The Editor,
I refer to your article "Preah Vihear: Northern Isolation"
(Phnom Penh Post July 14 - 27) and wish to provide the following
comments.
World Food Program (WFP) has never abandoned Preah Vihear as
claimed. As among the only two international agencies, alongside AICF, providing
aid to Preah Vihear, WFP is continuing to do our best to deliver food assistance
there. It is true that transport of food to Preah Vihear has been interrupted a
number of times this year. However, negotiations with transporters to take food
up to Preah Vihear is ongoing and possibilities for reverting to local purchases
of rice is also under consideration. It should be noted that in 1994, road
transport was even more difficult than this year, and WFP had locally purchased
a total of 900 mt of rice in Preah Vihear for collaborative activities with
AICF.
Unfortunately your article appears to suggest that WFP has
simplistically abandoned Preah Vihear due to security problems. WFP, in
collaboration with the Cambodian Red Cross, delivers assistance to over 16
provinces of Cambodia, targeting many remote communes where no other
international or national agencies operate due to security reasons. We have
always tried our utmost to access these areas and often have to make many
attempts at high cost and risk before getting through. Preah Vihear is no
exception and we will continue to try our best to deliver assistance to this
province.
- Philippe Borel, WFP Country Director.
The Editor,
In a story published in the Phnom Penh Post 14 July, several aspects of
Action Internationale Contre la Faim (AICF) work in Preah Vihear are called into
question. This version does not square with reality.
AICF has been
present in the province since 1993 with health and irrigation programs. The
situation in Preah Vihear has prompted us to carry out the World Food Programme
(WFP) projects since 1993; in 1995, AICF has distributd 80 tonnes of rice.
Surveys have been sent to account on these activities and the quality of the
NGO's work.
Denis Girard never claimed to be mad, even though some say
this in Phnom Penh. It is enough to go on site and assess the security measures
taken: an evacuation plan with the full knowledge of provincial and military
authorities, and daily and permanent radio stand-by. We also use the UNO urgency
frequencies.
AICF has received funding from ECHO (European Community
Humanitarian Office) for food distributions. In our concern for clarity, we
stopped our collaboration with WFP by mutual agreement. It is doubtless it will
be for a limited time. With funding from ECHO, we have carried out a Food For
Work program for six months with 1,700 tonnes of rice given to four provinces.
AICF did not "ditch" WFP. On the contrary, we appreciate its presence and a
close collaboration exists in the four provinces where we are working (Prey
Veng, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap and Preah Vihear). AICF deals specifically
with families and villages, whereas WFP, thanks to its more numerous operational
capacities, is able to carry out larger scale programs up to the provincial
level.
"AICF supervises the project less strictly than would WFP" -
that's absolutely wrong. Supervision criteria, such as selection of
beneficiaries, carrying out of work, follow up at work sites and food
distribution, are in operation. Moreover, contrary to the Post article, rice
given for work done fits with International Work Office studies - we don't give
"ten times more" than WFP.
Projects are assessed by an ECHO official
from Brussels, Bruno Maes, and by AICF official Brigitte Deladoeille. At the end
of any program, a narrative and financial survey is published for the benefit of
the backers and the local partners. AICF works with the European Union and with
USAID and is therefore subject to operational and financial audits from both
organizations.
Your article implies that "we understand that food is
distributed on the local market". Regular market visits allow us to follow the
distributed foodstuffs If we can accept a small part of the food be bartered on
the market (it allows our beneficiaries to vary their diet), too much bartered
food would provoke a radical modification of our strategy and we would stop
distributions.
To date, AICF has donated 235,407 tonnes of rice in Preah
Vihear for 21,125 people. We deplore the use of several sentences in the article
out of context. The paper underlines the "competition" between WFP and AICF -
that does not fit with reality. In a lot of countries, such as Cambodia, AICF
depends on UN agencies for safety and funding. We are congratulating ourselves
for the confident relations and the excellent quality of past achievements.
- Ludovic Bourbe, Chef de Mission, AICF, Phnom Penh. (Translated from
French)
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