· August, 2008

Stories about Humanitarian Response from August, 2008

Philippines: Rebels invade remote towns

  18 August 2008

A Filipino doctor-blogger reports that two municipalities in a southern Philippine province were invaded by rebels: “School has been torched, houses are burning. People there are racing to the coasts for protection. A steady stream of refugees is being observed from the checkpoint. This is war.”

Russia: Involuntary Help to Ossetia

  15 August 2008

St. Petersburg-based LJ user murenav writes (RUS): “I understand it's not easy for the people of Ossetia now. I understand they need help. But helping them should be voluntary, I think, and come from one's heart. But… My mother works at a medical institution [in Russia], and when salaries were...

Georgia War: World Record in Genocide?

  14 August 2008

LJ user tulskiy reflects (RUS) on the 2,000 Ossetians that Russia claims Georgia killed as an act of genocide during recent conflict, puts the figure in proportion to the entire South Ossetian population, making it so unreasonably large that – if Russian claims are correct – it would constitute the...

Georgia, Russia: Political Spam

  14 August 2008

Tbilisi-based LJ user shupaka (Diana Petriashvili) has been getting lots of political spam on her ICQ account and a Russian social networking site she's a member of. Here's the most common sample, in English: “Your channels, newspapers and the Internet-sites lie, each word is a lie. Georgia acts as instructied...

Philippines: Humanitarian crisis

  14 August 2008

Filipino blogger On the 8 Spot insists the more important issue that media should tackle is not the charter change proposal of the national government but the humanitarian crisis in a southern province in the Philippines

Georgia: Gori Bombing, Refugee Situation Update

  13 August 2008

Regional Reporters [RU] posts photos of the aftermath of a Russian air raid on the Georgian town of Gori while also posting others of shell-shocked residents. The blog also reports that Russian soldiers attacked the local church and that the Human Rights Ombudsperson of the Republic of Georgia has visited...

Georgia, Russia: Tbilisi Reports

  12 August 2008

Three bloggers who are currently in Tbilisi describe what life there has been like in the past few days. According to LJ user oleg_panfilov, everything is quiet in the Georgian capital this night, while tomorrow "there'll be plenty of politics," because presidents of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Ukraine are expected to descend on the city.

African MSM & Sex Workers Voice Concerns and Hopes at AIDS 2008

  11 August 2008

The AIDS 2008 conference (IAC) in Mexico City drew to a close on August, 8th, 2008. The theme of the conference was “universal action now” and judging by the heavy international attendance, the focus on marginalized communities and the daily newsletter aptly called “Global Voice”, it delivered on the promise....

Georgia, Russia: Blogger From Poti Recounts the Bombing

  10 August 2008

Here is LJ user pepsikolka's account of what it felt like when the Russian planes were bombing Poti, her native city: "[...] Around midnight I heard some roaring, ran up to the window and saw shaft of fire, explosions at the port and heard a deafening noise. I didn't even have the time to get scared, I just knew that if a cistern with oil at the terminal gets hit, there'll be fire and an explosion, so I grabbed the phone, called Tengo, Vika answered, screaming [...]"

Kuwait: Release Hussein Al Fudalah Now

On July 7, Kuwaiti Hussein Al Fudalah left his home to go fishing and was never seen again. A few days later his family got the news that he was detained in neighbouring Iran. And while Kuwait's newspapers are turning a blind eye to Hussein's plight, one Kuwaiti blogger thinks that enough is enough and is running an online campaign to draw more attention to the captured fisherman.

Japan: Atomic Bombing Anniversary

  7 August 2008

Yesterday was the the anniversary of the atomic bombing in Japan, Tokyogenso expresses hope for world peace. Martin from Kurashi quotes from the NHK documentary about the effects of atomic bomb to the victims.