Afghanistan Somberly Marks International Peace Day after Murder of UN Doctors
September 21, 2008
Afghanistan will observe International Peace Day today with an unprecedented amount of festivities throughout the country. “In contrast to the conflict and violence around us, the peace campaign in Afghanistan in 2008 is potentially the biggest this country has seen,” United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) spokesperson Adrian Lewis said.
The celebrations follow a string of deadly attacks, including the murder of three UN workers earlier this week.
At 9:40 a.m. on September 14th, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a UN convoy killing two local doctors, their driver, and 15 others including five of the convoy’s guards and ten civilians in the southeastern town of Spin Boldak. The doctors, whose names were not released, were implementing a World Health Organization (WHO) polio eradication program in the region. All of the vehicles were clearly marked as UN property.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to the WHO, polio is a highly infectious viral disease which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system. Many infected people have no symptoms but do excrete the virus in their feces, transmitting it to others. Initial symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and pain in the limbs. Polio can lead to permanent paralysis and can only be prevented by immunization.
The WHO, in partnership with the Afghan government and other agencies such as UNICEF, began its mission to eradicate polio from the country after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Since then, more than 15 million children have been immunized. In order to be effective, however, every child must be immunized and must undergo several vaccinations over a specified period of time.
This week’s attack has jeopardized polio eradication in Afghanistan. In an interview with Agence France Presse, WHO spokesperson Sona Bari confirmed the organization cancelled its eradication campaigns in southern Afghanistan. CAHR sources said that campaigns in other areas will continue and the WHO will resume activity in southern Afghanistan later this fall if the security situation improves. Given the rising violence in Afghanistan and the targeting of UN and other aid workers, improved security seem unlikely.
In addition to the UN, Taliban forces killed three women and one man working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Mohammad Aimal, Shirley Case, Nicole Dial, and Jacqueline Kirk were shot multiple times on August 13th while working on IRC projects related to children’s health and education. The IRC suspended its activities in Afghanistan after the attack.
In addition to the activities planned, businesses and stores across Afghanistan will hoist blue flags for peace and telecom companies will send out peace messages. The thousands of Afghans organizing the celebrations hope their efforts will cause the call for peace to be heard.