February 10, 2017

They Are #NotATarget

located:	Afghanistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) lost six of its staff members to an armed assault in the war-ravaged Afghanistan earlier this week.

This is not the first time humanitarian activists have paid the price with their lives to help the needy ones in Afghanistan. The vicious cycle seems unstoppable noting the fact that these nonaligned servants of humanity are feeling more and more insecure in the wake of growing threats. The Kabul government, the Taliban rebels, the international community and all other warning parties to the Afghan conflict urgently need to guarantee the safety of the aid workers so that they feel safe and secure to reach those in need in the far away mountains, restive villages and insecure urban centers of the country.

Thousands of aid workers striving for positive change in the lives of the Afghans need to be reassured they are #NotATarget. The International Humanitarian Law provides them the cover, and this needs to be respected because it not only affects the aid workers but many many more in the community who desperately need them.

The six local team members of the ICRC were on their way to provide aid to a similar remote countryside in northern Afghan province of Jawzjan which saw destruction on massive scale after the recent snowstorm and avalanches. They were killed on Wednesday 08 February. Two members of the aid convoy are still missing.

The ambush has been widely condemned by the Afghan government, the UN, the EU and the global humanitarian community. All of us need not to forget those who put their lives everyday just to be of some help to those who are less privileged. And, the best way to pay homage to them is to ensure there are no restrains or fears in their way to serve humanity under all circumstances.