Nicaragua relief effort hampered

Hurricane Mitch killed nearly 4,000 people in Nicaragua and caused $1 billion in damage. Now the Government is playing political games with the relief effort. Mike Phipps reports.

The exclusion of key organisations of civil society from Nicaragua's National Emergency Committee is causing problems in distributing aid to hurricane victims. The Emergency Committee's work is incoherent, inexperienced and disorderly, causing delays and more suffering for victims. The problem is compounded by the Government's initial refusal to call a state of emergency because this would give too much control of the situation to the army.

Meanwhile religious groups have denounced the Government for placing obstacles to donations entering Nicaragua from evangelical churches abroad. They also attacked the exclusive use of Catholic bishops and priests to direct relief aid and criticised the 15% rake-off from all donations taken by the state. On the Atlantic Coast too, the Government's scant regard for some 45,000 coastal people affected by the hurricane has been attacked as racist.

President Aleman, in his trips to affected communities, has been met by a wave of hostility due to his inaction and politicisation of the relief effort. In Dario, one of the towns hardest hit by the hurricane, Aleman was visibly shaken by the insults hurled at him. Similar occurrences took place in Leon and Chinandega. Anger mounted following his refusal to accept an offer of help from Cuban doctors.

Meanwhile the United States and the European Union have reportedly suspended shrimp imports from Nicaragua, due to the fear of water contamination. This could result in a net loss of earnings of $100 million annually - shrimp is the second biggest export after coffee.

Hurricane Mitch's impact on El Salvador has also gone largely unreported. Several hundred were killed, 45,000 people made homeless and 100,000 families affected by mudslides and flooding - all this in a country the size of Wales. Here too the Government has been criticised for centralising the aid, stamping it with the ruling party's logo and distributing it only through party channels. Badly affected areas that sympathise with the opposition FMLN have been deprioritised.

The El Salvador Network can supply details on how to get aid to these areas directly; contact 11 Devonshire Road, Liverpool L8 3TX, tel 0151-728 7118.

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