From: "Eli Pariser" <bulletin@9-11peace.org>
To: <9-11peace@complete.org>
Subject: 9-11Peace: The Afghan Aid Crisis in Depth
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 09:06:12 -0400
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9-11PEACE.ORG BULLETIN, Issue 2

Available online at http://www.9-11peace.org/bulletin.php3

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CONTENTS
---------
1. Introduction: The Crisis in Afghanistan
2. Featured Action: Call on Leaders to Increase Aid Now
3. Understanding the Crisis
4. On the Ground
5. Ways to Give
6. From Our Readers
7. Get Involved
8. About the Bulletin


INTRODUCTION: THE AID CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN
---------------------------------------------
by Eli Pariser, 9-11peace.org Founder

It's not complicated.  It's actually quite simple.
According to the U.N., 7 million Afghans require food and
medical aid to survive.  If that aid does not reach
Afghanistan by winter, it is unlikely that it will get there
at all.  The bombing campaign has made it exceedingly
difficult for aid organizations to operate effectively.  And
although the U.S. and U.K. have said that they intend to
remedy the situation, the few hundred thousand one-day
rations that have been airdropped will have little or no
effect on this burgeoning crisis. The same, grim assessment
has been made by numerous experts and aid organizations:
unless something is done immediately to provide these people
with food and medicine, thousands, possibly hundreds of
thousands, will die.

President Bush, in a noble moment, has asked children across
the United States to contribute one dollar to the plight of
the Afghan people.  It's a beautiful gesture, but unless
that gesture is backed up with immediate action, it is
meaningless.  In fact, it may be worse than meaningless:  a
manipulative stunt with the potential to distract Americans
and the world from the damage being done.

As a community of people who believe that the loss of
innocent life is tragic whether it's by plane in New York or
by starvation in Afghanistan, we have a lot of work to do.
We need to take action to let our leaders know that we will
not idly sit by while thousands suffer.  But we also need to
deeply understand the crisis at hand.  Below, you can read
the story of a 12-year-old girl in a refugee camp near
Mazar-i-Sharif.  You can look at a map showing where the
refugees currently are.  You can receive a UN briefing on
the crisis.  And you can take action.  The links below are
only a start, but through education and collective action,
we may be able to save the lives of thousands.  And we have
to try.

Next Week: Reconciliation and peacekeeping work worldwide.


FEATURED ACTION: CALL ON LEADERS TO INCREASE AID NOW
-----------------------------------------------------
The featured action for this week is as important as it is
simple.  National leaders need to know that their citizens
are concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan,
and will not allow them to neglect the thousands that are
suffering.  Phone calls are a proven, effective way of
making our voices heard.

Please take 5 minutes to phone your national leadership and
urge them to:

   "Please support a massive and immediate increase in food
   and medical aid to Afghanistan, delivered through the
   United Nations."

You can quickly find phone numbers and talking points by
going to http://www.9-11peace.org/aid.php3.   Please call
today.

Please be sure to let us know that you called by going to
http://www.9-11peace.org/callmade.php3.  By tallying your
calls, we can demonstrate that many people support this
vital cause.


UNDERSTANDING THE CRISIS
-------------------------
Despite the huge number of reporters now broadcasting from
Pakistan and Afghanistan, news and information about the
humanitarian crisis have been difficult to get.  Below are
some of the best resources we've seen on the current shape
of the crisis, the response of aid organizations, and the
history that's behind it.

The latest:
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/afghan/afghan2.htm
Information straight from the U.N. on the crisis in
Afghanistan, including news releases, maps, statistics, and
an overview.  If you only visit one page, visit this one.

The outlook:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1012/p25s2-wosc.html
Doctors Without Boarders/Medecins Sans Frontieres has issued
a statement, along with a number of other relief
organizations, that a cease-fire is necessary to allow food
and medicine into Afghanistan before winter comes.  This
page contains an insightful interview with a MSF
spokesperson on this statement and the problems with getting
aid into Afghanistan.

The vital statistics:
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=1
Numbers on Afghanistan from the CIA: life expectancy,
population, geography, and more.

The lay of the land:
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=2
A map of the refugee problem in Afghanistan.

The history:
http://www.web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/index/ASA110161999
A 1999 Amnesty International report on the background and
origin of the aid crisis, which even then was one of the
largest in the world.


ON THE GROUND
------------
What is life actually like for the Afghans caught in this
crisis?  The photo essay, story, and report below document
the daily struggles that refugees face.

Photos:
http://photo.eyepress.com/center_afghan.html
A photographic look into life as a refugee.

http://www.worldcityphotos.org/A/AFG-Kabul.jpg
A picture of the beautiful city of Kabul, prior to the
bombing.

Personal story:
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=3
The life of a 12 year old refugee girl. This story dates
from before the current crisis, but is compelling
nonetheless.

A reporter's take:
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=4
A soulful report from Northern Afghanistan.


WAYS TO GIVE
-------------
Recipients of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize, Doctors without
Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres has taken a courageous
stand to ensure that the Afghan people receive aid.  Your
donation will help them to provide food and medical aid to
the starving and sick in Afghanistan and around the world.
You can donate online by going to:
http://www.msf.org/donations/index.cfm.

If you'd rather shop around, the U.S. Government has
provided a fairly comprehensive list of relief organizations
providing aid in Afghanistan at:
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=5


FROM OUR READERS
----------------
We've received emails from many of you suggesting resources
for future Bulletin issues.  Below are two of the
most-suggested ones.  Keep sending in your helpful tips to
bulletin@9-11peace.org.

The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan's
website provides an in-depth look at the terrible conditions
that women face under the Taliban, and gives incisive
commentary on the current crisis. Visit it at:
http://rawa.false.net/index.html

A number of readers wrote in to suggest that we include
www.rabble.ca among the alternative news providers listed in
last week's bulletin.  Says one of our readers, "Rabble also
has an excellent discussion board now subscribed to by over
1500 people, called babble.  babble is frankly the most
amazing discussion board I have ever been on - the
discussions are consistently high quality, well-informed,
without foul language and personal insults, and open to
discussing other points of view fairly, but are generally
concerned with promoting peace and critical thinking."  The
web address is:
http://www.rabble.ca


GET INVOLVED
-------------
If you would like us to include an action, giving idea, or
news article or source in the Bulletin, please write to
bulletin@9-11peace.org and describe your item in the subject
line.

The 9-11Peace.org Bulletin is also looking for volunteers to
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energy to do this well, please write to
editor@9-11peace.org, put "Volunteer" in the subject line,
and add a brief paragraph summarizing your experience and
interest.


ABOUT THE BULLETIN
-------------------
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resources, news, and action ideas to over 17,000 people
around the world.  The full text of the Bulletin is online
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