· January, 2009

Stories about Humanitarian Response from January, 2009

Indonesia: Flooding in 13 provinces

Thirteen Indonesian provinces experienced flooding the past week due to torrential rains. The disaster has claimed the lives of 14 people while three others are still missing. More than 50,000 people have to be evacuated. Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, is under up to two meters of water.

17 January 2009

Costa Rica: After the Earthquake

A week has passed since the 6.2 Earthquake in Costa Rica, and on blogger and twitter people have been commenting on the aftermath, analyzing the relief efforts, the rescue operations...

16 January 2009

Palestine: Israeli Troops Enter Residential Areas of Gaza City

Thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing from Gaza City as IDF troops have entered residential areas. A number of the foreign activists in Gaza were helping at Al Quds hospital when it came under attack, and managed to get out reports of what was going on. We hear from them and other bloggers in this roundup of Gaza blogs by Ayesha Saldanha.

16 January 2009

Syria: Gaza Analysis

Syrian resident blogger Joshua Landis posts analysis on Palestine's bleak future and Syria's disappointment in Obama on his blog, Syria Comment.

15 January 2009

Global: Online Petitions Launched in Action for Gaza

Once relegated to the realm of paper and signatures, the petition has gained new meaning, with sites like Petition Online allowing anyone to create one. As Israel's attacks on Gaza rage on, bloggers opposed to Israel's actions are using blogs and social media to circulate petitions for a number of specific causes. Others have thought up other innovative ways to make a difference online.

14 January 2009

Palestine: “Tell me, please God, tell me this is going to end soon”

The Israeli aerial attacks on Gaza show no sign of relenting, and in Gaza City there is now street fighting. In this post bloggers describe the fear experienced when Israeli soldiers arrive in the neighbourhood, explain how important prayer has become, and emphasise the need to keep telling the world what is going on.

13 January 2009

Palestine: “They Don't Know If They Will Live”

Mohammad, based in Ramallah but originally from Gaza, has been keeping readers on KABOBfest abreast with developments in Gaza over the past 17 days, so that the world may hear their stories. Jillian York shares his latest dispatch in this chilling post.

13 January 2009

From Italy to Palestine: Vittorio Arrigoni writes from Gaza

Vittorio Arrigoni is an Italian human rights activist who is currently in Gaza, one of a number of activists who arrived with the Free Gaza movement. Vittorio (Vik) blogs at Guerrilla Radio [it], and also writes for the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto. His posts vividly describe what the people of Gaza are experiencing right now. In one, a doctor describes the effects of the white phosphorus shells Israel is accused of using: "He said that what was totally inexplicable was the total absence of eyeballs, which even in the case of trauma of that magnitude should stay in place, at least traces of them."

12 January 2009

MENA: Israel and the Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza

The world is looking on in shock at the devastating photographs taken of Gaza victims - some of whom are deformed beyond recognition. Human Rights Watch is also calling upon Israel to stop the unlawful use of White Phosphorus in its war on Gaza. Bloggers from across the region react.

12 January 2009

Morocco: On Poverty and Gaza

Duncan Goes to Morocco, a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Morocco, discusses poverty in his village, and the reaction of the village to the incidents in Gaza.

12 January 2009