WUNRN
COLOMBIA - INDIGENOUS EMBERA FLEE
ARMED CONFLICT
EMERGENCY DISPLACEMENT FOR
NATIVE WOMEN & CHILDREN
UN Refugee Agency
Some of the displaced Embera
women and children in a cramped shelter. © UNHCR/M-H.Verney
UNHCR News Stories
Indigenous Embera People Flee from Armed Group in
RIO BAUDO,
Full Article: http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/49de0de12.html
____________________________________________________________
http://wwww.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EDIS-7QRLT7?OpenDocument
Colombia: Red Cross Assists Indigenous
Population Displaced By Violence
03 Apr 2009
Bogotá (ICRC) – In Chocó department,
western Colombia, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has
distributed food and other items such as hygiene articles, cooking equipment
and hammocks to around 600 indigenous people.
In
mid-March, the inhabitants of the Purricha river basin near the municipality of
Bajo Baudó were forced to flee their homes because of the armed conflict in the
region. Many of those
affected are women and children.
The
communities, made up of indigenous Emberá people, spent several days crossing
the jungle before gathering in the town of Pizarro and the settlement of Bocas
de Pegadó, where they received emergency aid from the ICRC between 25 March and
1 April.
This
displacement follows swiftly on the heels of others in the region, which have
also affected the indigenous communities. The ICRC has in particular provided
emergency assistance to around 160 people from the Emberá communities of
Nuncidó, in Alto Baudó, and Santa Rita de Iró, in Río Iró.
The
ICRC delegate responsible for the area, Silvia Padrón, was present as the aid
was distributed. "On their arrival, people were very distressed because
they had become separated from many members of their family and neighbours in
the jungle while fleeing the fighting."
The
ICRC continues to be concerned by the plight of the civilian population in this
area, since they have suffered the consequences of the armed conflict for
several weeks now. The ICRC will remain in the area to assist the victims of
the conflict, in accordance with its mandate as an impartial and independent
humanitarian organization.
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