Bombs and bullets prioritised over people
It’s now just over 12 months since the Malian government was overthrown in a military coup led by disaffected soldiers unhappy with their leader’s inability to counter rebels who had seized the north of the country. However, rather than stopping the rebels’ march, the coup enabled the insurgents, many of them linked with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), to tighten their grip on northern Mali, taking the historic city of Timbuktu as they advanced south towards the capital Bamako.
This development prompted France to send in soldiers and carry out air strikes, citing concerns that an Islamist domination of northern Mali could act as a base for attacks on the West.
As the conflict developed, it was the stories of daring French commando raids, militant Islamist fighters intent on imposing strict Sharia law, the threat to the fabled city of Timbuktu, and now the deployment of Irish soldiers which have caught the attention. Tragically, the devastating toll on Mali’s people has been overlooked.
The fighting has displaced almost 500,000 Malians, more than half of whom are children. More than 250,000 have been forced to flee northern Mali, were the conflict particularly impacted on girls. There have been reports of girls being beaten for talking to men and having to stop their schooling among attempts by the insurgents to impose a Taliban style of Islam. Some have escaped to avoid early marriage or the threat of physical and psychological violence.
Though the south of Mali has provided the escapees with relative security, they are now subjected to living in temporary cramped conditions, lacking basic services and unsure if they will ever be able to return home.
A further 200,000 Malians have been forced to flee to refugee camps in neighbouring states of Niger and Burkina Faso, putting an immense strain on these impoverished nations.
Exacerbating Mali’s plight is the serious ongoing food crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa. It is estimated that 660,000 Malians are at risk of acute malnutrition and more than 1.2m across the country are at risk of food shortages. The conflict had hindered farmers working in the fields and transporting goods to market, and it is feared another food crisis is looming.
Plan has been operating in Mali since 1976, working through community-based organisations to deliver programmes to 1.8m people. In 2012, Plan started responding to the Mali conflict by providing relief access to education, child protection, food distribution and non-food items.
In Burkina Faso and Niger, Plan is managing several refugee camps providing water, sanitation, education and protection.
Despite recent progress made by the military in recapturing occupied territories, the plight of Mali’s displaced remains bleak. Much of this can be attributed to the response of international donors, which has been woefully inadequate. Pledged aid promises have fallen far short of committed levels while perversely, donors have not been slow in committing resources to fund military efforts.
In January, at a conference in Addis Ababa, donors were quick to open their treasuries and underwrite a staggering $455m (€352m) to finance the military campaign. This at a time when aid agencies had received barely 1% of the $370m they had sought for the Sahel region since last year. Since then, aid donations have increased to 15%, however, it is still grossly insufficient to provide the substantial emergency response required.
Furthermore, compared to the Syrian crisis where the total appeal is $1.56bn of which about 40% has been raised and another $1.26bn has been pledged, Mali’s desperate needs have been overlooked. This appears to suggest that if you are a child born in a particular corner of the world you will receive more aid than a child also suffering in conflict in another part.
It seems that with regard to the plight of ordinary Malians, money talks and many have been simply priced out of the conversation. Bombs and bullets have been prioritised over children’s welfare.
Irish soldiers have a strong record of helping to improve human rights and civilian protection in conflict zones and I am optimistic their mission can help to have a stabilising effect.
However, more fundamentally, I also hope their presence will bring renewed focus to the plight of the tens of thousands of vulnerable people caught up in this protracted conflict who so far, have been largely ignored.
* More than 350 children in Mali are sponsored by Irish people. To contribute to Plan Ireland’s work in Mali go to plan.ie or call 1800 829 829.
* David Dalton is CEO of Plan Ireland.
