BAGHDAD, Nov 7 (AFP) - Giving aid to people in Iraq has become a virtual "suicide mission" that few relief workers are willing to take, prompting most international agencies to pull their foreign staff out or shut their operations completely.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) this week became the latest in a long line of humanitarian organisations to decide that the risk of kidnapping or bombing in Iraq outweighs the benefits it brings to the population.
But some international non-governmental organisations are standing firm, though they admit that their work is hugely curtailed by the security factor.
Women for Women International, a Washington-based advocacy group that promotes women's issues in countries scarred by war, is one of the few agencies still operating -- in a limited manner -- on the ground.
"The reality is anyone working in Iraq is almost on a suicide mission, and the impact (of their restricted work) is potentially minimal," said Manal Omar, an international member of staff.
The US Institute for Peace is another agency that opted to stay the course for now, though one foreign employee admitted that it was virtually impossible to check first hand on the projects it funded to promote peace and conflict resolution.
"It is a real downer for the international staff and it makes it harder to assess and evaluate the work we are doing," Heather Coyne told AFP.
To lessen the risk of attack, USIP is based inside the fortress-like Green Zone in the centre of Baghdad that also houses the main Iraqi government buildings as well as the US and other embassies.
A tiny smattering of other foreign agencies, however, operate from the rest of the city where the dangers are even greater, as the head of the relief organisation CARE International learnt to her expense last month.
Margaret Hassan, 59, was kidnapped on her way to work on October 19 and her fate remains a mystery.
Hoping to appease her captors, CARE closed its operations in Iraq, which had continued -- under Hassan's instruction -- to rebuild and equip hospitals devastated by war while fellow relief agencies fled in fear.
"She used to repeat 'I am here serving my country, Iraq'," recalled one of CARE's local Iraqi staff after the British-Irish aid boss was taken hostage.
Another international organisation that trains Iraqis to monitor the country's upcoming elections also works outside the Green Zone and its 18 or so foreign staff still travel around Iraq, situation permitting.
It had been on a lock-down amid to expectations of violence during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which began in mid-October, and the US presidential elections but had eased restrictions, one international employee said on Sunday.
"It is a constant balance over what we want to do and the security risk," he told AFP on condition that the name of his NGO not be mentioned and that he remained anonymous, underscoring the serious concerns of aid workers.
"I don't think the risks outweigh the benefits at this point in time. If you spend three-quarters of your budget on security then you are not being effective. It has not come to this yet and I hope that never happens," he said.
Omar first visited Iraq in June last year and lamented how Women for Women's ability to function has deteriorated since then.
"I never felt threatened because the community was able to see after a few months that we were able to deliver tangible results from our programme, and so they were very much willing to protect us," she said.
But expectations of a better life -- from improved basic services to security -- started to fade as promises made by the US-led coalition faltered and an insurgency that bred in the aftermath of the war gathered strength.
People began to turn against the US-led military and eventually any other foreign presence, including the neutral aid agencies.
The suicide bombing of the UN Baghdad headquarters in August 2003 followed by a similar attack in late October against the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross were the first major affronts against the humanitarian community and prompted a mass exodus of relief workers.
Those who remained were forced to go to ground, developing creative methods to help the community while protecting themselves from harm.
"The current situation is the first time us an organization, and me as an individual, feel directly threatened," said Omar. "The biggest risk of course is kidnapping."
With a shrinking pool of foreign staff, the next target may become local aid workers, many of whom have undertaken the vital work that expatriates for agencies such as the Red Cross and MSF are no longer able to perform.
11/07/2004 14:30 GMT - AFP