Category: Disaster Relief
Healing the Wounds of the Haiti Earthquake
The Republic of Haiti is an island country located in the American continent. Local people were subjected to great slaughter due to the colonialism and poverty that came after the geographical discoveries. The official languages of the Republic of Haiti, which had been a French colony for a long time, still include French, alongside the Haitian Creole. The Republic of Haiti, which has been struggling with poverty for a long time, also intensely experiences problems related to poverty. The inability to have the basic needs such as education, health, etc., which cannot be provided, and political instability can be shown among such problems. In addition to all these, the great Haiti earthquake that took place in 2010 and had an intensity of over 7 added to the country’s problems. The official death number of this earthquake was more than 200 thousand. Unfortunately, a similar earthquake occurred in the past days.
Reconstruction of the Great Haiti Earthquake
The second largest Haiti earthquake, 11 years apart, had a magnitude of 7.2. Although the numbers still continue to increase in this earthquake, it has been reported that approximately 2200 people have died, and more than 12 thousand people have been injured so far. This Haiti earthquake, which took place 12 kilometers northeast of the town of Saint-Jean-du-Sud, was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometers, and was also felt in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and people rushed to the streets. In Haiti, where many settlements were destroyed by the earthquake, the people who were already poor are now deprived of shelter. The Haiti administration, which could not carry out the necessary work with its own means, made a call for international assistance.
IHCRO Extends a Helping Hand
It is a fact that Haiti and its people, who had a hard time with the great Haiti earthquake, need help. In this context, as IHCRO, we directed our aid to Haiti. In addition to the various aids we provide to overcome today’s difficult conditions, we will also carry out activities that will ensure the development and stability of Haiti and especially the Muslim people there in the long run. These activities include building accommodation, madrasahs, masjids, etc. However, today, we are covering the wounds of this great Haiti earthquake, primarily by meeting the needs of the moment, such as: food packs, hygiene kits, tarps, construction of the destroyed homes.
Bangladesh Emergency Flood Campaign
Bangladesh is constantly faced with flood disasters due to its geography. The country, which is very weak in terms of infrastructure, continues to be affected by these natural disasters.
Natural disasters such as floods that have occurred in Bangladesh with a population of 160 million in recent years have become more severe due to climate changes. According to the reports of the United Nations, if such climate events continue, approximately 20% of the population will be displaced within the next ten years.
Bangladesh suffered heavy losses in the flood disaster that occurred in the past days, and according to the latest figures, 27 people lost their lives. It was stated that some regions in the northeast of the country have never been so affected by floods in the last hundred years.
Especially in the northern regions (Sylhet, etc.), heavy rainfall and flooding affected millions of people. The people of the region also state that they have never encountered such a disaster before.
As IHCRO, we made the necessary consultations with our team in Bangladesh and started our project in order to take action quickly. In Bangladesh, where we have been working for many years, we set out to deliver emergency support to the flood-affected areas, especially in the city of Sylhet. Our teams will distribute food parcels to the families affected by the floods and we will do our best to be a balm for the wounds of the local people.
Now is the time to show that we stand by our people in Bangladesh. It is not clear when natural disasters will strike. We could be next. Acting with the awareness of this, let’s hold the hands of the needy there as one body. Goodness multiplies when shared.
NEPAL IS UNDER WATER!
NEPAL IS UNDER WATER!
Nepal is a South Asian country, where many ethnicities are living, with a population of 23 million. Most of its lands are on the downside of Himalayas and some of them are close to Ganges River. According to the official figures, there are approximately 1.5 million Muslims. Muslims and the ones that converted to Islam are facing discrimination by the others and they do not have a voice on economic and political fields, as the other minority Muslims in other countries. Every bad or good event in this country mostly affects the Muslims. Every year, floods are happening in this country where monsoon rains are highly effective.
Most of the people are affected badly because of the floods and landslides caused by heavy rains. Knowing that the Muslims in the country are fighting with poverty, these disasters are making life harder for them.
The government is having difficulties to provide for the society’s basic needs and the budget they arranged for the disasters are insufficient. The help comes late or never comes after the disasters and this makes the consequences worse for the people. When we look at the past, we can see the calamities. It is said that many people’s houses and workplaces are under water.
Not so long ago, heavy rains affected many areas adversely and caused the river in Sindhupalchok to overflow. Settlements in the area got highly damaged. 38 people, 7 of which was children, died and 50 people were injured because of the sudden floods and landslides. It is thought that due to the lack of opportunities and because search and rescue operations are performed with elephants, these people lost their lives. Besides that, many people had to leave their houses. It is estimated that rains will be continuing the next couple of months. It does not seem possible for these people to be able to stand by themselves.
Our team in Nepal has already responded to that crisis and humanitarian aid has reached the flood affected families in Nepal. We managed to reach them quickly and during their hardest time. Flood has damaged most of their mud houses. They appealed for help, and we responded. The ummah relies on IHCRO when the international and local community neglect them.
IHCRO WILL CONTINUE TO HELP THEM WITH LIFE ESSENTIAL LIKE FOOD AND HYGIENE KITS AND OTHER HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT NEEDED.
We Bind Up Wounds in Lebanon
Lebanon is a Middle East country with a surface area of 10.452 km2. More than 6 million people are living in the country and more than half of it is Muslims. The country has Mediterranean climate: winters are cold and rainy; summers are hot and arid. Due to being an ex-French-mandate, French and English are spoken besides Arabic and Armenian. Its independency was acknowledged on 1st January 1944.
After the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, so many Palestinians migrated to Lebanon. The Christians in the country started to be uncomfortable and armed up because of the increasing Muslim population. These incidents caused an internal disturbance, starting from 1975 to the beginning of 1990s. After the frictions that happened with Israel and Syria, the internal state of the country is still not recovered completely.
The main sources of living are agriculture, industry, construction, commerce, tourism, banking business, hotel management, media, consultancy and engineering. Especially Beirut has the most important trading shore of Middle East and East Mediterranean Sea. Because of the high-quality manpower of the country, there isn’t any problem about international trade.
The Muslims in Lebanon
One of the most important internal matters is refugees. Palestinians are banned from working in72 areas and most of them must live in camps to where the government never bring service. Even the security of the camps is provided by the refugees living there, and the refugees fight with each other, as well. Although the exact number is unknown, it is assumed that more than 500 thousand Palestinians are living in the country. Also, many Syrian refugees migrated to Lebanon after the civil war that was caused by the Arab Spring. According to the records, there are more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. When we look at these numbers, we can say that 25% of the population of Lebanon is refugees. Since so many Sunni Muslims are living in Lebanon, Christians and the Shi’a are being uncomfortable about this, thus the situation threatens the peace environment.
Big Disaster in Lebanon: Fuel Tanker Exploded
Lebanon has been dealing with fuel crisis for quite a while. After Lebanon Central Bank stopped fuel subvention, fuel prices started increasing rapidly. People waiting outside of the fuel stations caused long queues. Furthermore, because of the fuel shortage, when a power cut occurs the generators in the hospital cannot work and this threatens the lives of the dialysis patients and the ones using respirators. Moreover, a fuel tanker exploded in Akkar District. 28 people lost their lives and 80 people were injured. We, IHCRO, couldn’t remain unresponsive and started an urgent help appeal. We delivered help to the injured and the families. May Allah grant a swift recovery to all the injured and may Allah bless everyone who passed away. May Allah grant patience to the ones who lost their loved ones.
Affected by the Climate Crisis: Madagascar
Madagascar, an island country on the African continent, is in the Indian Ocean. Mozambique is the closest neighbor to Madagascar, which does not have a land neighbor due to being an island country, except for the small islets around it. Madagascar, which was mostly covered with forest areas while still untouched, started to lose its green color after it was discovered by humans. Currently, only 4% of the country consists of forest areas. Almost half of the country, which has a population of more than 12 million, consists of children and the elders. Half of the country’s population believes in their local religion, while only 7 percent of them are Muslims.
The Famine Brought by Global Warming
Global warming and related problems, which have begun to affect human life more and more each year, are showing their effects very severely in Madagascar. The central parts of Madagascar, which has lost its forest areas day by day, are struggling with drought. Madagascar, whose main livelihood is agriculture, also suffers from poverty and famine due to the existing drought. According to various reports, Madagascar has the unfortunate feature of being the first country to experience famine, not because of war but because of the climate crisis. We can understand the seriousness of the issue by looking at the fact that the local people try to survive by eating cactus leaves. The human body, which is weakened because it cannot get the necessary nutrients, becomes unable to resist many diseases. For this reason, various epidemics and chronic diseases threaten the Madagascar society, about half of which consists of children and the elderly.
A Call for Help Against the Climate Crisis
Due to this terrible situation in front of us, we, as IHCRO, also participated in the charity race. With the support of our donators, we are helping all the people in Madagascar and help the non-Muslim to convert to Islam alhamdulillah. In addition to the 2000 food packages we have distributed so far, we have also distributed the Holy Quran for the Muslim people, because they cannot find any copy of the Holy Quran in Madagascar. We have opened 8 water wells in Madagascar, as well. As we know that the amount of water some of us unfortunately waste is enough for a family to survive, InshaAllah we will continue to open water wells in Madagascar and make awareness-raising posts on our social media accounts.
IHCRO Didn’t Leave Pakistan Alone
Last week, Pakistan was rocked by a great disaster. The whole world mobilized for the disaster, in which more than 1000 people lost their lives, many injured and hundreds of buildings became unusable, and tried to deliver aid in order to be a balm for those affected by the flood disaster in Pakistan.
The monsoon rains, which are effective in the region, continue to threaten life in the region and hinder food and other basic needs. These monsoons and the recent flooding event affected more people than ever before. According to the figures stated, the number of people affected has exceeded thirty million.
The International Human Care and Relief Organization teams arrived in the region, determined the needs of the citizens affected by the flood and started to deliver humanitarian aid by hand.
In this context, we distributed our food packs to those in need in the first place. With approximately two hundred food parcels distributed, those in need have reached basic nutrients. These distribution took place in the Rajanpur, Punjab area.
Afterwards, we distributed tents for Pakistanis who were displaced from their homes. The needy people who lost their homes or could not use them for a certain period of time benefited from the tents we distributed about fifty.
Finally, we delivered hot meals and clean water. Those in need who took shelter in madrasahs, mosques and schools were able to fill their bellies with our hot meal distributions, since they had limited access to food.