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Our house was shaken by six airstrikes
31 Dec 2008 16:44:00 GMT
Author: Jawad Harb

While the Gaza strip is currently facing some of the toughest challenges in the Palestinian territories, I'm writing my own very personal story. But it is also the story of 1.6 million Palestinians living in Gaza.

The 28th of December, 2008, was a day to remember. It was 4:30 p.m. I was sitting with my six kids at my house which is 500 metres from the Egyptian border. The darkness was surrounding us like a monster, a few candles lit our path to the kitchen and bathroom. It was a moonless night full of unpredictable, unknown fear. I was telling my kids stories to distract them when suddenly it was like an earthquake - six consecutive airstrikes shook the house up and down.

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HAVE YOUR SAY: International adoptions good or bad?
31 Dec 2008 12:27:00 GMT
Author: Emma Batha

AlertNet's Celebrity Humanitarian poll revealed some strong views on the subject of international adoptions.

Some voters condemned Madonna over her adoption of a Malawian boy while others praised Angelina Jolie's adoptions from Ethiopia, Cambodia and Vietnam as kind humanitarian acts - but is there really any difference?

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What Sri Lanka can learn from the tsunami
24 Dec 2008 11:54:00 GMT
Author: Amjad Mohamed-Saleem

I can remember it as if it were yesterday. At 4.30am on the 26th of December 2004, my phone woke me up ... It was my mother on the line from Colombo frantically saying there was severe flooding in the east of Sri Lanka and my grandmother had been affected. The rest of that snowy Boxing Day will always be a blur to me as reports came in of the tsunami.

I took one of the first flights from London out to Sri Lanka still unsure as to the gravity of the whole situation. The plane was half empty - it seemed there had been at least 150 last-minute cancellations. Touching down in Colombo, I was struck by the air of gloom in the airport - the staff seemed almost glad to see the arrival of someone to their country after the rapid departure of so many tourists. In Colombo everywhere from rickshaws to private houses was flying the traditional white flag of mourning.

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Best of 2008 - Aid agency blogs
18 Dec 2008 11:11:00 GMT
Author: AlertNet

Aid worker blogs offer readers the unique perspectives of those providing relief in war zones and disasters. The best of these pieces include personal stories and anecdotes that illuminate the human cost of crises in a way that press releases can't. They highlight the complexities of delivering aid and connect the reader to affected communities.

As 2008 draws to a close, we at AlertNet have collected together some of the gems of our aid worker blogs from the past year.

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Migrants face growing racism
17 Dec 2008 18:50:00 GMT
Author: Antonio Guterres

International migration is a defining characteristic of the contemporary world. Throughout the globe, people are being pushed beyond the borders of their own country by armed conflict and natural disasters, and attracted to other states by the prospect of better security and opportunities than are available at home. At few times in human history have so many people been on the move from one country and continent to another.

International migration makes an enormous contribution to our economic, social and cultural life. It helps to fill gaps in the labour market and provides billions of dollars to developing countries each year in the form of migrant remittances. It enables people to improve their education, to learn new skills and to make the best use of their talents. And it contributes enormously to the global exchange of ideas and information, enabling us all to experience a more varied and cosmopolitan lifestyle than was possible in the past.

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