Humanitarian Happenings In Very Small Doses

by Michael Bear · 2009-02-18 22:15:00 UTC
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Was originally thinking of writing this in terza rima, or as a string of linked haikus, starting with:

Dirt and dust airfield,
Much joy in the Landcruisers
The plane brought real gin

But it turns out that haiku is actually quite difficult. And time consuming.

Anyhows, a quick safari through various humanitarian crises and catastrophes:

Chad

According to the Enough Project, it's coup season in Chad.  For which there really isn't an appropriate Hallmark card.  Or at least not yet.

Congo

Shockingly, still not enough peacekeepers for the Congo.  Which is something of shame, considering that Congolese rebels have recently reverted to doing what they do best - slaughtering civilians.

Gaza

Speaking of doing what you do best - in Gaza, both Israelis and Palestinians continue to try their hardest to undermine the ceasefire, with tit-for-tat attacks and reprisals.  As many as 100,000 Gazans remain displaced, living in tents, or taking shelter with other family members.

Israel, for its part, continues to impose restrictions on relief supplies and aid workers entering Gaza.

Israel announced it would keep the crossings into Gaza closed until Hamas released a captured Israeli soldier.

Sri Lanka

Both the Sri Lankan militiary and the Tamil Tigers seem intent on killing as many Tamil civilians as possible.  At last count, as many as 200,000 people were trapped by the fighting, with an estimated 40 civilians dying every day.

Wounded civilians are also dying for want of medical care.

Thousands of those who've escaped the frontlines are being held by the Sri Lankan Government in rather Orwellian-sounding "welfare villages," which many are not allowed to leave.

For their part, the Tamil Tigers - not known for half-measures - are simply shooting civilians who try to flee, thereby sending them directly to the great welfare village in the sky.

To round it off, humanitarian agencies have almost no access to those most in need.

Sudan

Sudanese President Omar Bashir continues to face an uphill struggle in his efforts to convince the world that he's really a rather nice man, and certainly doesn't commit genocide in his spare time.

On the positive side of the ledger, the Sudanese Government is holding peace talks with one of the main Darfur rebel groups.

Not so good - the Sudanese Government continues to block aid flights to over 100,000 civilians trapped in South Darfur.

The fact that one of Bashir's senior advisors recently attacked the US Holocaust Museum as "lies upon lies" probably also doesn't help.

That said, it's important to focus on the positive - the chocolate croissants at Ozone are just as tasty as ever.

Yemen

Yemen recently won the coveted award of "most food insecure country in the Middle East".

Zimbabwe

Finally, Zimbabwe is the worst place on earth.  And Christopher Hitchens thinks it's invasion-time.  (Also, tragically, no Hallmark card available.)

[Sudanese refugees in Chad - AP photo taken in 2004]

Michael Bear
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