Iraqi community urged to contact Australian
Red Cross
Members of the Iraqi community living
in Australia who are concerned for family in Iraq have been urged today
(2 June) to contact their State Office of Australian Red Cross. The move
comes as Australian Red Cross gears up to help reunite Iraqi families.
'There are 25,000 Iraqis living in Australia and we anticipate assisting some of them in the coming weeks and months. The Red Cross aims to reunite Iraqis with loved ones back home. I urge all Iraqis who are concerned for family in Iraq to contact Australian Red Cross,' says Ms Jane Clarke, Manager of International Tracing and Refugee Services of Australian Red Cross.
Now that hostilities have ceased, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has stepped up its efforts in Iraq to assist thousands of Iraqi people contact their families at home and abroad.
Though security is still of major concern in many parts of Iraq, the Red Cross is determined to meets its mandate of assisting vulnerable people and has commenced a nation-wide effort to facilitate contact between Iraqis and their relatives.
From Basra and Umm Qasr in southern Iraq to Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah in the north, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working in close cooperation with the Iraq Red Crescent Society (IRCS) to re-establish family links.
The situation is fluid and changes all the time with various Red Cross activities available in different parts of the country. At this stage Red Cross Messages can be accepted for the following destinations:
- BAGHDAD
- SOUTHERN IRAQ: Basra
including Az Zubair, Umm Qasr, Nasariya, Amarah, Najaf, Samawah and Kerbala
- NORTHERN IRAQ: Provinces:
Erbil, Douk and Sulaymaniyah
<br>Cities: Mossul and Kirkuk
Villages: Tall'Afar and Sinjar
People living in Australia who are anxious for news from family members in Iraq are also urged to register with a website called Restoring Family Links. Launched in March by the ICRC, Restoring Family Links, available in Arabic and English, allows a person to self-register and search for a relative or loved one in Iraq.
Visit Restoring Family Links at www.familylinks.icrc.org <http://www.familylinks.icrc.org>
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW
Jane Clarke, International Tracing and
Refugee Services of Australian Red Cross
Suhail Zaidan (Arabic Speaker)
FOR MEDIA INFORMATION ONLY
Mr Ian Woolverton
Media Adviser - International Programs
Australian Red Cross
Telephone + 61 3 9345 1868 Mobile + 61 418 526 850
www.redcross.org.au