Thanks to a clever little virus, our collective hamster wheel has come to an abrupt halt, throwing many of us off and spinning in the other direction, towards ourselves. My fear is that between the Vitamin C popping, baking and Zoom calls, we are avoiding the questions that lie beneath the conspiracy theories and that bring us face to face with our mortality. Questions that … [Read more...]
Gift of the Givers opens second hospital in Syria
The exodus of millions of Syrians seeking refugee status in Europe and elsewhere is indicative of a major catastrophe inside Syria. Gift of the Givers medical teams have been a witness to the pain, suffering, extensive injuries and deaths of thousands of people. Their response was to set up an emergency hospital in Darkoush in January 2013 within 70 days. Here is more news … [Read more...]
Ordinary citizens across Europe helping ailing refugees
Last week saw yet another horrible development in Europe’s refugee crisis: the discovery of 71 bodies in an airless truck, abandoned by an Austrian highway. But the tragedy seems to have galvanized an uprising. Yesterday, Austrians took to the streets in Vienna, to say that they don’t want Europe to become a “mass grave” for people fleeing conflict in other parts of the … [Read more...]
World Refugee Day: Three stories of struggle
Today is World Refugee Day. Refugees mostly flee from violent situations - and most violence is linked to the scarcity of resources - or hunger. Both could be linked to climate change and the scramble for environmental support. Indeed this escalating trend is set to increase as changing climates place more and more pressure on our land and people to adapt to difficult … [Read more...]
Collapsible refugee shelters powered by the sun
More than 40 million people worldwide have been displaced from their homes and left to find shelter in strange lands. Maybe they find a tarp, or a tent, but their quality of life almost always remains dismal. To close this gap in need, Jordanian-Canadian architect and designer Abeer Seikaly designed a new kind of shelter. One that allows refugees to rebuild their lives with … [Read more...]
