Oct. 16 – “With only 9 camps out of 26 complete and funds blocked by Baghdad, in January, when the temperatures will drop below 0°C, over 180.000 people will struggle to survive.” Marzio Babille, Unicef representative in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, comments via telephone to the Italian Senate. Mario Mauro and Paolo Romani held a press conference a few days ago after returning from a mission in the areas under attach by ISIS. In Erbil, Babille explains, “Unicef has used a new approach, ensuring a constant and immediate presence.” In particular, Unicef Italy, “led the operations to open 4 humanitarian corridors, including the important passage in the Christian regions for drinking water supplies and health kits. For now, we’ve covered the needs of 80,000 people within the 30-40 hours following the evacuation.” Now, however, “the problem is that of violence against women and children; and we need psychological assistance for these families.” 352 Kurdish children were abducted by force by ISIS and enrolled in Koranic schools, about 4,000 yazidi women were abducted and raped. (Sis)
