Conflict in Georgia: Télécoms Sans Frontières deploys

The Statement of Telecom Sans Frontieres

Pau, 13 August 2008 – After 5 days of intense combats between Georgia and Russia, both countries agreed on truce on Tuesday thus facilitating access to conflict victims for aid workers. The conflict led to the displacement of dozens of thousands of people trying to flee fighting in South Ossetia, North Ossetia and Abkhazia. According to local sources, 80% of the 50,000 inhabitants of Gori, a city located only 90 kms from the Georgian capital Tbilisi have fled in fear of Russian air strikes. Many infrastructures have been damaged but Tbilisi international Airport was spared by the attacks.

Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) which has been on alert since day one of the conflict deployed an emergency crew of telecoms specialists to Georgia on Wednesday. The team left from TSF’s headquarters in France and will land in Tbilisi on Wednesday afternoon to assess the telecoms needs of the humanitarian community and affected civilians.

TSF’s crew is carrying satellite communications equipment to install communication centres offering Broadband Internet access, phone and fax lines and all the necessary IT equipment for a crisis management centre. Depending on needs identified, TSF could run humanitarian calling operations so that victims of the conflict can give news to their family in the country and abroad and request personalized assistance. This direct support will depend on access to those displaced as bombings are said to continue in some areas.

Within the context of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), TSF will coordinate with the United Nations through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) and Unicef.

This is the first time TSF deploys to Georgia but since its creation ten years ago TSF assisted in many conflict zones before notably in Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, Iraq in 2003 and more recently in Lebanon during summer 2006.

This mission which should last at least two weeks is funded by the Vodafone Group Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, Inmarsat, Eutelsat, Vizada, AT&T, Cable & Wireless and the Regional Council of Aquitaine.

Télécoms Sans Frontières: the leading humanitarian NGO specialised in emergency telecommunications

With its 24-hour monitoring centre and relying on its operational bases in France, Nicaragua and in Thailand, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) crews of IT and telecoms specialists can intervene anywhere in the world in less than 24 hours after any sudden onset disaster or conflict and in a matter of minutes set up a satellite-based telecoms centre offering broadband Internet, phone and fax lines. These centres enable emergency NGO, the United Nations and local authorities to communicate right at the heart of event. They also facilitate the coordination of aid efforts. In parallel, TSF also runs humanitarian calling operation to offer support and assistance to affected civilians, giving them a link with the outside world from which they would be otherwise completely cut off.

TSF celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year. Since its creation in 1998, TSF deployed to over 50 countries and assisted almost 500 relief organisations and millions of victims. In 2006, TSF became a partner of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). TSF is First Responder of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC).

Télécoms Sans Frontières is also a working group member of the United Nations emergency telecoms body (WGET). TSF is a partner of the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO) and a member of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).

TELECOMS SANS FRONTIERES
19, rue Jean-Baptiste Carreau 64 000 Pau, France
+33 (0)5 59 84 43 60 – +33 (0)5 59 84 43 58
Press contact : Oisin Walton
communication@tsfi.org – www.tsfi.org