BURBANK, California (August 17, 2004) – Responding to the humanitarian crisis
which has already claimed as many as 50,000 lives and displaced over one
million people, Islamic Relief Worldwide has increased its emergency relief
projects in Darfur, Sudan. These projects have recently gained international
media attention, with coverage by both CNN and BBC.
IRW staff member Adeel Jafferi was recently interviewed by CNN Chief
International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, who was reporting from
IRW’s own Al-Riyad camp in Darfur. In addition, Islamic Relief USA staff
member Arif Shaikh, who was recently in Darfur, was interviewed by BBC
Correspondent Ritula Shah from “The World Today” on BBC World Service.
CNN Coverage
“They were all saying the same thing: ‘We want food and shelter,’ ” said
Adeel Jafferi of Islamic Relief. “When the rains come it’s a nightmare. When
the rains come it’s like sheets of glass hitting your face.”
View the entire article on CNN.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/08/10/darfur.children/index.html
BBC World Service Radio Interview
“The last thing we want is to have a road block … to where everything is in
place, but we can’t actually help the beneficiary. And that’s a really sad
situation, especially when you see people dying in front of our eyes based on
bureaucratic reasons.”
Listen to the interview or read the transcript:
http://www.irw.org/sudan/bbc.asp
Islamic Relief USA representative Arif Shaikh, who recently returned from
Darfur on a humanitarian mission, is available for comment or interview.