ARC Mourns Loss of Fern Holland, ARC Advisor, Killed in Iraq

American Refugee Committee
Monday, 15 March 2004

The American Refugee Committee (ARC) expresses sadness at the death of Fern Holland, who was killed in an ambush last week southwest of Baghdad, Iraq.

Fern had close ties to the American Refugee Committee. She traveled to Guinea, West Africa with ARC to conduct an investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation of refugees and developed a successful legal clinic intervention program for women and children survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation. Within the course of one year, she was able to establish a successful legal clinic in a refugee camp in Guinea, run by Guinean attorneys and refugees she trained. Fern later compiled the report that established ARC as a leader in dealing with perpetrators of sexual exploitation of women and children refugees.

"Fern's work for ARC was groundbreaking—everyone told her it couldn't be done," said Hugh Parmer, President of ARC. "Fern was able to find a way to bring perpetrators of crimes against women and children to justice through the use of international law. Now, the Guinean attorneys she trained are also working with the host country government to draft legislative reform proposals that would seek to strengthen existing laws, provide better protection for women and children, and incorporate ratified international laws in the domestic code of Guinea."

ARC intends to replicate Fern's legal clinic model in other refugee settings worldwide.

"Fern's death is a tragic loss to those of us at ARC who knew her, and to the humanity she strove to serve," said Parmer. "She often told me that her work on behalf of ARC in Guinea convinced her that she wanted to spend her life 'doing good' for people. She will be greatly missed."

For nearly 25 years, the American Refugee Committee has been working to ease the suffering of the victims of war. The American Refugee Committee is a nonprofit humanitarian relief organization that works for the survival, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons caught in the crossfire of civil violence, warfare, and other disasters.

For more information, or to contact American Refugee Committee, see their website at: www.archq.org