Lorena Enebral./ Photo: linkedin
The Diplomat. 12/09/2017
The murder of the Spanish physiotherapist Lorena Enebral Pérez at a health centre of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the north of Afghanistan has caused the sorrow and condemnation of the Government, which has already contacted her relatives. For the moment, there is no news about her repatriation.
Enebral Pérez, aged 38 years old, had been working in Afghanistan since May 2016. Her “main motivation”, according to her own words, was “the management of projects for the development of services of children rehabilitation and the equality of rights for children with disabilities”.
The murder happened at the rehabilitation centre of the ICRC in Mazar-e-Sharif, in the north of Afghanistan, where she looked after disabled women, men and children and helped her patients to walk again and feed themselves.
According to the information, the crime was committed by Muhamad Naseem, a young man aged 22 years old who had been looked after at the centre since he was three years old and who had hidden the weapon in his wheelchair. The perpetrator and a supposed accomplice have been arrested. The attack has not been claimed so far.
“Energetic and full of joy, Lorena was the heart of our centre in Mazar. Our hearts are broken”, the head of the delegation of the ICRC in Afghanistan, Monica Zanarelli, declared.
The aid worker was murdered at a rehabilitation centre of Afghanistan where she worked
After knowing the news, the president of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, sent through Twitter his “deepest condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of Lorena”. Furthermore, the Foreign Minister, Alfonso Dastis (who could speak with Lorena Enebral’s relatives, according to information provided by diplomatic sources), also sent his “condolences and affection to the family of the Spanish woman murdered in Afghanistan”, where “she was carrying out a praiseworthy and very necessary work”.
The high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, sent her condolences to the family and the ICRC, and the commissioner of Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Christos Stylianides, was “shocked” by the news.
For his part, the secretary general of PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, wrote in his Twitter account: “Sad but at the same time proud of her work and example. An affectionate hug to the family and the Spanish Red Cross”.
