(Vatican Radio) The UN charity, UNICEF, says nearly 26,000 people have been displaced since the military operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the control of the so-called Islamic State began in mid-October. It said a further 5,200 arrived in two camps to the south of the city on Friday in the single largest displacement since the offensive began. Altogether there are more than 10,000 displaced children in urgent need of assistance. Peter Hawkins is the country representative in Iraq for UNICEF and spoke to Susy Hodges about their plight.Listen to the interview with Peter Hawkins of UNICEF: Hawkins said it’s not just the displaced people who urgently require aid but also those who have decided to remain in their newly liberated villages and UNICEF is stepping up its relief programme to provide clean drinking water, hygiene kits, immunization and other essentials to both groups. Many of the new arrivals come to the camps with only the clothes on...
(Vatican Radio) The UN charity, UNICEF, says nearly 26,000 people have been displaced since the military operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the control of the so-called Islamic State began in mid-October. It said a further 5,200 arrived in two camps to the south of the city on Friday in the single largest displacement since the offensive began. Altogether there are more than 10,000 displaced children in urgent need of assistance. Peter Hawkins is the country representative in Iraq for UNICEF and spoke to Susy Hodges about their plight.
Listen to the interview with Peter Hawkins of UNICEF:
Hawkins said it’s not just the displaced people who urgently require aid but also those who have decided to remain in their newly liberated villages and UNICEF is stepping up its relief programme to provide clean drinking water, hygiene kits, immunization and other essentials to both groups.
Many of the new arrivals come to the camps with only the clothes on their backs and some are even barefoot despite the approach of winter.
Excessive trauma
“A lot of the children have been through excessive trauma,” said Hawkins, saying you can see it in their behaviour and “in their drawings.” The UNICEF representative said some of the girls had been sexually abused and there were plans for them to receive psychological counselling.
Fears of being “overwhelmed”
Asked whether UNICEF fears a potential humanitarian catastrophe, given the size of the population in Mosul, and if huge numbers fled the city all at once, Hawkins said “absolutely” this was a fear. He said as long as people leave Mosul in smaller groups of up to about 10,000 then they would be “able to cope” but if a massive exodus of say 150,000 people were to flee all at once, “we will be overwhelmed,” he warned.
Pope Francis on May 7, 2024, appointed Father James Mark Beckman, 61, a priest of the Diocese of Nashville, as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville. / Credit: Diocese of NashvilleRome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 11:50 am (CNA).Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed a new bishop to the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, following former Bishop Richard Stika's resignation last year. The Holy See Press Office announced that Father James Mark Beckman, 61, will be installed as the new bishop of the diocese. The installation will occur in July. The bishopric since June 2023 has been under the care of Louisville Archbishop Shelton Fabre, who has served as apostolic administrator following Stika's departure that month.Beckman, a Tennessee native, has been a priest with the Diocese of Nashville since his ordination on July 13, 1990. He received a bachelor's degree in history from St. Ambrose College in 1984 and a master's degree in religious studies from the Catholic University ...
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