বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (ত্রয়োদশ খণ্ড)/৬১
| শিরোনাম | সূত্র | তারিখ |
| মার্কিন আন্তঃএজেন্সী কমিটির শরণার্থী ত্রাণ সম্পর্কিত রিপোর্ট | পররাষ্ট্র দপ্তর | ১৭ আগষ্ট, ১৯৭১ |
INTER-AGENCY COMMITTEE ON PAKISTANI-REFUGEE RELIEF
U. S. Voluntary: Agencies in Action
"Only one in ten or twenty families have a sleeping mat with them and one in thirty seem to have a metal tool of any kind. As though they were in permanent shock and walked out of a village to visit a neighbor and kept on going."
Thus an official of Church World Service described the condition of refugees he saw- arriving in India from Pakistan. The refugees now number more than 7.5 million. The Church World Service official was there to see how his group could help. Church World Service is one of 17 American voluntary' agencies which have committed $2.5 million in money, material or both to the world-wide effort to help the refugees.
Different relief agencies have focused on various needs. CARE, for example, has directed its efforts to food, shelter and sanitation. CARE quickly made available $ 480,000 to buy 12,000 tarpaulins-enough to shelter 180,000 people. CARE has also worked closely with the Indian Government's Ministry of Rehabilitation to distribute wheat and other foods.
The International Rescue Committee pays expenses so refugee doctors and teachers can assist other refugees in the camps. It is also assisting refugee artists and writers.
Three teams of Medical Mission Sisters work in the area near Rajibpur.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) works through its counterpart and is providing food, medicines, medical equipment, and baby foods to care for well over 500,000 children and adults.
Church World Service, at the time of the epidemic, sent cholera vaccine, syringes for inoculations, water purification tablets, and money to buy tarpaulins for shelter. It is also helping to feed refugees and is supporting, along with the Mennonite Central Committee and Lutheran World Relief, the Christian Agency for Social Action (CASA) in India,
Lutheran World Relief is working with CASA in feeding and providing medical care and other refugee services. The Cooch Behar Refugee Service works directly with the Government of India and is supported by the Lutheran World Federation and other national Lutheran organizations.
The World Vision Relief Organization has begun several projects such as care for orphans, providing milk-saline solution to fight cholera, and giving tarpaulins for shelter, Many other American agencies have also acted and all seventeen, with contribution totals and addresses, are listed at the end of this report.
The United States Government, through its Interagency Committee on Pakistani Refugee Relief, is working closely with the voluntary agencies. Six of these agencies American National Red Cross, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Church World Service, Lutheran World Relief, Mennonite Central Committee are allowed duty-free entry for their goods into India under the Indo-American Agreement of 1951 and several other American voluntary agencies have sent their contributions through the facilities of these six.
The United States Government, through Title II of Public Law 480, is providing most of the foods distributed by the voluntary agencies. The initial feeding efforts of the refugees by the agencies began last Spring with PL 480 foods which the agencies had stocked in India for their school feeding, food for work and other on-going programs. These stocks are being depleted by the massive influx of refugees but will be replenished with new shipments by the United States Government.
Mr. Frank L. Kellogg, who, as Chairman of the Inter-agency Committee, coordinates the U.S. Government's relief effort for the refugees, has said of the voluntary groups; “Their efforts and their personal knowledge of conditions in India have made an invaluable contribution to this fight against famine, malnutrition and sickness. They add sickness. They add so the relief effort a personal, human touch for which there is no substitute in Government. “
M
gr. Kollogg realizes that many Americans would like to help the refugees and suggests that the voluntary agencies are an excellent channel. Those who wish to help the East Pakistani refugees in India can best do so by sending cash contributions through one of the voluntary agencies listed below. Contributions are tax deductible.
American voluntary efforts are, of course, just a part of the world-wide effort to help the refugees. Total contributions from governments and private agencies are now about $151,000,000 of this, $70.5 million is from the U. S. Government. Still, the cost of caring for the refugees is estimated at $350 to $400 million for a six month periodwith some $200 million expended so far. The major burden, in money and personnel effort, has fallen on India through its government and private agencies.
Frank L. Kellogg:
Chairman, Interagency Committee
on Pakistani Refugee Relief.