· January, 2009

Stories about Humanitarian Response from January, 2009

Rohingya Muslims facing cultural genocide

Prof. Marranci writes that Rohingya Muslims are “victims of their lack of strategic value, both for their native Southeast Asia and the wider international community.” The Rohingyas are also “facing...

30 January 2009

Ethiopia: What a Difference Water Makes

At the end of last year, five families decided that visiting Ethiopia with their daughters would be the best way for them to see what their donations to provide fresh, clean and safe water sources were doing to change the lives of families and complete villages. Through their blog and videos, they have been able to share the importance of charity:water in making this possible, and hopefully raise more donations and engage more people to help.

30 January 2009

Ethiopia: The Boy Without Arms

Are you ready to help Aschelew, “the boy without arms“?: Several years ago Aschelew was depressed over his parents’ AIDS, and his family chained him up to keep him from...

29 January 2009

Kenya: Can You Help?

Kenya Community Initiative Support is looking for your help to improve the lives of children at Twiga. They need, among other things, gardening tools, spades, forks, hoes, rakes.

29 January 2009

Tajikistan: Earthquake rumor

Vadim reports that the recent rumor about the possible powerful earthquake in Tajikistan made thousands of people throughout the country to leave their homes and spend the freezing night in...

24 January 2009

Philippines: The root cause of the flooding

In the Philippines, media reports have cited weeks of heavy rain brought by a cold front as the immediate cause of the massive flooding and landslides. Some Filipino bloggers have started asking more questions. What was the root cause of the flooding? What is really happening? Here are some efforts of Filipino bloggers to make sense of the disaster.

22 January 2009

Serbia: 250 Dogs

A Yankee-in-Belgrade introduces Katja, a woman who “lives on a strip of land about 12 x 80 meters (approx. 39 x 263 feet) outside of Belgrade with over 250 dogs...

22 January 2009

Palestine: “In Gaza, only the dead have seen the end of this war”

The people of Gaza are discovering the extent of the destruction inflicted during three weeks of Israeli attacks, and are slowly starting to rebuild their lives. Some bloggers are wondering about the less visible psychological and emotional damage. One asks, "What will be the reward for getting up and going on, one more time?"

21 January 2009

China: victims of Sichuan earthquake

The victims of the Sichuan 5.12 earthquake are suffering from the chilly winter. A local official says the lowest temperature in the earthquake zone can be 21.1 degrees below zero...

21 January 2009

Palestine: Assessing the Aftermath in Gaza

On Sunday evening the Israel Defense Forces began a troop withdrawal from Gaza, following three straight weeks of attacks. Israel's unilateral ceasefire was announced earlier in the day, and met with an offer for a one-week ceasefire from Hamas. Ayesha Saldanha shares blog reactions from Gaza.

19 January 2009

Israel: IDF Operating a Moral War in Gaza?

Bloggers have been defending the IDF which has been highly criticized for operating an unjust war in Gaza. Many choose to highlight facts which are not necessarily presented in mainstream news on its fighting techniques - minimizing civilian casualties by using precise missile technology, calling homes and dropping warning leaflets, while focusing on the target: weakening Hamas, destroying their artillery and ability to fire missiles into Israeli territory.

18 January 2009