One of the few relief agencies still on the ground in Iraq, Portland-based
Mercy Corps continues to provide aid in regions racked by chaos and violence. I truly admire these folks for their perseverance. This story has a lot to say about the real conditions on the ground in Iraq--if things were going as well as Bush thinks, aid organizations would be pouring in.
"There's no one else," says David Holdridge in this Oregonian article, which gives you the sense that no place is safe in Iraq in spite of our Commander-in-Chief's rosy pronouncements.
They've all gone, says David Holdridge, Mercy Corps' director in Iraq. U.S. government contractors assigned to rebuild schools and fix water and sewer systems departed months ago from the troubled areas where the Portland-based relief organization works, Holdridge says.
Marines, Army and coalition reconstruction forces also left the provinces southeast of Baghdad, he says.
According to Holdridge, other aid organizations pulled out, the Marines pulled out, Bechtel pulled out, and reconstruction funds aren't coming through. He blames contention between the Pentagon and the State Department for the slow pace of funding.
Now, he says, U.S. reconstruction money only trickles into the south-central provinces where he works. "It's an embarrassment to me" as an American, Holdridge says, faulting U.S. bureaucratic mismanagement in Baghdad. As a result of the bickering, he says, "we're going to lose the whole game."
Americans apparently aren't really in favor of the Pottery Barn rule and don't seem interested in donating money to help:
Fund-raising for work in Iraq is not easy. Mercy Corps has been able to raise more private money this year for Sudan than for Iraq. Photos from Iraq don't resonate the same way with donors.
So the agency carries on, relying mostly on U.S. government support. "We can only meet a fraction of the needs," Holdridge says.
Looks like the 100,000 trained police/army folks haven't helped out the aid organizations. Where can they be?
Cross-posted at The American Street.