Emergencies

It seems like just yesterday that I was 20 years old and a law student at the University of Laval in Québec. I had just been selected by Canadian Crossroads International to go to Africa – Mali to be precise. I was leaving North America for the first time. In fact, it was the first time that I was travelling by plane! Was I excited? I can still remember singing with the nuns next to me on the Alitalia flight! They were on their way to visit Rome, which for me was just stopover on my way to Bamako.

Since this past January, over 200,000 people have fled their homes in Mali, mainly due to rebel offenses in the north of the country. Of this number, 107,000 have taken refuge in other parts of the country, while the rest have fled to neighbouring Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Algeria.

It’s been just over a year since Japan experienced one of the worst natural disasters in its history. An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter Scale triggered a massive tsunami with waves exceeding 10 metres that devastated the north-eastern coast of the country, and creating estimated 28 million tonnes of debris.

Canadians showed tremendous solidarity and generosity towards the people of Japan and donated $1.2 million to Development and Peace for relief efforts.

Guy Des Aulniers, Emergency Relief program officer at Development and Peace, was interviewed by Geoffrey P. Johnston from the online news magazine Christian Week for an article on the Christian response to the humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa.

The Filipino community is very active and a source of inspiration…

It was with these words that Michael Casey, Executive Director of Development and Peace, opened a meeting yesterday with two representatives of the Federation of Filipino-Canadian Associations of Quebec (FFCA).

The Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis (CI), Michel Roy, was in Montreal this week to visit the head office of Development and Peace, as part of a tour of the Americas that included visits with CI members Caritas Haiti and Catholic Relief Services in the United States. Development and Peace is the Canadian member of CI, which is a federation of 164 Catholic aid and development organizations worldwide.

The Syrian revolt began on March 15, 2011. Nearly a year later, this popular uprising shows no sign of abating, despite violent reprisals. Archbishop Antoine Audo, S.J., President of Caritas Syria, has informed us of the high level of insecurity in affected areas (Aleppo and Homs). He also reports that Caritas organizations in Jordan and Lebanon are responding to the basic needs of refugees fleeing Syria at this difficult time.

Finally, he shares with us the Lent message (below) delivered by Most Reverend Samir Nassar, Maronite Archbishop of Damascus: “As it enters its second year, the crisis is far from coming to a close. Rather, the storm is getting stronger. The end of the tunnel remains out of sight. Where is Syria headed? Thus, we begin Lent in silence, with empty hands, heavy hearts and our eyes turned upon CHRIST REBORN, who guides our steps along the path of Forgiveness and Peace.”

Following the 2011 drought, Caritas Kenya launched an emergency appeal for 14 of the country's 25 dioceses. Over the past four days, I have visited projects in three of those dioceses.

"The media have prevented humanitarian organizations from being strategic." The judgment is harsh. It is from Overtoun Omgezulu, regional emergency relief coordinator for the Horn of Africa at Trocaire. He saw the media parade through the region during the summer of 2011. Media pressure forced the organizations to spend money quickly so as to justify the use of the funds sent in. Otherwise, they were afraid that they would face accusations by the public.

I knew Nairobi for having passed through it, many times, when I was heading for Rwanda or Burundi. I always stayed downtown, just for a night, before taking off again. I’ve been in town for just 24 hours but this time the situation is different. I’m staying outside the city, in the Westlands district, 15 minutes from downtown at the All Africa Council of Churches. It's an upscale neighbourhood, far away from the monster downtown traffic jams. What do I mean by monster? At rush hour—meaning anytime between 8 AM and 7 PM—a 15-minute trip can take two hours!