Stories about Humanitarian Response from August, 2009
China and Taiwan: Dalai Lama's visit, inevitably political
Yesterday Dalai Lama arrived in Taiwan on a visit that has been denounced by China. The trip, requested by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to President Ma Ying-jeou, aimed at comforting victims of Typhoon Morakot. Dalai Lama explained in the airport that “I'm a monk. I was asked to say prayers...
Sri Lanka: Let The IDPs Go
Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca visits a Sri Lankan IDP camp and shares his observations: “Everyone just wants to go home, or at least to stay with relatives. They don’t need charity anymore, they need the freedom to rebuild their lives with dignity.
Myanmar: Tension in the Sino-Burmese border
ESWN collects news reports on the military conflict between the Burmese government and the Kokang Ceasefire Group near the Sino-Burmese border. The situation has been getting worse in the past few days and thousands of Burmese refugees fled to China. Last Friday, a bomb fired across the border killed one...
Pakistan: Sugar Crisis Turns Ramadan Bitter
This year shortage of sugar supplies in Pakistan and the rise of price has affected the consumers and put a halt to the increased consumptions during the month of Ramadan. Pakistani bloggers analyze the situation.
China admits organ harvesting as main source of transplantation
C.A. Yeung highlights China Daily's recent report which admitted that executed prisoners had been the source of more than 65 percent organ transplantation performed in China. The blogger points out that the quoted statistics could be regarded as state secret.
Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity
The Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity is an organization in Cambodia working with survivors of acid attacks. Many victims of acid attacks in Cambodia are women.
Sri Lanka: Citizen Media Contest
Sri Lankan citizen journalism initiative Groundviews announced a new competition “aimed at encouraging more citizen journalism on two vital issues confronting polity and society in post-war Sri Lanka – the conditions facing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and growing reports of Police brutality”, informs ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) blog.
Armenia: Homophobia turns deadly
Even if homosexuality was decriminalized in Armenia in 2002, society remains largely intolerant and traditional in its values. With blogs providing LGBT activists with a medium through which to voice their concerns, such fears can now be highlighted more openly than before.
East Timor: Celebrating Global Solidarity for Freedom
Ten years after the referendum, global voices are again spreading the word for East Timor, but this time celebrating the strong international solidarity that back then culminated in the country's recognized self-determination.
Ukraine: Street Children
Michelle Knisley of Scenes from the Sidewalk shares stories of some of the Ukrainian street children that her ministry has helped over the years.
Cambodia’s AIDS colony
Various human rights groups have accused the Cambodian government of setting up a de facto AIDS colony when it resettled 40 families with HIV and AIDS to a village 25 kilometers outside Phnom Penh City
Peru: Lack of Reconstruction Two Years After Earthquake
Two years after an earthquake struck Southern Peru, Peruvian bloggers are wondering why reconstruction is taking so long and what happened to all of the donations provided to the affected areas.
Bangladesh: Uncultured Project and Clean Water
The Uncultured Project helps out in Bangladesh with clean water and disaster relief, and has an advantageous position to compare two different portable water filtering methods.
Egypt: Five People I Wish to Meet
If you were given the choice of selecting five people you would like to meet in your lifetime, who would they be? Egyptian blogger Ahmed Shokeir blogs at Late Night Stories about five people whom he wishes to meet and be photographed with.
Dominica, Haiti: Hurricane Preparedness
Dominica Weekly wonders if the island is prepared for the 2009 hurricane season, while Konbit Pou Ayiti fears that “Haiti is not ready for the rain.”
United Kingdom: Asylum seekers telling their stories
More and more refugee organizations are using online social media and asylum seekers' own words in their advocacy work and outreach to donors.
Palestine: Palestinians and the Nakba
“I used to wonder what it would be like to be part of the so-called nakba generation. i don't wonder anymore, as i realize now that despite the passage of time, i am in fact a part of it,” admits Al Falasteenyia as she laments the reality of Palestinians.
Armenia: HIV-AIDS education and awareness
Unzipped: Gay Armenia commends the general manager of a local mobile telephone operator for his philanthropic work in Armenia. The blog says that despite the sometimes shady business environment in the country, Ralph Yirikian impresses many people and not least with his latest initiative to raise awareness of HIV-AIDS.
Peru: Cold Temperatures Continue in Puno
In Peru, the freezing temperatures in the southern region of Puno have been causing more deaths. There is frustration because donations are not reaching their intended recipients.
