Just getting your attention: February 2008

Friday, February 29, 2008

"THE BURNING OF THE GERIEDA AREA"

Attack Summary

Location:South Darfur

Attacked: November 2005- February 2006

Destroyed Homes: 1018

Destroyed Structures: 294

FEBRUARY 16, 2006

More than 2000 Janjawid on horses and camels attacked and looted eight villages in the Gereida area of South Darfur- Tigla- Arediba Araj- Umrokbi-Gubai-Untraigo-Gandako-Hashaba-and Rajaj.

Thirty-three people were killed and six more wounded,

More than 1500 camels and cows were stolen in the attack.

These attacks were part of a much larger campaign that included attacks on more than 60 villages in the area between November 2005 and February 2006, in which some 300 people were killed. In this image alone, more than 40 settlements areas were completely wiped out.

"THE BURNING OF DONKEY DEREIS"

Location: South Darfur

Attacked: April 2006

Destroyed Homes: 45

Destroyed Structures: 11

Satellite Image shows the burned area.

APRIL 2006

The village of Donkey Dereis has been a battlefield between government and rebel forces, ever since the rebel movements moved into South Darfur in strength early in 2004 and began establishing a presence in villages inhabited by the Masalit tribe, one of their core support

groups.

On April 27, 2006, the government army and it's proxy militias violently recaptured Donkey Dereis, after reportedly targeting civilians and burning houses in their village.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

WHAT FAMILIES EAT AND SPEND IN FOOD AROUND THE WORLD

The Melander family of Bargteheide, Germany
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

The Revis family of North Carolina, USA

Food expenditure for one week $341.98

The Manzo family of Sicily, Italy

Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

The Casales family of Cuernavaca, Mexico

Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna, Poland

Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

The Ahmed family of Cairo, Egypt

Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

The Ayme family of Tingo , Ecuador

Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village, Bhutan

Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

The Aboubakar Family of Bredjin Camp, Darfur

Food expenditure for one week 685 CFA Francs or $ 1.23

Saturday, February 23, 2008

HALF OF THE BIRD FLU DEATHS ARE IN INDONESIA

A vendor sells colored birds at a market in Jakarta, after a 30-year-old man became the 120th Indonesian to test positive for the virus. Indonesia's human death toll from bird flu now stands at 97, accounting for almost half of the recorded 203 fatalities worldwide.

BIRD FLU RETURNS

Margram, India
Health workers in hazmat suits walk through the village of Margram, about 149 miles (240 km) north of Calcutta, following what the World Health Organisation (WHO) said was the worst outbreak of bird flu in the country.

IT TAKES 45 MINUTES TO FILL A PAN OF WATER

Long wait, for the children that work to retrieve water from a well drilled in Wantugu. Though several such wells have been installed to solve the village's severe water shortage, the water table in the ground is very low, and it can often take up to forty-five minutes to fill a single pan of water.

EXTRACTION

Removal of the parasite requires as much as two weeks. A health worker will tug the worm a few millimeters, then apply a bandage and then return the next day to repeat the process. If the worm is found beneath the skin before it emerges, then it can be fully extracted, saving the patient the painful, lengthy removal process.

CHILDREN ARE THE VICTIMS

Erahmah, a young girl afflicted with the disease, suffers so much from pain from the disease that she is unable to walk. An overwhelming number of Guinea Worm patients are children, as they are less likely to check if their drinking water has been filtered.

PAINFUL REMOVAL PROCESS

The parasite requires a year to mature, when the worm burrows its way out of the body, usually in the lower extremities.

BAD WATER

Guinea worm is a parasite that is contracted by drinking contaminated water. The disease is spread when an infected person comes in contact with the water, where the worm lays its eggs. In Wantugu, where water in the dry season comes only from pools formed by small dams, like the one above, the parasite spreads quickly.