Published in English Articles Read 2144 times-
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THEY are raped, tortured, beaten, shot and murdered but no one can help them.
Some of the world’s worst wars and conflicts are so dangerous that not even supplies or aid workers can get to the millions of citizens subjected to violence and other atrocities as they are trapped within them.
According to a new report by CARE International, many international horrors go under-reported and unnoticed because journalists and photographers are also unable to access the areas without extreme risk to their own lives.
Eritrea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Korea are among several countries that can’t be reached by aid workers or media, according to CARE International.
Children scrape for food in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Source:Supplied
Little is known about Eritrea, a country almost completely cut off from the outside world.
Journalists and aid workers have no access to humanitarian data and many major aid organisations are not allowed to provide relief to affected people, according to the new report. According to UN estimates, about two million people are without adequate food supplies in the semi-arid country.
Ongoing conflict, slow economic growth and lifelong mandatory military service force many people to flee Eritrea.
The UN estimates that 5,000 Eritreans leave their country each month, many of them so desperate for a better life, they risk taking the perilous route across the Sahara and the
Mediterranean Sea. Eritreans constitute one of the largest groups of refugees in Europe and Africa.
Half of all children in Eritrea are stunted and cannot achieve their full mental and physical potential, because of acute malnutrition.
According to the CARE International report, Eritrea is home to one of the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2016’.
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CONGO
It is extremely difficult for aid workers and journalists to get access to the Democratic Republic of Congo and help refugees.Source:Supplied
The report also reveals that reaching people in need in the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo is challenging as the security situation varies widely and certain areas are virtual ‘no-go’ zones for aid workers.
More than seven million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and struggling to survive amid violence, epidemics, malnutrition and natural disasters.
The country has been in a state of humanitarian crisis for more than two decades and the recent upsurge in violence in 2016 has left little hope for a peaceful transition in the near future.
Many children and adolescents living in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) know nothing but conflict after 20 years of war.
A toxic cocktail of constant fighting between numerous armed groups, droughts due to the El Niño climatic cycle and the influx of refugees from neighbouring countries such as Burundi, the Central African Republic and South Sudan have exacerbated the dire living conditions for many families.
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA / NORTH KOREA
According to CARE International, very few international organisations are allowed to provide relief in North Korea and international journalists are rarely granted access to report from inside the country.
“Very little information is available about the 18 million people — 70 per cent of the population — who do not have enough to eat,” the report read.
“Among them are more than two million children and pregnant and lactating women who are at risk of malnutrition, a severe threat to the survival of mothers and children under five.”
North Korea is prone to recurring disasters such as droughts, floods and storms. The previous two years were “abnormally dry, decreasing crop production by over 20 per cent from 2014
to 2015”. Typhoon Lionrock wreaked havoc in August, causing destructive floods and affected more than 600,000 people.
