World Begins to Hear Cries of Hungry Asians

Cries for help by tens of thousands of hungry Asians stranded in Jordan after fleeing Kuwait are finally being heard by other nations, but there still were concerns Wednesday that the aid could come too late.

The multitudes, now living in makeshift desert camps, are fighting for food and water, and many are on the verge of starvation.

Jordan’s Crown Prince Hassan chided the international community earlier this week for its slow response to his government’s pleas for aid.

The International Organization for Migration announced Wednesday that it will begin an airlift today to evacuate 19,000 people over the next two weeks. It said it plans 72 flights at a cost of about $12 million.

Foreign correspondents visiting the stinking camp near Ruweishid on the Jordanian-Iraqi border, were surrounded by hordes of bedraggled Bangladeshis and other Asian nationals pleading for deliverance from the blazing desert.

“Tell the world we will die here if we are not helped,” was one of the anguished cries heard over and over in the camp on an expanse of stony desert.

About 40,000 Asians are packed into the camp, which lacks basic sanitary and other amenities.

Some are crammed into tents, but shelter for most is a woman’s sari spread overhead to provide some shade from the fierce sun. The severe food shortage has caused people to fight over scraps of bread.

The official Jordanian news agency Petra said Wednesday that 605,277 evacuees have crossed into Jordan since Aug. 2, when the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait sparked the exodus of foreigners from the two countries.

The vast majority of evacuees have left Jordan, but 105,000 Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Indians, Sri Lankans, Thais and Filipinos are stranded in camps scattered throughout Jordan, waiting for transportation home, Petra said.

Nearly 20,000 more cross into Jordan every day, but only half that number leave daily, the agency said.

The West German government announced Tuesday that it had dispatched a 167-seat aircraft that over the past 10 days evacuated 6,000 Egyptian nationals stranded at Jordan’s Red Sea port of Aqaba.

Sweden, Denmark and Norway on Wednesday together pledged $14 million in aid; Finland pledged $2.5 million, and Italy $3.4 million.

Where to Send Refugee Aid

The following is a list of aid agencies accepting donations of cash for thousands of refugees fleeing from Iraq and Kuwait to Jordan, provided by InterAction, a coalition of private voluntary agencies:

American Red Cross

Middle East Refugee Crisis

Box 37243

Washington, D.C. 20013

(800) 842-2200

AmeriCares Foundation

161 Cherry St.

New Canaan, CT 06840

(800) 486-HELP

Church World Service

Box 968

Elkhart, IN 46515

(219) 264-3102

Direct Relief International

Box 30820

Santa Barbara, CA 93130-0820

(805) 687-3694

World Relief

390 Park Ave. South

New York, NY 10016-8803

(212) 532-6350

Operation USA

7615 1/2 Melrose Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90046

(213) 658-8876

Save the Children

Middle East Refugee Crisis

Box 965

Westport, CT 06881

(203) 226-7271

World Relief

Box WRC

Wheaton, IL 60187

(312) 665-0235

World Vision

919 West Huntington Dr.

Monrovia, CA 91016

(800) 423-4200

Those wishing to donate goods or services should contact Volunteers in Technical Assistance at (703) 276-1914. Donations will be placed on an electronic bulletin board and made available to responding agencies and other relief professionals.