International Resuce Committe News

International humanitarian agencies in Pakistan decry attacks on civilians and aid workers

Ned Colt — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:58:16 +0000

News release notes upsurge in targeted violence

The IRC

Islamabad, Pakistan

16 May 2012

The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF), an alliance of close to 50 national and international aid agencies, has condemned a recent upsurge in targeted attacks against humanitarian agencies and their staff. The PHF, of which the International Rescue Committee is a member, warned that the violence "will further impede the ability of humanitarian agencies to provide ...

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As fighting continues in Syria, the IRC ramps up support for refugees

Ned Colt — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:47:04 +0000

AMMAN, Jordan

30 Apr 2012

Despite the presence of close to 30 United Nations peacekeepers now deployed in Syria, and ten times that number on the way, an agreed cease-fire remains fragile at best. Sporadic clashes between government troops and rebels occur daily, while Syrians continue to flee to safety in neighboring countries.

Despite the presence of close to 30 United Nations peacekeepers now deployed in Syria, and ten times that number on the way, an agreed cease-fire remains fragile at best.

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IRC steps up aid for Congolese caught in the middle of armed conflicts in South Kivu

Kate Sands Adams — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:13:59 +0000

23 Apr 2012

By Sinziana Demian

SOUTH KIVU PROVINCE, Democratic Republic of Congo – The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is intensifying its emergency response throughout the province in order to address the needs of hundreds of thousands of recent internally displaced people here as a result of increased fighting among various armed actors.

The IRC is stepping up its emergency response throughout Congo's South Kivu province in order to address the needs of hundreds of thousands of people recently displaced by instensified fighting.

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IRC establishing health centers for Syrian refugees in Jordan

The.IRC — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:56:32 +0000

AMMAN, Jordan

11 Apr 2012

With more Syrian refugees fleeing ongoing violence at home, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is opening two health centers in border cities of Jordan where the influx has overburdened existing medical services.

With more Syrian refugees fleeing ongoing violence at home, the IRC is opening two health centers in border cities of Jordan where the influx has overburdened existing medical services.

IRC and Japanese aid partners offer a lifeline for tsunami survivors

Peter.Biro — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:25:17 +0000

06 Mar 2012

[[SLIDESHOW]]

Photo Essay: Japan, One year on >

By Peter Biro

On year after a massive tsunami devastated cities and towns on Japan’s northeast coast, the IRC and three Japanese aid groups are providing relief and helping communities recover.

Photo Essay Slideshow:

Japan, one year on

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IRC mobilizes aid for refugees fleeing deepening crisis in Syria

Kate Sands Adams — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:06:24 +0000

05 Mar 2012

As the fighting in Syria intensifies, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is mobilizing emergency assistance for refugees who have fled the year-long conflict, which has killed more than 7,500 people.

As the fighting in Syria intensifies, the IRC is mobilizing emergency assistance for refugees who have fled the year-long conflict, which has killed more than 7,500 people.

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IRC begins emergency assistance for women and girls fleeing into South Sudan

The.IRC — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:44:56 +0000

29 Feb 2012

The IRC is working to improve safety for women and girls and minimize the risks they face.

The IRC is launching emergency health and protection programs for women who have fled to South Sudan to escape flaring violence across the border in Sudan’s Nuba Mountain region.

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Helping Burmese students learn

Peter.Biro — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:28:27 +0000

22 Feb 2012

Burmese students at the Hsa Mu Htaw learning center. Suttida Lalamo (third from the left) said that she wants to stay in Thailand and become fluent in the Thai language. (Photo: Peter Biro/IRC)

The IRC and its partners are providing teacher training, school supplies and other help to 74 learning centers in Thailand that serve "forgotten" students — refugees and migrant children.

A new kind of justice

Peter.Biro — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:41:50 +0000

15 Feb 2012

Pue Htee Tae, who heads the traditional justice system in Mae La camp, talks to two young offenders.
(Photo: Peter Biro/IRC)

A new IRC-sponsored program in the Mae La refugee camp in northwestern Thailand works to rehabilitate juvenile offenders by allowing them to make a positive contribution to the camp community.

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The IRC distributes emergency aid to more Afghans in need

Ned Colt — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:51:27 +0000

Close to a thousand Afghans receive essential aid

14 Feb 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan - The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has provided 250 families with essential items to help them survive this particularly bitter winter in northwestern Afghanistan. The families fled their homes late last year in and around Badghis province, due to violence in the region.

The IRC has provided 250 families with blankets, stoves and other essential items to help them survive this particularly bitter winter in northwestern Afghanistan.

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A new home in the time of need

Peter.Biro — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:26:11 +0000

06 Feb 2012

By Peter Biro

The IRC is making sure that Burmese refugee and migrant children in Thailand can get an education and at the same time be protected from child labor, trafficking and abuse.

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Following drought crisis, getting food to hungry Afghans

Ned Colt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:30:44 +0000

The IRC helping drought victims in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan

02 Feb 2012

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is moving into Afghanistan’s northwest Badghis province, to provide essential humanitarian aid to families in dire need. Badghis, on the border with Turkmenistan, is in the grip of a severe drought, which has left much of the population without enough food. And the costs for what food there is are climbing. Prices for staples like wheat have increased by as much as 86% in the past year.

The IRC is moving into Afghanistan's northwest Badghis province, to bring emergency drought aid to 3,000 families.

Last-minute charitable gifts to the IRC for 2011

Kate Sands Adams — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:55:50 +0000

15 Dec 2011

Thank you for your interest in supporting the humanitarian work of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). If you would like to make a tax-deductible charitable donation before the end of 2011, you may do so online, by mail, by phone, or by making a gift of stock or mutual funds:

Interested in supporting the humanitarian work of the IRC? Here's how to make a tax-deductible charitable donation before the end of 2011, online, by mail, by phone, or by making a gift of stock or mutual funds.

IRC opens second medical facility in war-ravaged Mogadishu

Kate Sands Adams — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:27:02 +0000

12 Dec 2011

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has opened a second medical facility in Mogadishu, the battered capital city of war-ravaged Somalia. Seven temporary tents have been erected on the grounds of a bombed-out medical clinic where doctors and nurses will provide desperately needed health services while the clinic itself is being rebuilt.

The International Rescue Committee has opened a second medical facility in Mogadishu, the battered capital city of war-ravaged Somalia.

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IRC responds to cholera outbreak in the world’s largest refugee camp

Kate Sands Adams — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:13:17 +0000

DADAAB, Kenya

01 Dec 2011

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is responding to a cholera outbreak in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp complex. The outbreak threatens more than 400,000 Somali refugees who have fled fighting, famine, and the region's worst drought in six decades.

The IRC is responding to a cholera outbreak in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp complex. The outbreak threatens more than 400,000 Somali refugees who have fled fighting, famine, and the region's worst drought in six decades.

As flooding in Thailand recedes, situation still critical for Burmese refugees and migrants

Peter.Biro — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:26:22 +0000

Text and Photos by Peter Biro

BANGKOK, Thailand

23 Nov 2011

While Thailand’s worst flooding in half a century recedes from most of the capital, nearly a half million Burmese residents of Bangkok are still being seriously affected by the devastation left in the flood’s wake. The IRC is providing clean water and other assistance to both Burmese and Thai residents.

Photo Essay Slideshow:

In the flood's wake

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Four months into Somalia famine, IRC addressing urgent health needs in Mogadishu

Kate Sands Adams — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:14:56 +0000

MOGADISHU, Somalia

18 Nov 2011

The IRC is treating nearly 100 patients a day at its clinic in a camp in Mogadishu that shelters more than 17,000 Somalis who have been displaced by fighting and famine. (Photo: IRC)

The IRC is continuing to provide desperately needed health care to more than 40,000 people in Mogadishu, the Somali capital left in ruins by two decades of civil war.

Displaced in the desert

Peter.Biro — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:25:12 +0000

The IRC brings aid and hope to victims of famine and fighting in central Somalia.

Text and Photos by Peter Biro

GALKAYO, Somalia

17 Nov 2011

The IRC brings aid and hope to victims of famine and fighting in central Somalia

A displaced woman at a desert camp in Somalia's Mudug region. (Photo: Peter Biro/IRC)

[[SLIDESHOW]]

Text and Photos by Peter Biro

The IRC is providing livestock, water and food to tens of thousands of people in Somalia who have fled the country’s most devastating drought and famine in 60 years.

Photo Essay Slideshow:

Famine in Somalia

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The journey of their lives

Peter.Biro — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:06:38 +0000

The IRC helps a young Burmese family prepare for a new home in the United States

Story and photos by Peter Biro

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

26 Oct 2011

The IRC helps a young Burmese family prepare for a new home in the United States

Story and photos by Peter Biro

[[SLIDESHOW]]

At the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Ismail Arafat and his wife Safirah Omar wait anxiously with their baby daughter as they prepare to embark on the journey of their lives. The IRC helped the young Burmese family prepare for a new home in the United States.

Photo Essay Slideshow:

"Life is good here"

Amid major flood disaster in Thailand, aiding Burmese refugees and migrants on the margins

Peter.Biro — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:32:58 +0000

By Peter Biro

BANGKOK, Thailand

25 Oct 2011

Burmese residents in Wat Kan Ham. The building is surrounded by dirty flood water. (Photo: Peter Biro/IRC)

[[SLIDESHOW]]

Story and photos by Peter Biro

As Thailand battles its worst flooding in 50 years, the IRC is offering support to Burmese refugee and migrant workers who are being affected by the devastation. “This is a major disaster and the Burmese community is among the hardest hit,” said Christine Petrie, the IRC’s deputy program director in Thailand.

Photo Essay Slideshow:

Thailand floods

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