Stories about Humanitarian Response from May, 2008
Myanmar: U.N. leader speech
Ashin Mettacara posts the speech delivered by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who visited Yangon, Myanmar this week. Excerpt of the speech: “I saw the saddest things: homes and villages destroyed, fields flooded, roads and bridges washed away, so many lives lost. We work hard in our lives, for ourselves and...
The Victimization of Egyptian Women and Children
Fantasia's World raises crucial issues that hold back the Egyptian society all together; namely women's rights, violence against women and children, and the general misconceptions of male-female relationships in the Egyptian society and in the Arab world. Marwa Rakha zooms into a new post which discusses how Egyptian women and children are being victimized by traditions, law, and the Muslim Brothers.
Poland: Irena Sendler Obituary
Edward Lucas reposts the obituary of Irena Sendler, saviour of children in the Warsaw ghetto.
Korea: Saving One Life
A netizen shares a cute story that happened on a usual day for him. Helping others might not be so hard. …안녕하세요.. 저는 20대 직장인 남자입니다^^! 다른게 아니라 어제 밤 11시 30분쯤에 있었던일을 이야기할려합니다… 뚜뚜~~뚜뚜~~뚜우우~ 7시다 퇴근하자 칼퇴근.. ㅁㅅㅁ 퇴근을 마치고.. 요즘 똥배가 조금나와서 8시부터 항상 운동을합니다.. 이 한강근처라.. 한강에서...
China: What the Olympics Will Look Like
Xueyong wonders what the Beijing Olympics will look like after the disaster as people are still in the mourning mood. He suggests that the government should not take the lead in framing the Olympics but leave space for the people to express their emotions and feelings[zh].
China: Man-made Mistake in Earthquake Relief
Wang Hua from china-week listed out several mistakes made by People's Liberation Army in the 512 earthquake relief work. The rescue team has missed the golden 72 hours to save the victims[zh].
Iraq: Are the Refugees Returning Home?
Alive in Baghdad updates us on the conditions of Iraqi refugees in Syria in this video post. Are the refugees returning to Iraq? Click on the link to find out.
South Africa: What can bloggers do about the Xenophobia crisis?
Stii suggests what South African bloggers can do about the xenophobia crisis in South Africa: “My idea is to have like a trust fund, NGO or something to which bloggers/technology people can contribute to financially. I’m more than willing giving money to any organization, but it would be nice to...
South Africa: Bloggers, let's do something
Mike calls on South African bloggers to do something about the violent attacks against foreigners: “It’s on that note that I’d like to encourage you, my fellow bloggers and business people, to join me in doing something about it. We know we have the collective influence to make a big...
China: Volunteer Force
A hug number of volunteers rushed to Sichuan to help the earthquake victim. Zhai Minglei is one of them, he pointed out that civic force, even though they don't have legal status due to government policy, has contributed a lot in the relief work [zh], but the CCTV camera only...
China: Letter to Earthquake Child Victim
1KG.org launched an action to collect letters and deliver them to Sichuan earthquake child Victims [zh]. The organizer hope that the letter senders would continue to communicate with the children and give them love and care.
China: Mourning for Earthquake at Tiananmen
hk1183 posted photos of Sichuan earthquake mourning at Tiananmen square on 19 of May, Beijing.
China: Listing Collapsed School Building
Myscnu, a teacher discussion board, tried to put together a list of collapsed school buildings in the Sichuan earthquake. So far there are about 40 in the list.
China: Donation Guideline
Unicorn criticized the donation guideline within collective owned work unit (or danwei). The guideline is to ensure that one cannot donate more than their superiors.
China: Thank You to Japanese Rescue Team
Zhang Hui, from china-week, compared the attitude of Chinese and Japanese rescue team in the earthquake relief work. The blogger expressed his thankfulness to Japanese friends for bringing a new humanitarian practice to China[zh]. A recent Xinhua photos showed how Japanese rescue team mourned for the deaths when bodies were...
China: Be Humble
In reflection upon the earthquake, Huyong said that Chinese people should learn to be more humble and fearful of the nature in its developmental model [zh].
Myanmar: Through the eyes of a mission worker
The Obnoxious 5xmom uploads an email of a mission worker in Myanmar: “It is a sad sight. Nature unleashed an orgy of death and mayhem, wounding an already suffering population. Yesterday, with tears in their eyes, women explained how the waves snatched their babes from their bosoms. A mighty tidal...
Myanmar: Situation in Laputta
ko-htike received an email from a friend who had seen the situation in Laputta, Myanmar: “More than ten thousands victims are staying, sleeping on the wet ground under the miserable roofs in the camps of the monasteries and pagodas; and some victims are staying outside in the rain. They have...
Myanmar: Report from Yangon
New Mandala received a report from a correspondent based in Yangon, Myanmar. An excerpt of the account: “The stories from the night of the cyclone that the villagers shared with me were gruesome. I was told how streets were turned into rivers through torrential rainfall and storm surges of over...
China: Red Cross China Questioned
China Red Cross refused to give public account to 163.com ‘s donation to Sichuan earthquake (about RMB1.8 million, about USD 0.2 million). The portal website made a public announcement yesterday that they would stop the cooperation with Red Cross China and many netizens criticized Red Cross China’ bureaucratic attitude in...
China and Taiwan: Cement Board Partition
In the Sichuan earthquake, many new school buildings had fallen apart. Thousands of school kids lost their lives. Hsueh, a taiwanese blogger, explained in details, the danger of cement board partition in modern construction [zh].