Lebanon’s burden from Syria’s civil war

The government of Lebanon cried out to the world for help Monday over the strain the civil war in neighboring Syria is putting on its country, making an official plea for donations to help cover the the growing multitude of refugees throughout the region and burgeoning budgets needed to fund their care.

The U.N. said Monday that $6.5 billion, a record amount, will be needed next year to cover a projected 4 million Syrian civil war refugees and the communities they have flooded into.

One-fifth of the people living in Lebanon’s borders are now refugees from Syria’s war. That’s the official figure; the real one could be much higher, as the U.N. count has typically not been able to keep up with the influx of people who have lost everything.

Nearly 1,600 refugee camps dot Israel’s northern neighbor, which is smaller than the state of Connecticut. A third of the registered displaced people live in substandard shelters, the U.N. says.

Nearly 300,000 of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are school-age children, and the U.N. expects the number to more than double in 2014.

Turkey closes its border to Syria

Turkey has temporarily closed crossings to and from Syria along its border due to fighting between opposition groups inside Syria.

The announcement came shortly after the United States and Britain suspended non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition. The aid consisted of wood, medical items, non-military equipment like generators and communication equipment.

The blockage of passage to Turkey could have implications for refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported in September that nearly 500,000 Syrians had registered or were awaiting registration as refugees in Turkey, and those numbers have been increasing since.

Meanwhile, a huge storm dubbed Alexa descended Tuesday and Wednesday on the region, dropping snow and rain whipped by high winds onto Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, with the latter most affected, the UNHCR said. In the Bekaa in eastern Lebanon, where thousands of Syrian refugees were living in tents, emergency crews were distributing aid.

Al Qaeda militants have swept to power across large swathes of Syria’s rebel-held north. Known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS is the predominant military force in northern Syria, according to activists and seasoned observers, and have a powerful influence over the majority of population centers in the rebel-held north.

Typhoon Haiyan death toll nears 6000 with 1779 still missing

One month after Typhoon Haiyan tore through six Philippine islands, the death toll stands at 5,924 and 1,779 people are still missing, according to government figures released Sunday.

More than 12 million people have been affected by the monster typhoon that left behind catastrophic scenes of destruction and despair when it made landfall on November 8, the government said.

Several countries have been aiding in the recovery. According to the Pentagon, the American military effort, dubbed Operation Damayan, cost $32 million. At their peak, the relief efforts involved more than 13,400 U.S. military personnel, 66 aircraft and 12 naval vessels.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. scaled down its operation in the Philippines, but USAID continues to provide food and support as the recovery continues.

US veterans fill their own void delivering aid to Philippines

Members of Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization staffed by US veterans, are using their military skills in the Philippines — and finding the camaraderie they miss in the process. The organization isn’t just lending a crucial role in helping aid the ravaged Tacloban region, harnessing the organizational training and skills learned by service men and women in war zones. It’s also filling a void for many of them who miss the intense bonds and clear mission of the military.

The group’s co-founder, Jacob Wood, is a square-jawed Iowa native who graduated college with a business degree and promptly enlisted in the Marine Corps. After four years in the military, including a deployment to Iraq in 2007, and another to Afghanistan in 2008, Wood got out. Then came the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, when he and his Team Rubicon co-founder William McNulty, also a Marine, went down to aid in disaster relief. While working on the ground, they realized that veterans have many of the skills to help in relief efforts. From that first mission in Haiti, the organization has continued to grow to its current roster of more than 12,000 volunteers.

Team Rubicon has “all the best parts of the US military — mission, purpose, camaraderie — without the bad parts, like having to shave,” says Peter Meijer, a former US Army medic.

Volunteers bring in all their own water and food, usually favoring freeze-dried supplies or the specially packaged military food known as Meals Ready to Eat, or MREs. The key is to be self-sufficient, Meijer says. “The first rule of disaster response is don’t be a victim,” he says. Otherwise, “you’re just taking aid away from those who need it.”

In Manila, the presence of military veterans who are now civilians, as well as Team Rubicon’s visibility around the centers of military operation, have riled some in the aid community, who have criticized the group for hogging the spotlight. Some of the groups also complain of being bumped from flights.

But Wood defends his organization, saying that if team members come on strong, it is because “veterans are used to making difficult decisions in difficult situations.”

Indeed, part of Rubicon’s success, Wood argues, is knowing how the military works and what it needs, which comes in handy during large disasters in which US troops are brought in.  This is particularly important since the US military controls the flights that run to the disaster zones— flights which move aid shipments, vehicles, and volunteers.

“It really helps that we’re familiar with the chain of command,” Meijer says.

[Christian Science Monitor]

UK increases hands-on aid to the Philippines

The British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious has arrived in the Philippines to distribute relief aid for victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

The helicopter and commando carrier takes over from HMS Daring which has been distributing aid and assisting villagers in remote communities on islands to the north east of Panay for the past week.

Helicopters are planning to survey the remote islands in the west of the country before beginning aid distribution on Tuesday. The crew will use helicopters to deliver aid to people who are stuck in isolated areas where aid has not yet arrived.

The arrival of the HMS Illustrious reportedly has the capacity to increase aid ten-fold to the Philippines.

[BBC]

Philippines struggles to keep typhoon aid and donations graft-free

As millions of dollars pour in for more than four million left homeless by Typhoon Haiyan in the central Philippines, authorities are grappling with a familiar problem – how to stop fraudulent claims and prevent greedy politicians taking advantage.

Nearly $298 million in cash and relief goods have so far been pledged by countries and donor groups to an overwhelmed government that was criticized for its slow response in the first few days after disaster struck.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have committed a total of more than $1 billion in grants and emergency loans to support reconstruction and relief efforts.

Add to that the millions of pesos raised by the private sector, with Filipinos working across the globe gathering friends for fund-raising activities, and you have a lucrative target for scammers and unscrupulous public officials in one of the most corrupt countries in East Asia. (The Philippines comes in at 105 out of 176 countries in Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index.)

This week, Manila launched an online portal called FAiTH to provide information on donations in answer to concerns that aid money might once again end up lining pockets of local officials.

[Reuters]