| Letter to the Editor, Irish Independent, 11th January 2007
2006 saw the most violence against aid workers in a decade.
Eighty three brave and selfless individuals died as a result of political violence and crime in countries where the poorest of the poor suffer most because of armed conflict.
GOAL lost Hadja Ahmed, a young Darfurian nutrition worker and a mother, while evacuating from central Darfur in January, 2006, after fighting between Darfurian rebels and the Sudanese Army along with its Janjaweed militia allies.
In December, we withdrew all GOALies from Darfur, given the declining security in the region. 400 aid workers had to pull out from Darfur, leaving four million people who had been dependent on humanitarian aid in an almost impossible situation.
Elsewhere, 52 aidworkers were killed as a resurgent Taliban battled a divided NATO force in Afghanistan, while the re-emergence of civil war in Sri Lanka cost another 23 aidworker lives and threatens to undermine post-tsunami rehabilitation.
GOALies and other aidworkers are targeted by combatants as they have access to material goods which are meant for the civilians who bear the brunt of violence.
Protagonists increasingly believe that by attacking aidworkers and undermining relief operations they can affect the outcome of conflict by removing any international presence in a conflict zone, and by procuring vehicles, medical supplies and food to sustain armies and militias.
However the courage and commitment of aidworkers, expatriate and local alike, remains beyond question.
Yet the Irish Government continues to peddle the notion that corrupt governments are more worthy beneficiaries of our overseas aid, of our taxpayers money, than are the NGOs and humanitarian organisations whose staff work on the frontline of the world's most dangerous troublespots.
John O'Shea
GOAL
© Irish Independent
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