Topic: Crisis Response

Between 1959 and 1998, tens of thousands of Rwandan men, women and children fled from ethnic violence and genocide at home to neighbouring countries such as Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. According to the UN cessation clause on refugees all refugees should be repatriated

For the past month, Niger has been battling with heavy rains and floods. More than 130,000 people have been affected, and 32 have lost their lives; homes have been washed away, and farmlands and crops have been destroyed.

Hanan is showing us a picture she drew on a torn piece of paper. In some ways it’s what you’d expect from an 8-year-old. The people have smiling faces and amorphous bodies.

“Is there an elevator ?” I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this question before I ask Hanadi, a wheelchair-bound Syrian refugee in her late twenties. She lives with relatives

Written by Christina Polzot, country representative for CARE International in Cuba

September 3, 2013 - In August, heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan have triggered flash floods and caused widespread losses and damage across the country; 1.3 million people have been affected, 193 people died, 879 were reported injured, with thousands displaced and forced to find refuge in camps.

September 10, 2013 - Heavy rains in Niger and Mali over the last month have affected neighbouring Benin, with areas close to the Niger River – Malanville and Karimama – being severely flooded. The floods have washed away homes built of black earth, damaged farmlands and crops and endangered human lives; nearly 10,000 people have been displaced, more than 33,000 people have lost their homes, and over 21,000 hectares of crops have been destroyed.

Torrential rains and flooding in Bamako, the capital city of Mali, has killed more than 30 people and destroyed the houses of about 1,100 families in the past two days. It has also damaged homes and infrastructure in different areas of the city. Claudine Mensah Awute, Country Director for CARE Mali, visited one of the most affected areas yesterday.

The looming threat of a potential international military strike in Syria has caused a sudden and increasing number of Syrian refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries, stretching already limited aid resources and worsening the humanitarian situation in the region.