Stories about Humanitarian Response from December, 2008
Egyptian and Tunisian Bloggers against Censorship
In December 2006 frustrated Tunisian bloggers launched the "Action Blank Post" initiative in defense of freedom of speech. Supporting bloggers from all over the world posted a blank on their blogs on the 25th of December, and now bloggers have united again in this anti-censorship tradition, as Marwa Rakha shows.
DRC: Football match to raise money for war-ravaged Kivu
Tomorrow in Kinshasa, the Congolese national football and a team of Congolese footballers from abroad will play a match to raise money for victims of the violence in the east of the country, Cedric Kalonji [Fr] writes.
Southeast Asia: Newsmakers of 2008
For Southeast Asia, 2008 was a year of terrible disasters, both natural and man-made. Rice consumption was reduced, milk products were contaminated with melamine, jobs were lost, bloggers were arrested, and homes were destroyed. But the situation is not hopeless.
Caribbean: 2008 in Review
From natural disasters to lightning bolts of the athletic kind, 2008 was a busy one for the Caribbean blogosphere. Here are some of the highlights...
MSF's Top 10 Humanitarian Crises in 2008
MSF (Doctors without borders) has released its annual list of Top 10 Humanitarian Crises of 2008 and the DR Congo, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Somalia and Ethiopia's Somali region made the cut. Several bloggers have commented on the list, including The Road to the Horizon who noted that there was “no under-reporting...
Haiti: Photo of the Year
Haiti Innovation reports that the UNICEF “Photo of the Year” features the plight of Haiti, while the photographer, who has her own blog, says of her win: “It’s not only great because my work as a photographer gets recognition, but also and much more important – eventually many people will...
Palestine: No falafels in Gaza
In Gaza has found one of the few falafel stands still able to operate despite fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Srebrenica Roundup
A roundup of Srebrenica Genocide Blog‘s recent posts: the process of identification of the victims of the massacre; the ICTY's conclusion on Naser Orić, former senior Bosnian commander in charge of defending the Srebrenica enclave; testimony by Doctors Without Borders representatives delivered at the 2001 French Parliamentary Hearing into the...
South Korea: Riot Police Suppressed Comfort Women Protest
Michael Solis from Ohmynews! reported (with a video) about the Korean comfort women protest on 10 of December, 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, the government sent riot police to suppress the peaceful protest.
Japan: Dr. Shochi's trip around the world
Follow the adventures of Dr. Shochi Saburo (曻地三郎), a 102 year-old Japanese Doctor of Literature, Doctor of Medicine, Honorary Doctor of Philosophy and Poet who came up with the Parent and Child Toymaking Class [en], a program that “brings out children’s sensitivity and intelligence, improves communication and the bond between...
Where is Hossein Derakhshan?
Bangla blogger Jajabor Aronnyok writes about the detention/disappearance of well-known Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan aka Hoder. A supporter of freedom of expression, Aronnyok wants justice and freedom for Hoder.
Haiti, U.S.A.: Relief Delay
The Haitian Blogger reports that storm victims are dying of starvation because of the delay in getting goods to the island: “The situation is that aid agencies are in control of foreign aid to Haiti and the Haitian government as usual, is being cut out of the picture and were...
Egypt: Inanities on Homosexuality
Sarah Carr, blogger and journalist addresses how a published feature titled “Honey, I’m homosexual” and online comments perpetuate myths about homosexuality and, in doing so, contributes to the culture of intolerance in Egyptian society.
D.R. Congo: Authorities close Lake Bukavu to fishing
Congoblog [Fr] reports on a planned 3-month closure of Lake Bukavu, in eastern Congo: “This decision by local authorities has upset a number of fishermen on whose fish the town of Bukavu depends and who have no other means of subsistence. ‘This is an illegal and inhumane decision. We are going...
DR Congo: Human Rights and Gender Violence Situation in North Kivu
Today is International Human Rights Day as well as the last day of the campaign "16 days of activism against gender violence" but in many parts of the world there's not much to celebrate on those fronts, as shown by this roundup of blogs by aid workers in North Kivu.
Tajikistan: Aging Cars Resurrection
Daniel McIntosh writes about Khujand’s cargo train station in the northern part of Tajikistan, where retired vehicles of the developed world are given a second life to later go on to become a family’s pride in one of Central Asia’s poorest countries.
Afghanistan: Afghans Win Homeless Soccer World Cup
SunLeaf says that the Afghanistani team took part in the Homeless Soccer World Cup and showed true character and determination in winning.
Playing for Change: Peace Through Music
MeetJohnSong brings to our attention a global collaborative musical project called Playing for Change: Peace through Music. The concept behind it is that music is a common uniting factor between different cultures, ethnicities and regions.The film and music will be available in 2009, and more information on the project can be found on the Playing for Change website.
China: Protestors and petitioners penned up into madhouse
It is a story about petitioning, protest and madhouse. Reading the story, I am almost drowned by a sense of desperation infused in what Mr. Sun has gone through all these years, but also very much touched by Mr. Shi’s courage to expose such a scandal to public. I know, this would be a story worth record, and translation.
Egypt: When Virginity is More Important than Murder
Egypt is gripped with the story of a gruesome murder, in which two university students were killed, in the upscale Sixth of October City’s Sheikh Zayed district. One of the victims is the daughter of Moroccan singer Laila Ghofran and to make the crime more interesting to readers, some newspapers started to spread rumors about the victims' lifestyle..
Sudan: Deployment of a joint AU & UN force to Darfur
AK of For Sudan comments on the Sudanese government accepting a agreed to the deployment to Darfur of a joint force of the African Union and the United Nations: “So is this a move in the right direction? Absolutely! However, the ‘international community’ i.e. the US has been focusing too...
