Letter
from the Chairman
 Dear all,
I hope that our re-designed website
will give a clear idea of what we have been doing since
we started in January
2003 and what our plans are for the future.
We have made
modest achievements - modest compared to the enormity of
the human tragedy still unfolding in
the midst
of general indifference. They will serve, I trust, to
bring hope or relief to a few amongst the hundreds of thousands
lost in the darkness of this "forgotten war".
We
have decided to concentrate our efforts on the refugees
in the Pankisi Valley of Georgia after a short trip
there to meet officials and refugees. A few years back the
Pankisi Valley was at the centre of a diplomatic row
between Russia
and Georgia, Moscow accusing Georgia of giving shelter
to militants. Today the Valley is quiet, the militants
have
left and the remaining civilian refugees have been
forgotten.
Officially their number is approximately 1900 but many
more are unregistered. Their situation is nearly desperate;
there
are a lot of babies and young kids with no food support.
For the elderly the situation is even more dramatic.
On the plus side, bureaucratic delays are minimal in
Georgia
and
our aid program can be implemented immediately.
The
war is far from over: in the first two weeks of May 2006,
over a hundred people were killed and injured
in
Chechnya
according to Russian sources that usually try to
disguise the true figures. According to the latest Amnesty
International
report (May 2006), serious human rights abuses by
Russian federal forces and the current Chechen administration,
including "disappearances",
abductions, torture, killings and arbitrary detention
continue on a daily basis.
We are constantly monitoring for new projects
to be carried out in Chechnya and as there are opportunities
we will let you know.
We ask for your financial support to help us
alleviate some of the suffering of this small nation whose
plight remains virtually ignored by the rest of the world.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further
information.
May 2006
Carlo di Pamparato
Chairman
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