· November, 2006

Stories about Humanitarian Response from November, 2006

Bangladesh: Islam and Iraq

  30 November 2006

Or how I learned to stop worrying on a Muslim reaction to the situation in Iraq. “Who says that Muslims, just like everyone of good conscience, are not horrified by the violence and killings in Iraq? Who says that Muslims are not opposed to this chaos? I feel no inclination...

D.R. of Congo: volcanic eruption

  30 November 2006

Congo Rangers blog has a story about Mount Nyamulagira volcanic eruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo, “Nyamulagira erupted on Monday 27th at approximately 1930. Ever since, lava from the 1km long fissure has been moving down the western side of the volcano towards Sake, a small town 25km west...

Sudan: UN troops in Sudan?

  29 November 2006

Sudanese Thinker is trying to make sense of the deal between the Sudanese government and the United Nations, “Has Sudan really accepted the deal and is simply downplaying that fact? Or are the UN and AU moving ahead without a clear “green light” from al-Bashir? The language used in recent...

China: no big deal to die in demolition

  28 November 2006

Zhao mu blogs about a suicide note by Li Min-sheng in Shandong who hanged himself to death because of government's demolition project. The official response to Li's suicide was: people die everywhere because of demolition… (zh)

Arabisc: Bahraini Elections, Dying Children and Confusing Freedom!

  27 November 2006

Bahrain held its second Parliamentary elections in its modern history this week, with about 300,000 voters going to the polls. Amongst them was Bahraini blogger Haythoo, who hoped his ‘party’ would emerge victorious. أنا الأن متوجه لتغطية العملية الأنتخابية.. أتمنى أن يحالفنا الحظ و نفوز بأكثرية نيابية.. يجب أن نعمل...

Sudan: Southern Sudanese are trapped

  26 November 2006

Africa Blogs explain why Southern Sudanese feel trapped, “Inside the mud-and-wattle structures, eating places by day and pubs by night, littering the Juba streets, people hurdle to discuss the future of Southern Sudan. But they are discovering that it’s becoming harder to discuss the future without discussing the wave of...

Palestine: UN Official Visit

  24 November 2006

Palestinian Dr Mona Al Farra reports the visit of a top United Nations humanitarian official to Beit Hanoun. She said residents turned out to see Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, as she toured the town but were not hopeful her visit would achieve any results.

Sudan: Democratic victory, Darfur's loss

  24 November 2006

John Akec argues that the control of both the Senate and House by the Democratic majority after the US mid-term elections is a loss for South Sudan and Darfur, “I am very concerned that the good days of handshake by Sudan opposition leaders with the US president in the Oval...

Sri Lanka: Loss of childhood and the ethnic conflict

  23 November 2006

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has meant the loss of life, opportunity and innocence for many children. Indi.ca has a post on the issue. A heartbreaking photograph by Agron with commentary “This womens 15yr old son was abducted by the LTTE (Libeartion Tigers of Tamil Elam). She was desperately...

China: apart from dog, what else?

  20 November 2006

Positive solution posts a question concerning the one dog policy in China: If you start banning dogs on the grounds that they are potentially dangerous and a public nuisance, why stop there? Here are a few things that I’d give the same treatment…

Zimbabwe: silent death

  19 November 2006

Zimbabwean women left to die a silent death, writes This is Zimbabwe. This quote from a government minister might explain something: “We would be better off with only six million people, with our own people who support the liberation struggle; we don’t want all these extra people.”

Images from Guatemala: Doña Maria

  14 November 2006

Doña Maria by James Rodriguez Doña Maria, the family matriarch as noted by her white huipil (embroidered blouse) sits proudly in her kitchen. Doña Maria is just one of the family members from the Ixil Maya community of the Guatemalan highlands that featured in a recent photo-documentary by Rodriguez. From...

Sudan: relief agency pulls out

  13 November 2006

The Norwegian Refugee Council pulls out of Darfur: One can always hope for the best, but I very much doubt that the NRC will be the last organization to quit Darfur. In the past few months, many other relief agencies have cut back their operations in the area due to...

Voices from South Asia

  13 November 2006

Bangladesh: Asif of Unheard Voices: Drishtipat Group Blog analyzes the current political situation in Bangladesh and urges all the Bangladeshis to take a non-partisan moral stand to get out of the current crisis. Andrew Morris writes an essay in Desicritics about the historical faces of Dhaka city titled Bangladesh Diary:...

Cambodia: A Cambodian Wins Woman of the Year Award

  1 November 2006

Andy Brouwer is pleased that the Cambodian activist Somaly Mam was awarded the Woman of the Year award by the US magazine Glamour. In an earlier post, Andy has written about Somaly Mam and the work she is doing in Cambodia. “If you aren't aware of Somaly Mam, she's the...

China: meeting Dalai Lama

  1 November 2006

Zheng Jinyan blogs her meeting with Dalai Lama in New Delhi. Dalai's message is: “only if the Chinese government agreed, I would return immediately. I had no interest in politics, I am semi-retired in India. When I return to China, I wouldn't intervene into politics, what I will do is...