If you follow the news, you likely know about the brutal attack on a UN guesthouse in Kabul, Afghanistan just over a month ago. On October 28, Taliban militants staged an early morning raid—they killed guards and scaled a gate to enter a small compound, firing guns and grenades in an assault that lasted nearly two hours. When it was over, eight people were dead and nine wounded. Now, after weeks of genetic testing, UNICEF has confirmed that one of those killed was a UNICEF staff member.
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| © UNICEF/AFGA2009-00945/Shehzad Noorani |
| Afghanistan, 2009: A young girl child standing by a bakery in Dah Afghanan, a poor neighborhood in Kabul. |
Teshome Mendefro Ergete had been working for UNICEF Afghanistan just since September, 2009. Mr. Ergete, an Ethiopian national, was an expert in drilling wells for fresh water. Right now in Afghanistan, 70 percent of the population lacks access to clean, safe drinking water. There's no doubt that Mr. Ergete's work in the country would have had a hugely positive impact.
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| © UNICEF/AFGA2009-00057/Shehzad Noorani |
| Afghanistan, 2009: Girls attend primary school in the north-western city of Heart where class is held in UNICEF tents and a building recently built by UNICEF in addition to the school's main building. Some 9,000 children attend this school daily in three shifts. Despite violence in the country, school attendance is on the rise. |
I feel as if, just yesterday, I was writing about the car bomb attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan that killed five UN workers including UNICEF's Chief of Education in Pakistan, Perseveranda So. News like this is infuriating and heartbreaking. We deeply mourn the loss of all those killed in the Kabul attack. And we mourn the fact that Afghan children and innocent Afghan people pay a price for any interruption of the UN's work in the country.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has vowed that the UN will not be deterred from its mission by the attack. Of course, any deadly assault automatically demands a careful reevaluation of security. And you can imagine the very serious discussions that continue to take place in Afghanistan and at UN and UNICEF headquarters in New York in an effort to make certain that staff still in the country are safe.
There's no doubt that people who work for UNICEF are committed. But it pains all of us deeply that some of our colleagues lose their lives. And it's probably more common than you realize. Since 2006, 14 UNICEF workers have been killed while working to save children's lives. We really do mean it when we say UNICEF does "Whatever it takes to save a child."
The new issue of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's magazine, Every Child, includes a feature by my colleague, Adam Fifield that gives a really good overview of UNICEF's work in conflict zones. I encourage you to read it, available on our publications page.
