Stories about Humanitarian Response from May, 2009
Egypt: Cairo Refugee Film Festival
Integrating refugees in society is the aim of a film festival with a difference. Marwa Rakha learns about the Cairo Refugee Film Festival, being held from June 16 to 20 from the event's blog through a fellow blogger, and shares her findings in this post.
Pakistan: Bloggers On Swat Relief Drive
The Observers features Pakistani blogger Teeth Maestro's humanitarian relief efforts for the IDPs in Swat region.
Haiti, U.S.A.: Remembering Fr. Jean-Juste
Blogger tributes are pouring in for the late Fr. Gérard Jean-Juste, a Haitian Roman Catholic priest who was known by his admirers as a champion of the poor and an ardent supporter of the Fanmi Lavalas political party, headed by ousted President Jean Bertrand Aristide.
Egypt: Anti-Male Circumcision Campaign
In 2008 Egypt passed a law that banned female circumcision (FGM). Today a group of bloggers started a campaign against male circumcision. Marwa Rakha picks up the story in this post.
Palestine: The Situation In Gaza Deteriorates
In Gaza, Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra describes what the current situation is.
Bangladesh: Cyclone Aila Relief Efforts
The death toll from the destruction of cyclone Aila, which wreaked havoc in India and Bangladesh, is rising and more than 150 people had died in Bangladesh alone. The tidal waves caused by the storm has made hundreds of thousands homeless. BRAC blog writes about the cyclone Aila relief efforts.
Sri Lanka: Abuse, Disbelief And Bitterness Persist
The Sri Lankan government's civil war for over 25 years against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended a few days ago when the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed. The question remains that "has the dream of many Tamils of having a separate state free from discrimination died with him?". The polarized Sri Lankan Blogosphere is buzzing with a lot of analysis and counter analysis on the stories of celebrating the end of war, human rights abuse, distrust and communal hatred.
India: Aid Collection For Sri Lankan IDPs
Madhat at Blogbharati informs about an effort by some Indians to collect aid from various Indian cities to help the IDPs (internally displaced people) in Sri Lanka.
Tajikistan: Incidents at Tajik-Uzbek border
Incidents at Tajik-Uzbek border remain very dangerous for people, Musafirbek says reporting on another border accident with a gunned civilian.
Kazakhstan: Tortures Continued
KZBlog writes about the visit of Manfred Nowak, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Torture, to Kazakhstan, during which he noted that prison conditions have improved, yet urged officials to stop beatings, asphyxiation and other “techniques” used to get confessions from suspects.
Afghanistan: Expats’ Routine Life
Onne Parl writes that the life of the international community in Afghanistan is ruled by security companies.
Pakistan: Relief Effort For IDPs In Karachi
Deadpan Thoughts writes about the relief efforts for Swat IDPs being carried out in Karachi. Pictures of relief collection are also posted in that article.
Pakistan: A Humanitarian Crisis
Pakistan has been hit by a severe humanitarian crisis as a result of the military onslaught against the Taliban insurgency in the Swat Valley. Over one million people have fled their homes from various areas in the Malakand division and FATA including Buner, Dir and Swat. A massive relief effort has been launched by many organizations and individuals and the Pakistani Blogosphere is also taking a leading role to seek help for the IDPs.
Sri Lanka: Concern For The IDPs
Musings from Toronto comments: “Whether the pro-LTTE diaspora's fear of the Sri Lankan Government is ludicrous or otherwise; their concern for the displaced civilians is certainly one I support.”
Sri Lanka: Priorities After The War
A Voice In Colombo discusses about the two priorities Sri Lanka needs to address after the end of civil war; helping the IDPs and taking care of the injured veterans and families of the deceased.
Sri Lanka: Bloggers react to the death of the LTTE leader
The government of Sril Lanka announced via state media and SMS today (Monday, May 18, 2009) afternoon that the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Vellupillai Prabhakaran, is dead. Obituaries of Prabhakaran note that he was a hero to some and a ruthless killer to others. Sri Lankan Bloggers lament on the legacy of this war lord and what his demise means for the future of the Tamil people and Sri Lanka.
Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar: A Year After
A deadly cyclone hit Myanmar’s southern Irrawaddy delta in May 2008 which affected more than 2 million people. A year after the Cyclone Nargis tragedy, survivors are still suffering while reconstruction efforts remain inadequate. Contributions are still needed in order to help the cyclone survivors.
Bloggers raise funds for Brunei Special Olympics Team
In providing support to the Brunei Special Olympics team, local bloggers are creating awareness on the team’s forthcoming participation in the World Special Olympics in Athens in 2011. Major fundraising activities were held last May 3: a walkathon and bazaar.
Sri Lanka: Satellite Image Proves Shelling Of Civilians
ICT For Peacebuilding (ICT4PEACE) posts an image from a commercial satellite and quotes a Human Rights Watch report, which claims that indiscriminate shelling of civilians is going on in the North of Sri Lanka. The blog comments: “Unless the argument is made that commercial satellite imagery is also pro-LTTE, this...
Pakistan: Information About IDPs
A new website has been launched documenting reliable information, including pictures and videos about the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from FATA, Swat, Dir and Buner in Pakistan.
Pakistan: Swat Crisis Via Live Blog
The Swat Plea is a platform to support the Internally Displaced Persons [IDP's] of northern Pakistan. It has launched a live blog to collate all the buzz from blogs and twitter accounts monitoring the Swat crisis.
