North Caucasus NGO Monitor
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Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 08:42:45 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: North Caucasus NGO Monitor
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Andre Kamenshikov ninis <[email protected]>
North Caucasus NGO Monitor
NORTH CAUCASUS NGO MONITOR
As the new war in Chechnya escalates, the role of NGOs based in the
troubled regions of the North Caucasus increases. Local organizations
are faced with two gigantic tasks - assisting hundreds of thousands of
victims and (implicitly) attempting to contain and minimize violence.
Though the capacity of local NGOs remains quite limited, their simple
presence in the region means a great deal to various international
organizations, which hope to bring assistance to the war torn areas.
In a sense, now is pay off time for any investments in the NGO sector
of the North Caucasus. In the last issue of the "Monitor" we wrote
about how the activities of local and Moscow-based NGOs helped prevent
the development of an inter-ethnic conflict in Dagestan. We continue
to monitor the situation in that region. However, today an extremely
important task lies in front of NGOs located in Ingushetia, which
currently hosts the bulk of the refugees from war-torn Chechnya.
1. Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development is assisting
Chechen Refugees in Ingushetia.
Despite the tragic situation currently developing in the North
Caucasus, the Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development, which
we wrote about in the March issue of the "Monitor", is currently
continuing and expanding its operations in this violent region. The
new war in Chechnya forced the Centre to move its operations to
neighboring Ingushetia - an area that hosted over 200,000 internally
displaced people from Chechnya.
In such a difficult situation the Centre for Peacemaking and Community
Development expanded its activities. Today's activities of CPCD
include:
Continuing psychological rehabilitation work with children. CPCD moved
its staff who managed the "Little star" center in Grozny (see the
March issue of the "Monitor") to a number of refugee camps in
Ingushetia. Tents were set up in 4 such camps where CPCD staff
continues to work with children, traumatized by the war. These include
the "Severnaya tochka" camp near the town of Sleptsovskaya and 3
refugee camps around Karabulak. Currently there are 15 people
continuing this type of work. Also, CPCD plans to take a group of 50
refugee children out to Nalchik (Kabardino-Balkaria) for a three-week
rest every month.
Another important activity of the Centre for Peacemaking and Community
Development is distribution of humanitarian aid. CPCD has already
distributed a few thousand blankets and warm clothes for refugee
children. A new program that CPCD is currently becoming involved in is
the distribution of 2000 food parcels to refugee families. The plan is
to provide such aid once every two weeks.
Currently CPCD has an office in the "Assa" hotel in Nazran.
The activities of CPCD as well as of other similar organizations
clearly highlight the important role that NGOs may play during such
tragic events as the ones we currently see developing in the North
Caucasus.
Address:
Nazran, "Assa" hotel, room 203
Ingushetia, Russian Federation
Contact person: Murat Tangiev, Adlan Adaev
Phone: 87322-63203
2. Reconstruction and reconciliation efforts in Dagestan.
In the last issue of the "Monitor" we wrote about the important work,
which was carried out by local and Moscow-based NGOs during the
military conflict on the Chechen-Dagestan border. We shared our
opinion that these efforts plaid an important role in preventing a
further escalation of violence and the development of an inter-ethnic
conflict in Dagestan. Today these same NGOs are working on
reconstruction and reconciliation in the areas, affected by the
fighting.
The idea of the program is to use the process of restoring houses,
destroyed during the war, in order to unite representatives of various
ethnic groups, living in and around the areas affected by military
action. Among the people of Dagestan a tradition of "peoples
construction" exists, when local communities unite to help people, who
require assistance in building homes.
As a first step, on November 11 the Dagestan Regional Charitable Fund
"Salvation" began assisting reconstruction efforts in the Novolak
district of Dagestan. A number of houses were repaired by a group of
builders representing various ethnic communities. Focus was made on
restoring those houses that did not require serious capital
investment. This mainly involved repairing roofs and windows, in order
to create the minimal living conditions. Especially important was the
active involvement of Dagestan Chechens in repairing houses of people,
that suffered from the aggression, which came from neighboring
Chechnya. The "Monitor" wrote about the tensions that developed
between Dagestan Chechens and other Dagestan peoples as a consequence
of the fighting in August-September 1999. The active involvement of
local Chechens in the reconstruction efforts in the Novolak district
of Dagestan helps in restoring decent relationships between them and
other ethnic communities, preventing the development of "enemy images"
inside the Dagestan society.
Today the Dagestan Regional Charitable Fund "Salvation" is actively
seeking funds to continue this important program that has both a
humanitarian and psychological aspect.
Address:
Hasavyurt, Zarechnaja street, 63
368005, Dagestan Republic,
Russian Federation
Chairman: Djavtaev Umar Hamzatovich.
Phone: 872310-4126
3. The Association of conflictologists of the Stavropol Region wins
prize for its work with traumatized children.
The Moscow Open Society Institute has awarded the Association of
conflictologists of the Stavropol region with the prize in honor of
Mother Theresa. This was done in recognition of the work that was
carried out by a group of local psychologists that helped children,
who suffered psychological trauma during a terrorist raid on the city
of Budyennovsk in June 1995.
The first phase of this program took place during the fall - winter
1998-99. 4 professional psychologists who have worked on
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) trained a local team of 5 local
people (graduates of local institutes in the fields of pedagogic and
psychology). Following the training, work was carried out with 171
children, who were diagnosed with PTSD among nearly 1000 tested. Most
of these children suffered during the terrorist attack on Budyenovsk
in June 1995, during the war in Chechnya. The treatment brought
results - children began doing better in school, stopped suffering
from nightmares, etc.
Most of the funding for the first stage of the program was provided by
the Russian social-political movement "Yabloko".
based on the first stage of the program, a project was prepared aimed
to expand the treatment to all Budyennovsk children, traumatized
during the terrorist act and to involve their parents in the therapy.
The local administration contributed to the program by providing an
office and some salaries for local psychologists. The "Yabloko"
movement is currently discussing the possibility of continued funding
and the prize, received from the Open Society Institute will certainly
contribute to the continuation of this important work.
Address:
Lenin sq. 1, room 115
Stavropol, 355000
Russian Federation
Phone: (8652) 26-76-36
Contact: Berdnik Alexander Andreevich
"North Caucasus NGO Monitor" is a publication produced by members of
the Nonviolence International - Newly Independent States" (NI-NIS) on
a fellowship from the Open Society Institute in Budapest. Its goals
are:
- to help in exploring new approaches for humanitarian activities
which allow supporting elements of civil society in the North
Caucasus, while significantly lowering the security risks associated
with such activities;
- to provide continuous information about constructive activities of
NGOs on a community level in areas of tension and conflict in the
North Caucasus;
- to highlight the work of dedicated local activists, who despite
extreme difficulties work toward peace, reconciliation, social and
economical revival of their communities.
Phone and fax numbers in the bulletin are given with the Russian
internal area codes. When dialing from outside Russia or the CIS
states, the numbers provided must be preceded with 7 - Russia's
country code.
Names are given according to the Russian standard - surname before the
first name.
For questions and comments as well as to get additional information
about NGO activities in the North Caucasus please contact:
Nonviolence International - Newly Independent States,
Contact person - Kamenshikov Andre
Luchnikov Lane, house 4, entrance 3, room 2
Moscow, Russia, 103982
Tel. (095) 206-8618 or 351-4855, fax 206-8853,
E-mail: [email protected]
http: www.glasnet.ru/~ninis
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