Caritas Network Bracing to Help up to 500,000 in War

ROME, MARCH 20, 2003 (Zenit.org).- The Caritas network in the Middle East, including Caritas of Iraq, has activated its emergency plan to assist civilian victims of the war.

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Under the direction of Faiq Bourachi, the liaison office of Caritas-Iraq in Amman is coordinating the network’s humanitarian aid in the region.

Included in this network are the Caritas organizations of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jerusalem, which can also count on the support of an emergency technical team deployed by Caritas Internationalis.

«The Caritas network is working under the assumption of attending to the needs of a population estimated to be between 200,000 and 500,000 of displaced persons, both within Iraq as well as in neighboring countries,» Caritas explained in a press statement.

Meanwhile, Germany-based Aid to the Church in Need announced that it will provide 60,000 euros ($63,500) in immediate emergency aid for Iraq’s beleaguered people.

«Thanks to its close contacts with the papal nuncio in Baghdad, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, the charity is well informed about the situation in the country,» the Catholic charity said in a statement. «This emergency aid will be transmitted via Church representatives locally to the neediest people in Iraq and to refugees.»

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