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American Morning
Challenge of Getting Humanitarian Aid to Iraq
Aired April 23, 2003 - 07:39 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to look now at the challenge of getting urgently needed humanitarian aid to Iraq. Expecting to play a key role in this effort is one of Iraq's neighbors, Jordan.
Our Rym Brahimi is in Amman right now. She spoke with Queen Rania.
Rym is here now with more on that -- good afternoon to you, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Heidi.
Indeed, Queen Rania of Jordan spoke a lot about her concern for the Iraqi people. She mentioned in particular her concern for the children in Iraq that have been severely effected and traumatized by the war and has suggested that, is trying to work on efforts to evacuate some of those children that are in very, very bad condition, to try and offer them some measure of relief here in Jordan.
Now, another couple of ideas that the Queen raised were the idea of Jordan being a launch pad for humanitarian aid operations. Jordan has already sent, gathered some blood, made blood donations. They've already sent in a field hospital that's being set up right now on the outskirts of Baghdad. So a lot has been happening.
But they're faced with a serious problem, and that is security. There's a lot of uncertainty about the road from Jordan to Baghdad and, of course, that means that a lot of humanitarian agencies are finding it difficult to bring in whatever aid is needed.
Let's hear what Queen Rania had to say about this issue of stability and how the lack of a cohesive government in Iraq is affecting this humanitarian effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEEN RANIA, JORDAN: We will accept whatever government the Iraqi people recognizes. They're the ones who have lived under the previous regime. They're the ones who have suffered for 23 years during three wars and for 12 years under economic sanctions. They're the best people who can judge what kind of government that they would want. And, you know, one of the main, the main important elements that need to be established now is establish trust with the Iraqi people. And in order to establish this trust, there need to be clear lines of communication with the people, to try to give them some visibility into their future. Don't forget that the Iraqi people have experienced a massive upheaval. You know, there's a great deal of uncertainty and disarray in the country. And they need to be able to know where they're heading.
BRAHIMI: There's a lot of doubt among Arabs inside and outside of Iraq about the motivations of the coalition when it comes to this war.
RANIA: There are very high expectations from the Iraqi people from America because they view America as a powerful country with many resources at its disposal and therefore the ability to bring about swift changes is really, if it really puts its mind to it. So therefore you have to manage expectations, as well.
It is going to take a long time to build this trust, but it is very important for the coalition forces to make it their top priority to build this trust with the Iraqi people.
BRAHIMI: What does the coalition and the U.S. in particular have to do to gain some measure of trust from the Arab people?
RANIA: I think one of the most crucial things that need to be done is trying to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track. The lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has left a deep undercurrent of cynicism in the Arab world and has allowed wounds to fester for far too long. And this has resulted in a lot of anger, a lot of frustration, and therefore a rise in extremism and terrorism, in many cases.
All of the world needs this peace process to move forward. And I think giving up on a peace process will be giving up on the futures of millions of people in our good night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRAHIMI: As you can see, a humanitarian discussion also involved with a lot of politics, as well. Humanitarian efforts can only be helped by stability and stability on a much wider scale than just Iraq -- back to you, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Rym Brahimi live from Amman this morning.
Thanks, Rym.
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 23, 2003 - 07:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to look now at the challenge of getting urgently needed humanitarian aid to Iraq. Expecting to play a key role in this effort is one of Iraq's neighbors, Jordan.
Our Rym Brahimi is in Amman right now. She spoke with Queen Rania.
Rym is here now with more on that -- good afternoon to you, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Heidi.
Indeed, Queen Rania of Jordan spoke a lot about her concern for the Iraqi people. She mentioned in particular her concern for the children in Iraq that have been severely effected and traumatized by the war and has suggested that, is trying to work on efforts to evacuate some of those children that are in very, very bad condition, to try and offer them some measure of relief here in Jordan.
Now, another couple of ideas that the Queen raised were the idea of Jordan being a launch pad for humanitarian aid operations. Jordan has already sent, gathered some blood, made blood donations. They've already sent in a field hospital that's being set up right now on the outskirts of Baghdad. So a lot has been happening.
But they're faced with a serious problem, and that is security. There's a lot of uncertainty about the road from Jordan to Baghdad and, of course, that means that a lot of humanitarian agencies are finding it difficult to bring in whatever aid is needed.
Let's hear what Queen Rania had to say about this issue of stability and how the lack of a cohesive government in Iraq is affecting this humanitarian effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEEN RANIA, JORDAN: We will accept whatever government the Iraqi people recognizes. They're the ones who have lived under the previous regime. They're the ones who have suffered for 23 years during three wars and for 12 years under economic sanctions. They're the best people who can judge what kind of government that they would want. And, you know, one of the main, the main important elements that need to be established now is establish trust with the Iraqi people. And in order to establish this trust, there need to be clear lines of communication with the people, to try to give them some visibility into their future. Don't forget that the Iraqi people have experienced a massive upheaval. You know, there's a great deal of uncertainty and disarray in the country. And they need to be able to know where they're heading.
BRAHIMI: There's a lot of doubt among Arabs inside and outside of Iraq about the motivations of the coalition when it comes to this war.
RANIA: There are very high expectations from the Iraqi people from America because they view America as a powerful country with many resources at its disposal and therefore the ability to bring about swift changes is really, if it really puts its mind to it. So therefore you have to manage expectations, as well.
It is going to take a long time to build this trust, but it is very important for the coalition forces to make it their top priority to build this trust with the Iraqi people.
BRAHIMI: What does the coalition and the U.S. in particular have to do to gain some measure of trust from the Arab people?
RANIA: I think one of the most crucial things that need to be done is trying to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track. The lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has left a deep undercurrent of cynicism in the Arab world and has allowed wounds to fester for far too long. And this has resulted in a lot of anger, a lot of frustration, and therefore a rise in extremism and terrorism, in many cases.
All of the world needs this peace process to move forward. And I think giving up on a peace process will be giving up on the futures of millions of people in our good night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRAHIMI: As you can see, a humanitarian discussion also involved with a lot of politics, as well. Humanitarian efforts can only be helped by stability and stability on a much wider scale than just Iraq -- back to you, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Rym Brahimi live from Amman this morning.
Thanks, Rym.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
