Emergencies

“Tacloban and the island of Leyte have received wide media coverage, but Panay Island mustn’t be forgotten,” said Father Mark Granflor, director of the Social Action Centre of the archdiocese of Capiz (the diocesan Caritas office). “Here too, families have been very badly hit and people are suffering. More than 147,000 people have been affected, and you only have to look around to see that people need help.”

The city of Tacloban, one of the areas that suffered the worst devastation from Typhoon Haiyan, received some relief when the Caritas network delivered 500 tarpaulins to those left without shelter after the storm.

The tarps were transported by the Australian Air Force, who took the Caritas cargo from Cebu, the main hub of relief efforts, to Tacloban, on a C-130 Hercules.

When I arrived at the Caritas Centre in Irbid, Jordan, there was a queue of about a hundred people waiting to register. Most are Syrians who have fled the civil war in their country, but there are also Palestinians forced to evacuate their refugee camp in Syria’s capital Damascus due to bombings. Why are so many waiting in line?

“Solidarity is important to the Philippines,” said Trixie Suarez, headmistress of the Singapore School on Cebu, one of the islands badly damaged by Typhoon Haiyan.

“Our students and teachers organized a fundraiser so that in partnership with Caritas we can help people affected by this natural disaster,” she said.

Mrs. Suarez and fifteen students along with members of Caritas Cebu, the diocesan branch of Caritas Philippines-NASSA, distributed food and other aid items Tuesday to 3,650 survivors of the deadly storm in the north of Cebu.

There is devastation everywhere and the victims are in desperate need of everything,” said Fr. Edwin Gariguez, Executive Secretary of Caritas Philippines-NASSA, after visiting destroyed villages in the province of Leyte, one of the hardest hit areas by Typhoon Haiyan.

Just a mere few weeks after a violent earthquake struck the island of Bohol in the Philippines, the country is experiencing one of the worst typhoons in its history.

Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) has already struck several parts of the country, including Bohol and other regions that are still recovering from the previous 20 tropical storms that have come through the country this year.

For over 20 years, the Central African Republic (CAR) has been experiencing chronic political and military instability. The country was plunged into chaos on March 24, 2013 following the overthrow of its former president François Bozizé by Seleka rebels, who formed a new government without real power or control over the nation. This long-neglected crisis has recently been the focus of media attention and renewed interest on the part of the international community.

Caritas Lebanon, with support from Development and Peace and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), is providing much-needed medical services to Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The organisation is running health clinics that provide services to refugees who do not live in camps, an oft-forgotten group, as well as to other vulnerable groups in Lebanon, such as host families, whose resources are strained by the added members to their household.

The conflict in Syria has intensified over the last few months. With increased violence, people are continuing to flee the country. However, there are those who can’t leave and as such, they must cope with ever-worsening and arduous conditions. There are now 4.5 million people within the country who are displaced, which is the equivalent of about 20% of the population. In addition, ongoing hostilities have destroyed infrastructure and left cities isolated and without basic necessities – including food. What little is left, is unaffordable for much of the population.

With the civil war in Syria showing no signs of abating, those who fled their homes and became refugees in neighbouring countries, continue to wonder if they will ever be able to return to their homeland, while others continue to make the heart wrenching decision to leave to escape the violence at their doorsteps. There are now almost 2 million Syrian refugees spread throughout the Middle East, including 680,000 in Lebanon alone.