Geneva UN and Red Cross groups work on sanitation, health problems
Installing a water reservoir in the women's prison at Petion-Ville. (photo: ©2010 ICRC/M. Kokic/ht-e-00577)
Work for cash, UNDP programme, Haiti 2010 (photo: ©2010 UNDP on flickr)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The arrest of 10 Americans accompanying a busload of children being illegally carried out of Haiti and into the Dominican Republic 30 January by a US religious organization has raised fears that children may be separated from members of their family who survived the 12 January earthquake in the country. Two Geneva-based groups, the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and the Geneva office of Unicef, are active in the fight to ensure that children do not become victims of a new Haitian disaster, child trafficking, whether they are orphans or not.
The arrests come as fears are reportedly rising among Haitians of the ancient loup-garou, similar to a werewolf but a predator of children’s spirits, according to the Washington Post.
ICRC’s tracing service, usually deployed in times of conflict, is working closely with the Haitian Red Cross to re-establish family links. Working with lists provided by hospitals and first aid stations, the workers collate information to get families back together. ICRC says almost 1,500 people have been able to make “safe and well” phone calls. So far, it has a list of 25,600 names on its site www.icrc.org/familylinks.
The UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) concentrates on reuniting children with their families.
Haiti earthquake, the aftermath (Photo: Matthew Marek/American Red Cross)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Several organizations based in Switzerland are spearheading much of the relief effort in Haiti, and they are appealing to the public for funds. Aid has begun pouring into the country, more than 30 hours after the 7.0 scale earthquake that ravaged the capital, Port-au-Prince.
If you live in the Lake Geneva area and you would like to contribute to funds going to Haiti, here is a GenevaLunch selection of key groups, with fund appeals and explanations about their work in the area on their web sites:
People of Waziristan leave home again © 2009 Tariq Saeed/IRIN
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Thousands of people displaced by the two-week old conflict in South Waziristan, in Pakistan’s northwest, are arriving in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) districts of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan, sometimes fleeing the fighting by difficult, dangerous and expensive routes.
Their escape from the middle of a war zone, access to and from which is tightly controlled by the Pakistan military, is recounted in an article by Irin News. A local newpaper, Dawn, reports 20 October on a family, 12 of whose members were killed by a bomb while fleeing.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says about 125,000 people have fled since hostilities began, joining the 81,000 who had already left since August. Most find accommodation with friends and family, following Pashtun tribal customs of hospitality. The UN children’s agency, Unicef, says most of the displaced are women and children.
Assistance from around the world is arriving in the western city of Padang, Sumatra in Indonesia as time runs out for the thousands of people believed still trapped underneath buildings and houses after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck 30 September. The official death toll exceeds 1,100 according to UN Humanitarian Affairs chief, John Holmes. Rescue efforts are underway at a school that collapsed with 60 school children inside.
Rescue efforts in this city of almost 1 million people and surrounding areas are hampered by rubble in the streets and broken communications and power lines. Dazed and stunned people wander the streets looking for loved ones. Staff at hospitals are working overtime and the city’s morgues are full. CNN, Jakarta Post, Reuters
Swiss Rescue team (photo: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation )
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - An advance team of seven earthquake experts was scheduled to leave Zurich for Sumatra at noon today Thursday 1 October, to be followed Friday by 120 members of Swiss Rescue, who will provide search and rescue operation aid. The team will also undertake emergency relief work and help assess the needs of the population
