ICRC to coordinate tracing people in quake-hit areas

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 20. Due to the magnitude of the disaster caused by the quake in Gujarat and the scope of relief efforts that the International Federation of the Red Cross, the Red Crescent Societies and the National Society of the Red Cross had to address, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has accepted the role of co-ordinating tracing activities to reunite displaced families in the State.

With an experienced tracing delegate posted at its regional delegation in New Delhi and the immediate assistance provided by the British and the American Red Cross Societies - and at a later stage the Armenian Red Cross Society - a team of 4 delegates has been sent to Bhuj to support the efforts of the Indian Red Cross Society. ``With regard to the restoration of family links in the present situation, the ICRC was requested by the Federation and the Indian Red Cross Society to fulfill both its roles as coordinator and technical adviser given by national societies and Governments at the 25th and 26th International Conferences,'' said Ms. Violene Dogny, Co-Operation Delegate of the ICRC, here today.

ICRC training with the Indian Red Cross Society in the field of tracing had started only a couple of years ago and would take sometime to complete. Several training seminars in some State branches had taken place and a head of the Family News Service was recently appointed at the Indian Red Cross headquarters. However, as the national society was still in the early states of building its tracing services capacity, technical support from the ICRC was deemed appropriate.

Since February 4, the Red Cross tracing team had been visiting towns and villages in Kutch district and collecting messages to be forwarded to relatives all over the world. Access to mobile phones had also been made available for the victims when needed.

``About 25 Red Cross messages were immediately forwarded by fax to the tracing services of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies of the U.S.A., the U.K., the Middle East and East African countries,'' Ms. Dogny said.

Most of the village sarpanches, police station and administrative authorities as well as victims from various religious and ethnic groups had been met along the roads to Sukpar, Lodai, Bhachau, Anjar, Gandhidam, Rapar, Mandvi and Mundrai. ``Very few people were found who have not had the possibility to reassure their relatives in other States of India or abroad.''

The Red Cross had also been translating the list of the dead, being published by the Kutch Mitra newspaper from Bhuj. ``This will soon be accessible through a Red Cross website,'' Ms. Dogny said.

Since one of the main concerns of the Red Cross was that of unaccompanied children, the ICRC was supplementing the efforts of the non-governmental organisations which had started programmes for children in the quake-affected areas.

Temporary field hospitals set up with foreign assistance such as those provided by the Governments of Israel, Ukraine and Denmark, and Red Cross medical centres under the auspices of the Federation, had also been informed of the network facilities to reassure and reunite families.

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