The Road to the Horizon The Road to the Horizon Short stories about travelling to remote places, working in unusual places, life as a humanitarian aid worker, expeditions and sailing. But mostly about enjoying the road more than reaching the destination. Articles
News: Humanitarian airlift to China
2008-05-22 17:04:00 The boys and girls from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) have been busy the past weeks.There were several airlifts of relief goods into Myanmar, and since a week, relief agencies requested for the shipment of humanitarian goods to China , in support of the earthquake disaster.Yesterday and last night, an Airbus 310 from Skycargo (Emirates Airlines) was loaded with relief goods from the Italian Civil Protection. Contrary to the normal practices, the plane was parked on the civilian side of Brindisi airport, so all goods had to be trucked to other side of the airport. All stuff is fixed on special pallets before being weighed and loaded onto the plane.The cargo consisted of family tents and a full field hospital from the Italian Civil Protection, one of the agencies that stores their goods at the UNHRD depots in Brindisi.The loading crew was ready at 2 am and the plane took off a few hours later. Next stop: China earthquake zone.Pictures courtesy Lucien Jaggi (WFP/UNHRD) More About: News , Italy
Rumble: Race for the Cure
2008-05-21 09:44:00 Last Sunday, we participated in Rome's Race for the Cure , an advocacy and fundraising walk/run for the benefit of breast cancer research.Despite the rain and wind (which cleared up the moment the walk finished), I would guess over 10,000 people showed up!Tnx to "E" for the picture. More About: The Cure
News: Cutting agricultural aid research or how to dig your own grave...
2008-05-18 21:56:00 Giving people fish or teaching them to fish?A few years back, I had a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE.I told him of the humanitarian work we did. He listened attentively, and kept a silence after my explanation. Then he said candidly: "You know, you are giving people fish, instead of teaching them how to fish. Give a person a fish and he will eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he will have food for the rest of his life!"I was quick to respond: "Your Highness, when people are starving, they are not interested in being taught how to fish. If we give them fishlings for their pond, they will eat it, rather using them for breeding. Our organisation gives people the fish, so they are not starving anymore, and have the energy to be taught how to fish, and to fish themselves. Other organisations we work closely with, teach them how to fish, how to breed fishlings. After that, others come in and teach ... More About: News , Research , Grave , Agricultural , Cutting
News: From Cyclone Sidr to Cyclone Nargis - an aidworker's perspective
2008-05-18 13:08:00 An aidworker from Oxfam explains how the immediate effect of the cyclone devastation is only the beginning of misery for those affected.Those on the ground (in Myanmar) are estimating that at least 100,000 people were killed by the storm. The numbers are devastating, each one of them painfully reminding me what a difference an investment into disaster preparedness and early warning systems ? like those that have been implemented in Bangladesh ? could have made for the families in Myanmar.Surface water that people are used to drinking is likely to be contaminated not only by dead bodies and livestock carcasses, but also human and animal waste spread by floodwaters and overflowing latrines. The weather forecast for this week predicts more heavy rain, and even a new storm approaching the cyclone-affected area. With people?s resistance to disease already weakened after days of living in overcrowded conditions without food and proper roofs over their heads, the children and elderly are l... More About: News , Perspective , Cyclone , Nargis
Picture of the day: Desertification
2008-05-18 12:10:00 Desertification is the degradation of land into arid (desert) areas. Caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations, desertification is on the move. We loose fertile land and nature's biodiversity at an alarming rate.The Sahara is expanding south at an average rate of 30 miles per year. In Nigeria desertification overtakes about 1,355 square miles (3,510 km²) of land per year. More than 80% of Afghanistan's land is subject to soil erosion and desertification. In Kazakhstan, nearly half of the cropland turned intow wasteland since 1980. (Source)More "Picture s of the Day" on the Road.Picture courtesy Reuters (Der Spiegel) More About: Picture of the day
News: US politics, commercial interests, war and humanitarian aid. A danger
2008-05-17 23:54:00 US president Bush recently laid out a detailed budget request for $70 billion.It includes $45.1 billion for combat operations for the war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, $3.7 billion to help expand the Afghan forces and $2 billion for Iraqi troops.Also included are $2.2 billion for projected increased fuel costs for military and intelligence operations and $2.6 billion to transport and maintain Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAP) used for US forces in Iraq.This will bring the total allocation for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to more than $800 billion.Oh, and the budget request also covers $770 million in additional food aid donations, including food vouchers, seeds and purchases in the developing world. (Full)Oh, and the Bush administration also slipped a controversial ingredient into the $770 million aid package, adding language that would promote the use of genetically modified crops (GMO) in food-deprived countries... (Full)Picture courtesy ickypeople.com More About: News , Politics , Commercial , Danger , Interests
News: US immigration - sense or senseless?
2008-05-17 22:59:00 Pictures this:Him: Domenico Salerno, a carefree Italian with a recent law degree from a Roman university, in love with:Her: Caitlin Cooper, from Virginia (US), raised across the road from George Washington?s homeTheir romance: sparked by a 2006 meeting in a supermarket in Rome, Domenico frequently visited Caitlin in Alexandria, Va., where he was welcomed like a favorite son by the parents and neighbors of his girlfriend.Them: on April 29, when Mr. Salerno, presented his passport at Washington Dulles International Airport, a Customs and Border Protection agent refused to let him into the US. And after hours of questioning, agents would not let him travel back to Rome, either. On the contrary, he was sent to a rural Virginia jail where he remained for more than 10 days, locked up without charges or legal recourse.The authorities said they (mis-)understood Mr. Salerno's English and thought he was seeking asylum (from Italy eh?). (Full story)Regular readers from The Road know I have a ... More About: News , Sense , Immigration , Senseless
News: Myanmar - begging to aid or forcing to aid?
2008-05-17 21:34:00 From the UN press briefing in Geneva on May 13:The UN Secretary-General registered his deep concern ?and immense frustration? at the unacceptably slow response to the grave humanitarian crisis in Myanmar . They were at a critical point, and unless more aid got into the country ?very quickly? the people faced an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today?s crisis. The Secretary_General called, in the most strenuous terms, on the Government of Myanmar to put its people?s lives first. It must do all that it could to prevent this disaster from becoming even more serious.From the same briefing:Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, responding to a question on the fact that it was strange that the Human Rights Council would be holding a Special Session on the global food crisis, but not on the current situation in Myanmar, said (..) there had been discussion to some extent on the possibility of talking about Myanmar, but the Council had a very ... More About: News
Picture of the day: Urbanisation
2008-05-17 20:02:00 The proportion of people living in towns, rose dramatically from 13% (220 million) in 1900, to 29% (732 million) in 1950, to 49% (3.2 billion) in 2005. By 2050 over 6 billion people, two thirds of humanity, will be living in towns and cities.More "Picture s of the Day" on the Road.Picture courtesy chickencrap.com More About: Picture of the day
News: "Clinton, Obama or McCain" and the UN
2008-05-17 14:03:00 The US has a critical a role (and responsibility as 'world citizens') in defining the UN's agenda and actions. At the same time, the relation between the UN and US have been strained and frayed.Whether Republican or Democrat, whether Obama , Clinton or McCain, the new US administration will have to pay early attention to repairing and revitalising its relationship with the UN.How do the three candidates compare on international issues for which the UN, for good or for bad, is the only global forum? Well, this article from the Hindu Times compares the three candidates.Picture courtesy Boston.com More About: News
News: Bloggers unite against human rights.
2008-05-15 23:47:00 According to CNN, over 7 million bloggers unite to raise awareness on human rights issues, supporting Amnesty International's campaigns. Are you a blogger, or trying to make a difference on human rights issues? Check here.More posts on The Road about human rights. More About: News , Human , Rights , Human Rights , Bloggers
News: Who profits from the global food crisis?
2008-05-15 23:03:00 The prices of wheat, corn and rice have soared over the past year driving the world's poor ? who already spend about 80 per cent of their income on food ? into hunger and destitution.While the poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer:Monsanto last month reported a doubling of its 3 months' net income over the same period in 2007, from $543m (£275m) to $1.12bn. Its profits increased from $1.44bn to $2.22bn.Cargill's net earnings soared by 86 per cent from $553m to $1.030bn over the same three months.Archer Daniels Midland, one of the world's largest agricultural processors of soy, corn and wheat, increased its net earnings by 42 per cent in the first three months of this year from $363m to $517m. The operating profit of its grains merchandising and handling operations jumped 16-fold from $21m to $341m.The Mosaic Company, one of the world's largest fertiliser companies, saw its income for the three months ending 29 February rise more than 12-fold, from $42.2m to $520.... More About: News , Food , Global , Profits , Crisis
Picture of the Day: Trapped in China
2008-05-14 09:34:00 A rescuer holds the hand of a trapped student at Wudu Primary School on the outskirts of Mianzhu, in Sichuan Province, China . Rescue workers across southwestern China struggle to reach the tens of thousands of people who remain buried in the aftermath of the earthquake, as the death toll climbs above 13,000. (Full)Picture courtesy of Chen Jianli (Xinhua via Reuters) More About: Picture of the day
Rumble: Translator of Nightmares
2008-05-13 12:27:00 I read hundreds of articles and blog entries about Darfur. Few have impacted me as much as this article, covering a book, "The Translator : A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur" written by Daoud Hari.Daoud Hari is a Dafur tribes man who assisted journalists travelling in his region as a translator. A translator of horror stories.Sleepless during nights of exile in Chad, Daoud Hari stared at cracks in his room's mud walls. The lines formed random shapes that reminded him of drawings from thousands of years ago -- of horned beasts, of women, men and children. He had seen them in the cool mountain caves of Darfur, where he played as a boy. They triggered an urge to sketch scenes of the savagery and starvation he had witnessed in the once-tranquil lands of his childhood.During those uneasy nights, he picked up pencil and paper to turn his torment into tolerable numbness.He drew the woman who had hanged herself from a tree with her shawl because she could not feed her children. Hari had found... More About: Nightmares
Picture of the day: Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar
2008-05-09 15:09:00 Almost a week after Cyclone Nargis inundated Myanmar ?s densely settled coast, wiped out villages and left untold tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, the first two United Nations flights carrying relief supplies arrived in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, on Thursday. (Full)More "Picture s of the Day" on the Road.Picture courtesy Andy Newman (New York Times) More About: Picture of the day
Rumble: Venice, the conclusion of a weekend.
2008-05-08 23:48:00 Just to conclude this series about Venice , here are the last photo impressions I wanted to share:View the slideshow of all my Venice pictures.Check out other posts on the Road about Venice. More About: Weekend
Rumble: When you think of Venice: Food...
2008-05-08 23:34:00 Many visitors to Italy will appreciate the food. Not the usual spaghetti or pizza, but the real Italian food: Italy excels in simple but real tasty food. I sell my soul for the sea food, prosciutto (raw ham), the cheeses,...Visiting Venice last weekend, reminded me that this town has its own traditions. Some of it, is embraced into Italian traditions, like tiramisu (which was 'born' in this region). Some say "gelato", Italian ice cream is better in Venice than anywhere else in Italy:.But the pastry shops, while not as abundant as those in Vienna, in the quality, taste and variety, are not to be found anywhere else in Italy: View the slideshow of all my Venice pictures.Check out other posts on the Road about Venice. More About: Food
Rumble: When you think of Venice: Glass art
2008-05-08 23:19:00 One more think many people think of, when talking about Venice : Venetian glass..!Venetian glass making tradition goes way back, but only got really known when the Venetian Republic, fearing fire and destruction to the city?s mostly wood buildings, ordered glass makers to move their foundries to the island of Murano, in the Venetian archipelago in 1291. Murano's glass makers were soon the island?s most prominent citizens. By the 14th century, glass makers were allowed to wear swords, enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the Venetian state and found their daughters married into Venice?s most affluent families. The catch was that glass makers weren't allowed to leave the Republic.Murano?s glass makers held a monopoly on quality glass making for centuries, developing or refining many technologies including crystalline glass, enameled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass. T... More About: Glass
Rumble: When you think of Venice: Carnival
2008-05-08 23:03:00 What else do you think of when hearing "Venice "? Pumuckl commented in a previous post saying: "Carnival "!And she is right! The carnival of Venice was first recorded in 1268, and has been a long tradition since then. Strolling through the alleys of Venice, we came across many shops where they sold the typical Venetian masks, made in leather or with the original papier-mâché technique. The original masks were rather simple in design and decoration. They often had a symbolic and practical function. Nowadays, most of them are made with the application of gesso and gold leaf and are all hand-painted using natural feathers and gems to decorate.A photo impression:View the slideshow of all my Venice pictures.Check out other posts on the Road about Venice.
Rumble: When you think of Venice: Architecture
2008-05-07 13:09:00 Ok... water and gondola's, the romance,... what else do you think of when you hear the word "Venice "?Mmmm.. how about the history and architecture...? A photo impression:View the slideshow of all my Venice pictures More About: Architecture
Rumble: When you think of Venice: City of Romance
2008-05-05 23:57:00 For many, Venice is a city of romanceGondola's in the evening sunEvening stroll with a gondola:Evening impressions:Couples everywhere...View the slideshow of all my Venice pictures More About: Romance , City
Rumble: When you think of Venice: Gondola's and water
2008-05-05 23:56:00 Ok, unraveling of the secret: we were in Venice last weekend. ;-)Matt, one of the readers of The Road, commented a while ago that my blog was listed in the "travel" category of one of the blog directories while it seems more like a political blog.I agree that lately I have been posting more news flashes (often with a bit of political cynism, I admit). But in essence, this blog is neither one or the other... I write about things that happen around me. Sometimes I am in a critical mood, sometimes I am involved in my daily (aid) work environment, and sometimes I am travelling. So the contents of the posts change as my life changes. ;-) The next few posts will be about travelling. Promise!So.. Venice... OK.. Here is a question for you. When hear "Venice", what do you think about? I bet the first thing would be "gondola's" and water. Rightfully so.It is originally built on the mudflats, an archipelago of 118 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands are connect... More About: Water
Rumble: Guess some more...
2008-05-04 22:32:00 Okay... Here is one more hint where we went for the long weekend... (more pictures to come this week) More About: Venice , Guess
News: UN calls impact of biofuel on food crisis "criminal"
2008-04-29 23:55:00 Jean Ziegler, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, said the United States and the European Union have taken a "criminal path" by contributing to an explosive rise in global food prices by using food crops to produce biofuels.Ziegler stated that last year the United States used a third of its corn crop to create biofuels, while the European Union is planning to have 10 percent of its petrol supplied by biofuels. He called for a five-year moratorium on the production of biofuels.Ziegler also said that speculation on international markets is behind 30 percent of the increase in food prices. (Full)US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted that setting aside farmland to produce biofuels like ethanol may be partly to blame for driving up world food prices. "There has been apparently some effect, unintended consequence from the alternative fuels effort". (Full)Meanwhile President Bush President George Bush confirms he is deeply concerned about high food prices ... More About: News , Food , Biofuel , Calls , Criminal
News: UN troops smuggled gold, ivory and 'armed Congo rebels'
2008-04-29 22:29:00 An 18-month BBC investigation for Panorama has found evidence that:- Pakistani peacekeepers in the eastern town of Mongbwalu were involved in the illegal trade in gold with the FNI militia (described by Human Rights Watch as "some of the most murderous individuals that operate in eastern Congo "), providing them with weapons to guard the perimeter of the mines.- The Indians traded gold, bought drugs from the militias and flew a UN helicopter into the Virunga National Park, where they exchanged ammunition for ivory.A UN investigation concluded that one officer had been responsible for dealing in gold - allowing traders to use UN aircraft to fly into the town, putting them up at the UN base and taking them around the town. But the UN decided that "in the absence of corroborative evidence" its investigators "could not substantiate the allegation" that Pakistani peacekeepers supplied weapons or ammunition to the militia.It did, however, identify "an individual who seemed to have facilita... More About: News , Africa , Gold , Troops
Picture of the day: Drawing from Darfur.
2008-04-28 21:43:00 This picture was drawn by a young Chadian boy in a camp for displaced persons in Eastern Chad. His drawing describes the attack on his village by Janjaweed militias from Sudan. On the top left hand corner of the drawing is written ?ataque village? (French for ?attack of the village?). The attackers, wearing military uniforms and on camels are shooting civilians with machine guns and burning their houses. Bullets are coming from all over. Next to each civilian that is shot is the word ?Morts? which is the plural of ?dead? in French.More posts on The Road about Darfur Picture courtesy wagingpeace.info More About: Drawing , Picture of the day
News: The Global Food Crisis Map
2008-04-27 22:28:00 Der Spiegel published a good overview of the current food crisis, depicting the raising food prices, and the countries limiting food exports, and where all of this sparked unrest. (click on the picture for a higher resolution)There are however some "food unrest" locations which were forgotten: Morocco, Philippines, Bangladesh, Jordan, Mexico... Paints an even worse picture.More articles on the Road about the global food crisis.Picture courtesy Der Spiegel. More About: News , Food , Global , Crisis
News: Like a Perfect Storm, the Global Food Crisis Now Heads For Canada, US
2008-04-27 22:26:00 Since several months, I have been reporting on the food crisis sparking hunger and riots in different parts of the globe.Like in a perfect storm, different factors contributed to a disaster scenario: increased fuel prices, an artificial push for biofuel crops, adverse weather phenomena, changing food habits, increased demand and financial speculation on the futures markets (see this summary)As expected, the storm first hit the poorest countries, where food constitutes easily 40% of a family's budget. But now the bad weather has reached closer to home: the US and Canada .While the first news articles only started to appear one or two days ago, and the symptoms are still scattered and early to detect, it does ring an alarm bell. An overview of what I have picked up so far:In the US, rationing of some food commodities seems to be just around the corner:- At the Costco in San Francisco, rice is all the rage. Not long after the 10 a.m. opening on Apr. 24, the warehouse was well on its wa... More About: News , Food , Storm , Global
Picture of the day: Bio-Spill
More articles from this author:2008-04-27 19:45:00 A big stain of palm oil invades the shore of Taganga beach in Colombia after 10 tons of oil was spilled from the production plant of Terlica. Residents complained seeing about the dead fish but the spokesperson of Terlica said the oil is biodegradable and won't harm the environment.More Picture s of the Day on the Road.Picture courtesy AFP More About: Picture of the day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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