| Afghan refugees at the US Air Force Base in Ramstein, Germany. September 8, 2021. © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Choi Seo-yoon |
At Ramstein, a US air base in Germany where about 10,000 Afghan refugees are staying, 2,000 of about 3,000 women are pregnant, CNN reported on the 26th (local time), citing a military source familiar with the matter.
So far, 22 babies have already been born at the Ramstein base, and the temperature drops at night, which requires the time and effort of the medical staff, the source said.
According to reports, 10,000 Afghan refugees at Ramstein Base were overshadowed by 53,000 detained at eight bases across the United States and left unattended for a while. The Ramstein base did not have a refugee accommodation facility, so 20 men, women, and children were initially supposed to stay for ten days and received refugees, but the situation changed rapidly and overcrowded.
Afghan refugees’ flights have been suspended for three weeks as a result of an outbreak of measles among Afghan refugees by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So far, there have been nine confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and some mumps, chickenpox, norovirus, and malaria infections have also been confirmed.
As a result, the Ramstein base refugees will stay until the 9th of next month, but the nighttime temperatures will drop below freezing, and there is not enough generators and heating equipment to supply hundreds of tents installed in taxiways and parking lots, the source said.
A CDC official staying at the Ramstein base reported to headquarters a plan to vaccinate Afghan refugees and send them to the United States, but the headquarters refused. In this regard, CNN said it had contacted CDC headquarters for clarification but did not receive a response.
sabi@news1.kr
