While on a planning mission in May this year, Maya Helwani, from the Canadian Red Cross, along with a volunteer from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), were in Homs, Syria. Astonishingly, they found a small white flower growing amongst the rubble, and they shared a moment of hopefulness together.
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Thousands of people are arriving in Europe every week to escape conflict and violence in their home countries. The majority of displaced people are from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom are children and women.
The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.
August 30 marks International Day of the Disappeared – a day to remember those who have suffered from the traumatic experience of a disappeared family member and to provide help and hope for those still searching.
A recent spike in hostilities, including the intense ground fighting, has heightened the suffering of Yemen’s civilian population. It is estimated that since March, nearly 4,000 people have been killed, 19,000 injured and 1.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Severe shortages of water, food and fuel continue across the country as well as airstrikes and ground fighting.
The Canadian Red Cross has had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Moataz Al-Atassi, Secretary General of Homs Branch from the Syrian Arab Red Cresent (SARC), during his visit to Canada. For two days, Dr. Atassi met with the Canadian Red Cross to discuss the Syria crisis and explained the reality faced by SARC staff and volunteers to provide humanitarian assistance in Syria.
When pre-election violence broke out in Burundi in April, volunteers with the Burundi Red Cross were among the first to respond. The protests led to a number of casualties, and forced more than 96,000 people to seek safety in neighbouring countries.
Losing contact with family members can cause enormous anxiety, especially in the midst of disaster or conflict. Sometimes separation will last for days or months and sometimes it will last for years, as it did for Sadia and her siblings.