Supplies for refugees in northern
Afghanistan pour in to staging point
By Ward Sanderson,
Naples bureau
Photo courtesy of USAID
A U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane carries thousands of wool blankets from Pisa, Italy, to
Islamabad, Pakistan on Oct. 24 for distribution to Afghan refugees. |
Six flights of U.S. Air Force C-17s spirited 500,000 pounds of blankets, plastic tarps,
sugar and biscuits this week to a staging point in Turkmenistan for refugees in northern
Afghanistan.
Flights left Pisa, Italy, for Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, starting Monday. Flights
concluded Thursday evening.
"We have shipped 20,000 blankets, 200 metric tons of high-energy biscuits, 100
rolls of plastic sheeting, and one ton of sugar," said Alberto Chidini, the State
Department’s relief coordinator. "It look about 20 trucks to move the stuff to
the airport."
Unlike supplies delivered via nightly aid flights from Ramstein Air Base, Germany,
these disaster shipments will not be dropped.
"It’s very different than what’s going on in Ramstein," said Army
Lt. Col. Edward Loomis, a spokesman for U.S. European Command.
The supplies will stay in Turkmenistan awaiting distribution via a traditional relief
operation. The food dropped from the Ramstein flights is intended for refugees in places
too treacherous for aid workers. So far, aircraft have dropped 2.6 million meals from the
sky.
While Ramstein is home to a major U.S. base, Pisa is not. However, Pisa is home to an
Italian air base and a disaster office of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
"The Italians allowed us to use their air base, which was very convenient,"
Loomis said.
The shipments from Pisa were worth more than $751,000. According to USAID, that money
comes from its budget and is not part of President Bush’s $320 million aid initiative
for the people of Afghanistan.
The C-17s arrived from an Air Force reserve unit in Charleston, S.C. The last of six
flights landed in Italy at 9:15 p.m., loaded up, then flew on to Turkmenistan, said Tech.
Sgt. Bertha Belton, an Aviano Air Base spokeswoman on the scene.
Prior to the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Afghanistan was America’s No. 1 destination
for humanitarian assistance, according to USAID. The agency said 22 years of war, three
years of drought and five years of Taliban rule have sunk the nation into a major famine.
Bush’s $320 million aid package includes $195 for USAID, which will forward it to
relief organizations or United Nations efforts; $100 million for the State
Department’s chore of helping refugees fleeing Afghanistan; and $25 million for the
Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund.
The United States has given more than 80 percent of food distributed to Afghans through
the U.N. World Food Program.
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