Flooding in South Asia Displaced over 10 Million People CEDAR Calls for Donations to Help Victims in 3 Countries

Posted on by 施達基金會

(Updated on 30th August,2019)

 

Many countries in South Asia have been inundated during the monsoon season this year. Although the rain has eased up in some of the hardest stricken areas and water levels have subsided, up to 22 July, over 650 people had been killed and over 10 million had been displaced. In light of the severity of the disaster, CEDAR provided a grant of US$60,000 (around HK$470,000) to our Christian partners in India, Bangladesh and Nepal to provide emergency relief to the victims in the region. CEDAR would like to ask all of you for donations to support disaster victims to overcome the adversity.

Continue reading Flooding in South Asia Displaced over 10 Million People CEDAR Calls for Donations to Help Victims in 3 Countries

Winter Assistance Brings Warmth to Over 10,000 Displaced People in Syria

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The conflict in Syria begins its ninth year with no sign of ending at the moment. As global attention drifts away, more than 6.2 million internally displaced people are still struggling to shelter and feed themselves. The most critical time for these refugees is to live through the brisk winter every year. Between December last year and January this year, it was reported that at least 29 children and newborns died, mainly from hypothermia, while fleeing to refugee camp in the eastern region of the country or shortly after arrival [1].

Continue reading Winter Assistance Brings Warmth to Over 10,000 Displaced People in Syria

Iraqi Women and Girls Face Gender-based Violence amidst Conflicts

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Iraq is experiencing one of the largest internal population displacements in the world and the recent surge in sectarian violence threatens to unleash a wave of new violence against women and girls.

Since the beginning of 2014, the UN estimates as many as 1.2 million people have been uprooted due to fighting between militants from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS), local Sunni tribes, Shia militias and the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), more than 7,000 people were killed in the last six months and more than 13,000 injured. In the month of June alone, UNAMI recorded 2,417 deaths and 2,287 injuries. This is the highest month of casualty rate since 2007, the peak of Iraq’s sectarian civil war in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.

Shortly after the conquest of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, ISIS militants armed with assault rifles went door to door taking “women who are not owned” for Jihad Al-Nikad, or sex jihad. In just one week (Jun 9 – 12), women’s rights activists documented 13 cases of women who were kidnapped and raped by the militants who also forced men to watch the rape of their wives, daughters and sisters. Of the 13 women, four of them committed suicide out of shame; one woman’s brother even committed suicide because he could not bear the guilt of his inability to protect his sister.

Before the conflicts, it was already difficult being a woman in Iraq, but the current wave of conflicts threatens to make life even worse for them. UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warned at the beginning of this month that an estimated 20,000 women and girls in Iraq are at an increased risk of sexual violence as a result of the mounting crisis in the north and west. It also raised public attention that the violence in northern Iraq in the past month has displaced approximately one million people, in which there are 250,000 women and girls, and including nearly 60, 000 pregnant women, are all in need of urgent health care and protection.

Women and girls have often been the center of sexual and gender-based violence amidst conflicts around the world. Let us pray for the displaced people of Iraq, especially for women and girls who are most vulnerable amidst conflicts. [IPS, UN]


Meditation on Scriptures:

‘You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
You encourage them, and You listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.’ (Psalm 10:17-18)

Pray for Iraq that:

  • The leaders of the Iraqi government, ISIS and religious sects can actively participate in the settlement of the current conflicts in Iraq.
  • The rights of women and girls in Iraq will be protected.
  • The required support (esp. funds) in continuing life-saving humanitarian assistance will be met.
  • The Christians living in Iraq will not be persecuted amidst the sectarian conflicts.

Security Concerns Rise at Syrian Refugee Camp

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[ePrayer – Pray for the refugees camps in Jordan]

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The conflict between for and anti-Syrian Ba’ath Party government is still ongoing after its break out in March 2011. Till February 2013, the Syrian conflict has caused 70,000 deaths, about 1.2 million displaced in Syria and as many as 1 million Syrian refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries such as Jordan.

Za’atari camp is one of the camps for the Syrian refugees in Jordan. It was originally built to accommodate around 60,000 Syrian refugees yet it is now hosting at least 140,000. As the numbers in Za’atari have swelled, safety and security have degenerated. Aid workers have frequently faced attack during aid distributions. Tents, mattresses, gas and other products are smuggled in and out through a thriving black market, which often charges refugees exploitative prices for essential goods. The Jordanian government is implementing measures to improve security for the camp, but aid workers say the efforts are limited by funding constraints and have yet to make a difference. [Guardian, CNN, Reuters]

Pray for the refugees camps in Jordan:

  • Pray for God’s protection and provision to Syrian refugees in Jordan;
  • Pray for the safety of aid workers, journalists and citizens there;
  • Pray that people with experience and proper training can support the fundraising, aid distribution and management of refugee camp sites.