Notes from Archie Law, CEO of ActionAid Australia
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World Humanitarian Day provides an opportunity for all people to celebrate the life saving efforts of the global humanitarian community (see official video below).
At a personal level it provides an opportunity to reflect and remember the dedication of my former colleagues who were killed and injured on that first World Humanitarian Day on 19 August 2003 when the UN Headquarters in Baghdad came under attack.
The disaster in Pakistan is unprecedented and over 14 million people are struggling to survive as a result of the floods. I thought I would share a brief report from ActionAid’s Communciations Manager in Pakistan, Javeria Malik, on her recent visit to to Punjab Province to give a sense of the devastation facing the people of Pakistan.
“Abdul Qayyum was crying as he told me his story. Previously a prosperous owner of a grocery shop, he had seen all his hard work and family’s wealth washed away when floods hit the Punjabi city of Kot Addu.
Like millions of others, he despaired at the government’s lack of help.
‘We’ve been totally on our own,’ he said. ‘Now we’re going back home – and God knows how long it will take us to repair.’
Abdul’s story has been repeated many times in the three weeks I’ve travelled across Pakistan, visiting the badly hit areas, meeting families escaping the flood waters. At first I saw people stranded in upper Swat due to washed away bridges and roads, and more recently met those returning to their collapsed homes in Southern Punjab, who were attempting to recover at least some of their belongings.
I am deeply concerned about the situation in Pakistan at the moment. Widespread flooding due to unusually heavy monsoon rains across Pakistan has so far claimed the lives of up to 1,600 people, with over 1,000 injured, according to the Government of Pakistan and the UN.
These same sources estimate that almost 14 million people have been affected by the flooding. This figure is higher than the number of people affected by the 2005 South Asia tsunami (five million), the 2005 South Asia earthquake (three million), or the 2010 Haiti earthquake (three million).
The estimate of homes destroyed or seriously damaged — 290,000 — is almost the same as those destroyed in Haiti. According to OCHA spokesperson Maurizio Giuliano, between 6 and 7 million are in immediate need of food and other items.
ActionAid’s own staff in Pakistan have commented that “Roads and bridges have been washed away or badly damaged in the Swat Valley. The only way to get to the worst affected, far flung areas is by walking over difficult and slippery mountainous path. Continuing rains make it even more challenging, especially for women. Electricity and communication systems are disrupted and it will take a long time for the effects of such a large scale disaster to settle. With new flood warnings coming in, government and aid agencies will have to scale up their response.”
One of my colleagues in Kot Adu (District Muzaffargarh) has told us that he could see “people sitting on roof tops waiting for rescue and relief. They had not had water or food for more than 24 hours. Women and children were in a miserable state.
The idea of celebrities campaigning for various causes is quite a familiar sight these days. It’s not uncommon to see film and pop stars such as Angelina Jolie, Bono and even Lindsay Lohan participating (at very different levels) in numerous causes, and some have even become political leaders. Celebrities certainly bring a new level of exposure to development issues.
However, none of these celebrities have tried to take on the Presidential role of one of the poorest countries in the world. Nor have they tried to do so six months after -a devastating earthquake that caused more than 200 000 deaths.
Last week, the Haitian born rap star Wyclef Jean confirmed that he would be running for the presidency of Haiti in the November elections.
British pop star Jamelia visited Bwaise, a large slum area in Uganda’s capital Kampala earlier this year
Jean has faced a barrage of criticism (including disapproval from other celebrities) that he lacks the necessary skills and expertise to ensure that Haiti sufficiently recovers and rebuilds after January’s earthquake.
On the one hand, Jean appears to have a pro-poor approach and considers education and job creation key pillars in increasing living standards. On the other hand, Jean has no political experience, hasn’t lived in Haiti since he was nine years old and his only management experience has been running his non-profit organisation Yéle Haiti Foundation, which has faced controversy over its financial dealings.
If Jean is successfully elected as President, can his celebrity status bring new leadership to aid and development in Haiti?
Would you vote for a former rap star to become President of Haiti?
Tags: actionaid, earthquake, Education, emergency, Haiti
Today is the six month anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti and many people are asking, “What’s going on in Haiti?”
Despite the UN labelling the earthquake “the worst disaster ever confronted”, Haiti has dropped off the radar in terms of media attention. Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, with chronic underlying poverty.
These problems have made coping with the earthquake even more difficult and progress in rebuilding has been slow.
Dabady Gina Fils, 31, from Jacmel, lost her house and small business in the earthquake. Six months on, supporting people to move from tents into transitional shelter is one of ActionAid’s top priorities.
Tags: actionaid, Community participation, earthquake, Education, emergency, Haiti
Five months after the quake, a lot of Haitians living in Port-au-Prince and its surroundings still believe that what happened on January 12 was a spiritual act. Most of them are sure that it was Satan at work; some have faith that it was prophesy, and others believe in the hypothesis that life and natural ways recycle themselves when necessary.
Children fly home-made kites at the T1 Source camp above the town of Mariani. ActionAid worked with local partners delivering food to displaced people at this camp.
Tags: actionaid, earthquake, emergency, Haiti
This week I had a great opportunity to participate in a meeting of Australian NGOs with the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Donor Support Group which was held in Sydney on Monday 7th June.
The Australian Government has been chairing the ODSG this year which is great for the humanitarian community in Australia. The ODSG comprises the main government donors to the work of OCHA and therefore some of the big hitters in the humanitarian world, including the UN’s Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, were attending the meeting.
Guerriette teaches in the ActionAid ‘tent’ school as Christella, 5, Chery, 9 and Johnny, 11 look on.
Tags: actionaid, Children's rights, Education, emergency, Haiti
Imagine being a young child and turning up to school to find it riddled with bullet holes, doors ripped from the hinges and your school work littering the playground.
This is what children like Wahid (pictured) faced last year after a 28 day war between Israel and Hamas. One year after the conflict, the children are struggling to regain a sense of normality.
Wahid picks up what is left of her project work from the rubble
Tags: actionaid, earthquake, emergency, Haiti
