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CNN Live At Daybreak
Interview With International Red Cross Spokesman
Aired April 10, 2003 - 06:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: So much focus was put on yesterday with Baghdad and all of the celebrations, the pulling down of that big Saddam Hussein statue, and yet there is still a big problem in that city, getting help, getting humanitarian aid and getting medical assistance to the people who need it.
We have on the phone with us right now Roland Huguenin-Benjamin. He is with the International Red Cross, and he joins us from inside of Baghdad right now.
Mr. Benjamin, thanks for being with us.
ROLAND HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Hello?
KAGAN: Yes, you're with us on CNN right now, Mr. Benjamin. Can you tell me the status of the International Red Cross inside of Baghdad? Have you suspended operations for your group?
BENJAMIN: We have suspended only one yesterday because of the case of one of our convoys had come under fire and one of our colleagues was fatally wounded. We have resumed operations as of today, and our concern is that -- now the situation is, of course, completely different from what it was during the military engagement, but security remains very patchy.
And the question is that many hospitals, including lots of other governmental properties, of course, have come under looting. And right now, there are major hospitals that are suffering from attacks, as unbelievable as it may seem, by people who are engaged in looting activities. Patients have been carried out in some cases. A lot of people are not able to reach hospitals when they need to. We are speaking now of patients with kidney dialysis needs. And they are not able to travel from their residence to where the hospital is where they get their regular treatment, because there are too many people with guns around.
We hear every now and then in some places some exchange of fire, which cannot be identified. And this looting activity going on in an incredibly unprecedented scale is frightening for (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's a very strange situation.
KAGAN: Mr. Benjamin, my condolences, first of all and foremost, on the loss of your Red Cross worker. We wish you well in trying to get the work back going inside of Baghdad. You paint a picture that sounds much more dire than just the celebration we saw on the streets of the Iraqi capital today. That is Roland Huguenin-Benjamin from the International Red Cross. And up until now, the Red Cross has had to suspend medical operations within the capital city.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired April 10, 2003 - 06:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: So much focus was put on yesterday with Baghdad and all of the celebrations, the pulling down of that big Saddam Hussein statue, and yet there is still a big problem in that city, getting help, getting humanitarian aid and getting medical assistance to the people who need it.
We have on the phone with us right now Roland Huguenin-Benjamin. He is with the International Red Cross, and he joins us from inside of Baghdad right now.
Mr. Benjamin, thanks for being with us.
ROLAND HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Hello?
KAGAN: Yes, you're with us on CNN right now, Mr. Benjamin. Can you tell me the status of the International Red Cross inside of Baghdad? Have you suspended operations for your group?
BENJAMIN: We have suspended only one yesterday because of the case of one of our convoys had come under fire and one of our colleagues was fatally wounded. We have resumed operations as of today, and our concern is that -- now the situation is, of course, completely different from what it was during the military engagement, but security remains very patchy.
And the question is that many hospitals, including lots of other governmental properties, of course, have come under looting. And right now, there are major hospitals that are suffering from attacks, as unbelievable as it may seem, by people who are engaged in looting activities. Patients have been carried out in some cases. A lot of people are not able to reach hospitals when they need to. We are speaking now of patients with kidney dialysis needs. And they are not able to travel from their residence to where the hospital is where they get their regular treatment, because there are too many people with guns around.
We hear every now and then in some places some exchange of fire, which cannot be identified. And this looting activity going on in an incredibly unprecedented scale is frightening for (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's a very strange situation.
KAGAN: Mr. Benjamin, my condolences, first of all and foremost, on the loss of your Red Cross worker. We wish you well in trying to get the work back going inside of Baghdad. You paint a picture that sounds much more dire than just the celebration we saw on the streets of the Iraqi capital today. That is Roland Huguenin-Benjamin from the International Red Cross. And up until now, the Red Cross has had to suspend medical operations within the capital city.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
