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America's New War: Afghan Refugees

Aired September 25, 2001 - 05:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Peter Kessler is the senior public information officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and he joins us today from Islamabad live.

Good morning, Peter, thanks so much for joining us today. Maybe you can...

PETER KESSLER, SR. PUBLIC INFO. OFFICER, UNHCRF: Morning.

LIN: Maybe you can confirm a report for us,...

KESSLER: Morning.

LIN: ... we're hearing that Pakistan has opened part of its border in order to accommodate some of these refugees. Is this true? And is this the kind of assistance that you need?

KESSLER: Unfortunately we thought that might happen, but it seems this afternoon that the border is still shut, that we have some 5,000 Afghans hard up against the frontier still waiting to cross into Pakistan and they've been there for quite some days now. We hope that for humanitarian reasons they'll be allowed in as soon as possible.

LIN: And the fact of the matter, it's because your aid workers are having trouble getting to them, is that true?

KESSLER: Well right now we are -- we have -- we're having to request permission to get into the frontier areas in both the Peshawar, Khyber Pass and also down in the Quetta region. Nevertheless, we're still working closely with the government in the provinces and here in the capital to ensure that if there is a major movement towards the frontier that people will, should they cross, get the aid they need.

LIN: Well, you're having trouble getting aid actually into Afghanistan. Is it true that the Taliban has taken over the UNHCR offices in Kandahar?

KESSLER: That's correct. All the U.N. agency offices in the Kandahar region have been taken over, the radio equipment confiscated and moved to one central location. Similarly across Afghanistan, the other U.N. agency staff, the remaining Afghan workers, my colleagues have been told not to use their radios and the radio rooms have been locked. Right now we're negotiating to try to get one radio available in each of the main cities so at least our staff can get messages out. Right now, though, that makes communications impossible unless our staff finds a way to call us.

LIN: Peter, the Taliban is confiscating relief supplies coming into Afghanistan, they're taking over your offices, what is it that you think they're trying to do?

KESSLER: Well, clearly they are concerned about a possible conflict situation. They know the world is looking at them. What we're concerned about, though, is the catastrophic situation has been the scene inside Afghanistan for years that has people surviving on a hand-to-mouth basis. And if the situation is not resolved by the authorities on the ground, if aid cannot reach the people, aid that's waiting in places like Pakistan, then people may start moving towards the frontier in waves.

LIN: So when we hear that you're preparing for the absolute worst case scenario, what is that scenario? Paint a picture for us so that we really understand what you're up against.

KESSLER: Well, over the last 20 years, millions of Afghans have been refugees while millions of them are still in Iran and Pakistan. People who have gone back are living in a very precarious situation. The problem is they know where the exit is, they know how to get out, they've walked for weeks before to find their way to Iran and Pakistan and if something can't be done for them very soon, they may start heading again towards the frontier in enormous numbers.

LIN: Enormous numbers, but, Peter, I know your focus is on these refugees, but I'm pretty concerned about your staff. Are you worried that the United Nations aid workers inside Afghanistan are going to become pawns in this crisis?

KESSLER: Well already, of course, there are aid to aid workers being held hostage, being held prisoner in Kabul along with the families of their Afghan colleagues. We're, of course, very worried about them as we are worried about our Afghan colleagues in cities like Kandahar, Kabul, Mazar, Herat, everywhere in the country. Obviously these are Afghans but they could become targets. We do have relations and good relations with the Taliban, and we hope they'll respect our colleagues, their fellow countrymen, but we also hope that something can be done to resolve this impasse as soon as possible.

LIN: All right. Thank you very much, Peter Kessler. I know you're trying to resolve that situation from Islamabad,...

KESSLER: Thank you.

LIN: ... and we wish you well.

All right, a very difficult situation for the United Nations relief workers.

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