Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…
[The place names link to maps so that you can get a quick idea of the region.]
KYRGYZSTAN: Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes due to brutal violence. The ICRC and Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan have assisted 16 medical facilities by caring for more than 1,130 injured people in the past week, and the American Red Cross has committed an initial $50,000 to the relief effort and stands ready to deploy staff and relief supplies, if requested.
TANZANIA: The IFRC is raising awareness about albinos in danger of being attacked for their body parts, which are sold as superstitious talismans.
GEORGIA/SOUTH OSSETIA: The ICRC organized a second round of family visits to detainees of Georgian and South Ossetian origin on both sides of the administrative boundary line.
TAJIKISTAN: Torrential rain, snow, avalanches, floods, mudslides, rock flows and landslides… the Red Cross is responding to the country’s worst disaster in over a decade.
SUDAN: The ICRC facilitated the handover to government authorities of 35 members of the Sudanese army, who were released by the Justice and Equality Movement. The ICRC has been working in Darfur since 2004, where it provides assistance for victims of the armed conflict and other violence.
GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies