· July, 2010

Stories about Humanitarian Response from July, 2010

Lebanon: Felesteen 2.0

Felesteen 2.0 is setting up a series of new blogs as part of their social media project. The new bloggers are residents of the Shatila camp, ranging from 14 – 22 years of age with diverse educational backgrounds.

Bangladesh: One Child to Rebuild a School

  28 July 2010

All it took was one child to talk about his destroyed school in front of a camera: through the following months, thanks to Shawn Ahmed of the Uncultured Project and Nerdfighters, the world rallied through YouTube and raised enough money to rebuild the school.

Chile: Controversy Over Pardon Proposal by Catholic Church

  27 July 2010

The Chilean Catholic Church has announced a proposal regarding the need to pardon certain people convicted of crimes on humanitarian grounds. The proposal has sparked debate on the Chilean blogosphere, as the original request could have included a pardon for those convicted of human rights abuses during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship.

Niger: Offering choices to unheard voices

  24 July 2010

Niall Tierney writes Concern Worldwide and hunger in Niger: “Concern launched an early, groundbreaking response using “short-harvest” seed varieties, mobile phone technology and cash, and emergency nutrition programs to reach the most vulnerable before the food ran out…”

Egypt: Liberals mourn the death of Dr. Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid

Dr. Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid, a prominent Egyptian scholar once accused of apostasy for his contemporary interpretation of Islam, has died on July 5, 2010. He was 66. Officials at the Cairo hospital where Abu Zeid had been receiving treatment for the past two weeks said he died Monday from a brain infection. Liberal Egyptian bloggers mourn his death.

Kyrgyzstan: Divergent discourses suggest more is yet to come

  23 July 2010

“Forgive one another, we’re all guilty”, begs a sticker and poster campaign doing the rounds in Kyrgyzstan following recent tragic events in the south which have claimed over 1,000 lives. The campaign's website, which seeks grounds for a common approach to the problem, has been largely eschewed by local internet users in favour of partisan efforts such as Osh Reality.

Lebanon: The Plight of Palestinian Refugees

“We can work in any field or industry, they can’t. We can learn for free, they aren’t allowed. We have access to free healthcare, they don’t. We enjoy our dignity and human rights while they struggle to simply maintain theirs. And this has been going on for a good portion...

USA and Congo: Nicholas Kristof and Western coverage of Africa

  19 July 2010

Bunmi joins the debate over New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's admission that he tends to focus on the ‘white foreigner as savior, black African as victim’ story in his Africa coverage. “I wonder if a story about some crisis in America would hold any interest for, let's say, Congolese...

Nigeria: More violence in Maza, near Jos

  18 July 2010

Carmen McCain reports fresh killings near Jos, a city still recovering from deadly riots earlier in the year. “It is with a sick feeling in my stomach that I post this. One of my friends, Godfrey Saeed Selbar… called me around 11:51am this morning, telling me that there had been...

South Africa: 67 Minutes of Change – Mandela Day

  17 July 2010

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life in a prison on Robben Island in South Africa. What most people don’t know is that Madiba (as he is affectionately known in South Africa) spent 67 years in the fight against racism and poverty. Sunday 18 July 2010 marks his 92nd birthday and also Mandela Day - a day in which people around the world dedicate 67 minutes of their time to making the world a better place for all.

North Korea: Beauty Plays In the Psychological Warfare

  16 July 2010

A North Korean waitress who looks much alike South Korean actress has become a new celebrity in South Korea. A YouTube video of a North Korean college girl praising its regime’s generosity on her rich family has drawn several ten thousand views. North Korean defectors in South Korea are warning...

North Korea: Amnesty International Reveals Crumbling Health Care

  16 July 2010

A bleak picture of North Korea's disastrous health care system has revealed in Amnesty International's new a report “The Crumbling State of Health Care in North Korea” [Ko] disclosing a ‘dire’ situation where amputations are carried without anesthesia and hospitals suffer from a shortage of sterilized needles. English document available...

Russia: New Election Codex Project Discussed Online

Last month, a Russian non-governmental election-monitoring organization, Golos (A Voice), published an alternative Election Codex on the internet, that is designed to provide free, fair and transparent elections in Russia. It is one of a few recent examples of publicly developed draft bills that are promoted online.

India: Selective About Denouncing Violence?

  7 July 2010

On 4th of July, 2010 a group of unidentified assailants attacked and hacked off the right hand of Mr. T. J. Joseph, a college lecturer from Kerala. He was earlier suspended after accusations by Muslim groups for making some derogatory references to the Prophet in a question paper set by him and had apologized publicly. Bloggers react.