Don’t Abandon Communities Decimated by Destroyed Dam

Target: Robert Mardini, Director-General of International Committee of the Red Cross

Goal: Assist in evacuation and aid of people endangered by breached dam.

When a massive dam in Ukraine burst, it unleashed torrents of water that swamped hundreds of square kilometers. Homes, businesses, and lands were covered, with no signs of life in some engulfed villages during the aftermath. The surrounding area is currently occupied by Russian forces, and Ukraine lays the blame for the dam’s destruction at Russia’s feet. Public health is at imminent risk on many fronts.

The most immediate and obvious danger is to the living beings that were trapped by the floods. Heartbreaking reports of howling dogs, likely either stranded or drowning, were among the first accounts. Stranded individuals lack access to food, drinking water, and medical assistance. The floodwater itself is a dangerous container for disease, poisonous residue, and even landmines and radioactive waste. A nuclear facility is cooled by the dam’s waters, so this structure could be in peril too. Evacuees are facing all manner of injuries and illness, and because of the damaged infrastructure hospital or clinical aid is also likely in short supply.

Despite its warnings about the clear and present dangers to communities and despite its mission to be a first line of aid, the Red Cross has apparently remained largely absent from this latest international catastrophe. Sign the petition below to call on this humanitarian health agency to fulfill its mission for people in desperate need.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Director-General Mardini,

“We have not received an answer. I’m shocked.” This was the message Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky relayed following inquiries about the Red Cross’ response to the Nova Kakhvovka dam breach in the nation’s Kherson region. This agency itself spoke of the years-long dangers posed by landmines and other hazards, not to mention the immediate and urgent needs of the countless individuals still stranded and with no means to access healthcare or other essentials for life.

Why has the International Committee of the Red Cross, whose stated mission is to “work around the world helping people affected by conflict and armed violence,” ignoring pleas from Ukraine to help lead evacuation and aid efforts? Every day delayed is many more lives destroyed or lost. Please honor your oath by answering this urgent SOS for aid. President Zelensky summed the dire circumstances best: “each person who dies there is a verdict on the existing international architecture and international organizations that have forgotten how to save lives.”

What will the verdict be for one of the planet’s foremost humanitarian agencies?

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: State Emergency Service of Ukraine