Some not-fun stuff
I’ve been reading Jill’s posts about Bloggers for Darfur, but I kept thinking, “Well, that’s nice, but I don’t have time to deal with that…” After reading Angelina Jolie’s book this weekend, I’ve changed my mind, and I hope to be posting my “Bloggers for Darfur” candle in the next day or so.
Far from celebrity fluff - though not the most in-depth look at things - Jolie’s book is a chronicle of her early trips to Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Ecuador. I’ve read about a lot of it before. I’ve always been appalled by genocide and angry that so many are killed for no reason, but somehow I never realized one horrifying fact: In many of these situations, people are forced at gunpoint or knifepoint to maim or kill people they know.
Large numbers of people - including women and children - are kidnapped and forced to cut off the arms or legs of friends, family, parents, children, babies, and on and on…
So, with that said, here’s a list of some organizations I like that are doing great work to help refugees and people in poverty. Check them out:
- One Global Tribe: Has a program to help war-affected children in Northern Uganda
- The Name Campaign: Helps bring awareness to the problems in Northern Uganda
- Keep a Child Alive: provides AIDS medicine to children in Africa
- UNHCR: The UN’s Refugee Agency. Angelina Jolie is a spokesperson for them.
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Here is the scary flip-side to what you wrote. Last week I read Nic Dunlop’s book on Cambodia, “The Lost Executioner”. He flatly states that humanitarian money went directly to the Khmer Rouge, instead of legit refugees; And that western nations were aware and very supportive of this re-routing of money. A whole Geo-political move to stop the Communist Vietnamese from gaining ground. I have been on the Cambodian/Thai border - yipes! I certainly don’t want Bush’s hand on any money I give!
Just to mellow out after that heavy book, I am starting Gary Shteyngart’s first book, “The Russian Debutantes’s Handbook”. He’s on the cover of the New York Times book section magazine this week.
By Saul on 05.08.06 8:21 pm
It’s certainly true that money can be misappropriated. I try to find organizations I can trust, especially those that are active in the area and use the funds to support real efforts. It’s tough to know, though. What a tricky situation!
By Melanie on 05.09.06 7:01 pm
I did not know about some of those things are forced to do. That is horrible.
I used to worry more about the money not going where it belonged, but I think with research a lot of places can be found that are worth trusting.
By Jill on 05.09.06 7:45 pm
I haven’t yet read of people being forced to maim or kill others in Darfur, but it’s happened in more than one other conflict area. I’d love to read more about Darfur, though. Any book/article/web site recommendations?
By Melanie on 05.10.06 2:13 am
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