· April, 2009

Stories about Humanitarian Response from April, 2009

Bubisher: A Bus of Books for Children in Western Sahara

Do you want to go to the Sahara desert and read for children living in the refugee camps? Bubisher is a mobile library being driven across Western Sahara refugee camps. In those refugee schools, the bus shares with youngsters food for the soul and mind: books. Renata Avila highlights the initiative.

29 April 2009

Venezuela: How Children Show Their Community Through Photography II

Children can often be the most vulnerable members of refugee communities. The group Ancla2 is working to provide more opportunities to these children through a photography and creative writing workshop in a community called El Nula along the Venezuelan-Colombian border teaching them how to appreciate the details of daily life and to communicate that through images and text.

28 April 2009

Sri Lanka: The Pros And Cons Of International Attention

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are holding on to to just a sliver of land in the north of Sri Lanka, but the United Nations is estimating that 50,000 people are still trapped in the warzone. As fighting surges in the final throes, concerns for civilians is growing and calls for international attention and understanding abound on the Internet and in the streets of cities around the world, such as London, Berlin and Paris.

24 April 2009

Sri Lanka: An Appeal To The International Community

Indi.ca criticizes the international media coverage of the civil war in Sri Lanka: “the ‘International Community’ and international media are far too quick to offer solutions without looking at the...

23 April 2009

Bangladesh: To Protect Nesting Sparrows

Bangladeshi blogger Shahnaz, who blogs at Dhaka Dweller, shares a tragic story and suggests: “if you have nesting sparrows in your home, please protect them while they are raising their...

22 April 2009

China: Free Wu Baoquan

A netizen has been sentenced to 2 year imprisonment for criticizing Ordos city government (in Inner Mongolia) for illegal land requisition. Spontaneous Online campaign calling for justice to Wu has...

21 April 2009

Bangladesh: Bijli Strikes

Tropical cyclonic storm Bijli (01B) is making a landfall in the Southern coasts of Bangladesh. The 3rd world view has the updates.

17 April 2009

Western Sahara: Landmine Injures Five During Peaceful Protest

Last week, Saharawis and Spaniards stood together in solidarity against the berm (”Wall of Shame”) built between Morocco and the Western Sahara, over which Morocco claims sovereignty. The protest, dubbed the International March against the Wall of Shame, resulted in an unconfirmed number of Saharawis injured by landmines. Jillian York shares the story.

14 April 2009

China: Gender Imbalance

Angry Chinese blogger highlights the gender imbalance problem in China with British Medial Journal report on: “China’s excess males, sex selective abortion, and one child policy: analysis of data from...

13 April 2009

Sri Lanka: Plights Of The IDPs

Laksundara at Groundviews describes the plights of the IDPs (internally displaced persons) who fled their homes during the recent civil war in the Northern areas of Sri Lanka.

12 April 2009

Sri Lanka: What Happened To The Money?

Rising of Ceylon asks some questions regarding the international aids that have flown into Sri Lanka after the Tsunami in December 2004: “what happened to all those money which came...

8 April 2009

Haiti: Planting a Garden

Konbit Pou Ayiti seeks to create sustainable solutions to hunger in Baie d’Orange, Haiti by “working with local officials to plant a garden that can benefit the community.”

8 April 2009

Colombia: Humanitarian Minga Recovers Bodies of Awá Indigenous

A group of 470 Colombian indigenous participated in a humanitarian minga, which is a collective mission towards a common goal, to recover the bodies of members of the Awá indigenous communities that were killed by the FARC, who accused them of cooperating with the army. The blog from the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) provided regular updates on the progress of the minga, as well as the situation that led to the action.

8 April 2009