The 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

More photos here, in the gallery we set up with the material our colleagues have been sending daily from Haiti and the Dominican Republic border. We are also publishing some (hopefully) interesting stuff in our brand new twitter account.

Swine influenza A (H1N1)

This is the monster taking all my time in the last days and will continue some more time. An outbreak of swine influenza A (H1N1) that is affecting people everywhere and killing some at least in Mexico, where everything seems to have started.

I always wanted to know how an International Organization works and now I’m learning it the hard way.

Be careful what you wish for!

Stop the killing in Gaza!

We can honestly agree that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a rather complex and complicated one, where the two involved parties have a fair set of demands. However what Israel is doing these days (the Administration supported by a majority of Israelis), no matter how you look at it, is absolutely over the top.

A cluster bomb released by Israel over Gaza (Source: Reuters).

This is an extract from the report UN/OCHA published some hours ago:

• «Seven days of uninterrupted bombardment on the entire Gaza Strip. Registered fatalities amount to 327 and injuries to over 1,100, however there are estimates of additional unregistered casualties up to 421 people killed and 2,100 injured. People are living in a state of fear and panic.

• 80% of the population cannot support themselves and are dependant on humanitarian assistance. This figure is increasing.

• According to WFP, the population is facing a food crisis. There are food shortages of flour, rice, sugar, dairy products, milk, canned foods and fresh meats.»

But the Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni thinks that “there’s no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip”.

Based on data and not in propaganda, UNRWA has just launched an urgent appeal requesting funds to cover the most pressing humanitarian requirements. Karen AbuZayd (UNRWA Commissioner General) said: “In my eight years in UNRWA, the urgency of an appeal for the people here has never been so acute. I am appalled and saddened when I see the suffering around me”.

UNRWA is also accepting individual donations through the following two banks:

Arab Bank PLC
UNRWA USD Current account100191-4-510
SWIFT Code: ARABPS22600
El-Rimal Branch Omar El-Mukhtar St, Gaza

HSBC Bank
UNRWA USD Current account 002/057511-185
Swift Code: BBMEJOAX
Amman, Jordan

For my Spanish colleagues: también se puede donar a través del Comité Español de la UNRWA y de La Caixa (ver Guerra Eterna).

Antonio enchanté

11D

And the rest of the world… we just learn new adjectives. Abhorrible.