· May, 2010

Stories about Humanitarian Response from May, 2010

Ghana: Our first batch of refugees

  27 May 2010

Togo's Security Minister is quoted by the BBC saying that 3,500 refugees have crossed into Northern Togo from Ghana following ethnic conflict and land disputes. Ghanaian blogger and journalist Ato Dandzie discusses the issue in his post titled Our First Refugees.

Causes of Hatred in the Russian Blogosphere

Lj-user blondycandy received [RUS] more than 400 comments on the question “Why there's so much hatred in the Russian blogosphere”? Evgeny Gorny summarized [RUS] the most often suggestions: general ‘offline’ unhappiness, inferiority complex, impunity, lack of education, envy, specific ‘Russian mentality’ and so on.

China: Dying young in FoxConn

  24 May 2010

SACOM, a NGO in Hong Kong which concerns about labour rights issue, posted an investigative report on the 10 consecutive suicide cases in FoxConn, one of the I-phone subcontractor in China.

Australia: Bob Geldof Rouses Aussie Rich

  22 May 2010

Aid celebrity Bob Geldof caused a stir on a visit to Australia this week by saying that "Australia is economically stupid for importing labour while Aboriginal talent goes to waste." Bloggers react.

Sri Lanka: Emergency Flood Relief

  21 May 2010

In Sri Lanka thousands of people are affected by the recent heavy rains and flashfloods especially in the western, southern and Sabaragamuwa provinces. Sarvodaya blog has the situation reports and information about relief, aid and assistance.

Egypt: No Longer Jewel of the Nile

Four of the seven upstream Nile Basin Initiative countries have decided to sign a new Nile deal. Despite strong Egyptian and Sudanese opposition, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia signed a new water-sharing agreement. Egyptian bloggers react to the news in this post by Marwa Rakha.

Bahrain: Why was Al Jazeera's Office Shut Down?

Bahrain temporarily shut down the office of Al Jazeera Satellite Channel for "violating professional conventions." Bloggers and tweeps react to the development in this post - especially after rumours surfaced that the Qatari station's bureau was closed because of a report it aired on poverty in Bahrain. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera says it doesn't even operate an office in Bahrain so what exactly is going on?

ICT for Development News in Japanese

  15 May 2010

“ICT for Development.JP” provides regular and comprehensive coverage of ICT4D news and project updates from around the world in Japanese. It is run by Maki and Tomonari, who started this blog as a response to the lack of centralized resources for this topic in Japanese.

Niger: Saving lives with text messages

  14 May 2010

Niger is currently experiencing food crisis that threatens more than half of the country's 14 million people. The United Nations has called for urgent humanitarian action. One blogger for Concern US blogs, Amanda McClelland, reports about a program using text messages to distribute emergency cash to the most vulnerable women in 160 villages in the country.

Colombia: The Displaced People of Ituango

  11 May 2010

Due to paramilitary and guerrilla hostilities, the people in the surrounding areas of the Colombian town of Ituango have had to abandon their lands and seek shelter in the town. Bloggers from the town write about the situation.

Djibouti: Food insecurity in Djibouti

  11 May 2010

A blogger based in Djibouti writes about food insecurity in the country: “Food instability is about to hit Djibouti. The rainy season ends in a month and there hasn’t been much rain this year. Meaning, an estimated 120,000 people will need food assistance through December. Meanwhile the lazy overweight woman...

Haiti: Sign Online

  11 May 2010

Haitianalysis.com blogs about “an online petition to demand that U.S., international and NGO officials provide more transparency and efficiency in the distribution of millions of dollars of international aid to Haiti.”

Niger: Niger back in the news?

  3 May 2010

Is Niger back in the news because of reports of famine? Not really: “Niger isn’t in the headlines. It’s barely ever been in the headlines. It got a couple of weeks of coverage in mid-2005, courtesy of a BBC camera crew who visited an MSF feeding centre in the east...