The following is an excerpt from <Communication to the press No. 00/20
Geneva, 13 June 2000>
"Democratic Republic of the Congo: ICRC delivers aid to Kisangani. Geneva
(ICRC) - .... The most urgent tasks are to treat all the wounded and, in
cooperation with the National Society, bury the bodies that lie scattered
throughout the city so as to prevent the outbreak of cholera and other
epidemics..."
In natural disasters, the rule of thumb is that bodies do not pose a
significant threat of disease outbreaks. One can presume that in conflict
disasters the same is true. The moral, ethical, social, psychological and
practical reasons for disposing of bodies are all very important and of
merit each in and of themselves. But a respected organization like the ICRC
perpetuating the myth of bodies leading to epidemics raises questions of
whether they understand the challenges of the disaster they are dealing
with, or the accuracy of their public statements.
As in war, is truth one of the first victims of a disaster?
C. Kelly
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