Thousands effected by Indian floods as Cyclone Thane strikes

Global development agency Christian Aid has released £50,000 to partner organisations in India after more than 6,000 Indian villagers were forced from their homes and 48 were killed by Cyclone Thane.

The storm swept through the east-Indian coastal state of Tamil Nadu on December 30 uprooting trees, destroying roads and buildings and bringing down power lines.

As villagers attempt to rebuild their damaged homes many communities are still without electricity and clean drinking water. The high winds also destroyed 15000 hectares of paddy crops and 20000 hectares of cashew and jackfruit trees which will both affect immediate survival needs but cause long term impact on livelihoods.

In Tamil Nadu, the two most vulnerable groups of concern to Christian Aid are the socially excluded dalit community and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees.

In response to the crisis Christian Aid has launched a Rapid Emergency Response Initiative providing support to the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation and Social Awareness Society for Youths, two existing partner organisations in Tamil Nadu, which have been able to carry out assessments and start relief activities

Emergency food provisions consisting of dry food such as rice, flour and milk powder for two weeks are being circulated along with winter kits of bedding and floor mats for those whose houses have been destroyed.

* Christian Aid: http://www.christianaid.org.uk

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Record number of Palestinians displaced by Israeli demolitions

Over the past year, Israeli authorities have stepped up unlawful demolitions in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, displacing a record number of Palestinian families from their homes, an international coalition of 20 leading aid agencies and human rights groups say.

The statement comes as the Middle East Quartet meets in Jerusalem in its latest effort to revive peace talks.

The sharp rise in demolitions in 2011 has been accompanied by accelerated expansion of Israeli settlements and an escalation of violence perpetrated by settlers, the groups said.

The humanitarian and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Christian Aid and Oxfam International, are calling for the Quartet to hold all parties to the conflict to their international law obligations. The Quartet must, therefore, press the Israeli government to immediately reverse its settlement policies and freeze all demolitions that violate international law.

“Christian Aid is very concerned that house demolitions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, accompanied by continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and an escalation in settler violence, is severely disrupting Palestinian development and making peace ever more elusive. A record number of Palestinian families have been displaced from their homes over the last year. The Middle East Quartet, meeting this week in Jerusalem, in its latest effort to revive peace talks must address this with substance and meaning if peace is to be given a chance", said William Bell, the NGO's policy officer for the Middle East

“The increasing rate of settlement expansion and house demolitions is pushing Palestinians to the brink, destroying their livelihoods and prospects for a just and durable peace. There is a growing disconnect between the Quartet talks and the situation on the ground. The Quartet needs to radically revise its approach and show that it can make a real difference to the lives of Palestinians and Israelis.” commented Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International.

The evidence of rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground includes:

· * Doubling the number of people displaced by demolitions: Since the beginning of the year more than 500 Palestinian homes, wells, rainwater harvesting cisterns, and other essential structures have been destroyed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing more than 1,000 Palestinians, UN figures show. This is more than double the number of people displaced over the same period in 2010, and the highest figure since at least 2005.[1] More than half of those displaced have been children for whom the loss of their home is particularly devastating.

· * Accelerating settlement expansion: Plans for around 4,000 new settler housing units have been approved in East Jerusalem over the past 12 months - the highest number since at least 2006, according to Peace Now.In November, moreover, Israel announced plans to speed up construction of 2,000 new units in the West Bank including East Jerusalem.

· * Sharp increase in settler violence: violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians have escalated by over 50 per cent in 2011 compared to 2010, and by over 160 per cent compared to 2009, the UN reports. 2011 has seen by far the most settler violence since at least 2005. Settlers have also destroyed or damaged nearly 10,000 Palestinian olive and other trees during this year, undermining the livelihoods of hundreds of families. The perpetrators act with virtual impunity, with over 90 per cent of complaints of settler violence closed by the Israeli police without indictment in 2005-2010.

· * Impending threat of forced displacement of Bedouin: Up to 2,300 Bedouin living in the Jerusalem periphery could be forcibly and unlawfully relocated if Israeli authorities follow through with their reported plans in 2012, which would destroy their livelihoods and threaten their traditional way of life. Rural communities in the Jordan Valley are also facing the prospect of further demolitions as settlements continue to expand.

“The Quartet should call ongoing settlement expansion and house demolitions what they are: violations of international humanitarian law that Israel should stop,” declared Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

“Israel’s escalating violations show the fundamental failure of the Quartet’s approach. It’s time for the Quartet to understand that they cannot contribute to achieving a just and durable solution to the conflict without first ensuring respect for international law,” Phillip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Interim Programme Director at Amnesty International added.

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South African bishop accuses rich countries of climate 'apartheid'

South African Bishop Geoff Davies

South African Bishop Geoff Davies has compared rich countries' behaviour at the Durban climate talks with apartheid, saying wealthy nations were trying to keep power and wealth for themselves.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday 6 December 2011, the Anglican church leader urged decision makers to put the needs of people and the planet before profit.

Bishop Davies, who runs the Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute, also insisted that climate change is a moral issue.

"Climate change is a moral issue and it must be met by the moral principles of justice, equity, compassion and love," he declared.

Bishop Davies continued: "We need to put the well-being of the planet and people before self-interested, financial considerations. We are being driven by almost evil forces that care just about profit."

He continued: "Here we are on South African soil where apartheid was defeated. Yet we are seeing a global apartheid. Rich countries are keeping wealth and power for themselves."

Bishop Davies, whose organisation is a partner of UK-based global development agency Christian Aid, said it would be immoral to allow global warming to exceed two degrees celsius.

"If temperatures go up to four or five degrees it will catastrophic," he explained. In Africa we are concerned. Scientists say African temperatures will increase twice as much as the global average. It is immoral for nationals to say we will continue to emit carbon until we hit two degrees."

"We worship a creator God and we are in the process of destroying that creation," concluded Bishop Davies.

Christian Aid says it believes Bishop Geoff's words "provide a very thought-provoking and challenging perspective on global warming and that a time when the climate talks are in peril, it is important to have new ways of thinking about the crisis facing the world."

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Faith leaders united in Durban climate change action call

Faith leaders have called on decision-makers at the UN climate summit in Durban, South Africa, to act in the interest of humanity and reach an agreement on cutting global greenhouse gas emissions.

With negotiations on legally binding carbon emission cuts yet to make real progress and nations unable to agree on a financial package to help poor countries adapt to the effects of climate change faith leaders have demanded action.

Unveiling the Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change, peace activist Ela Gandhi quoted her grandfather, Mahatma, when she urged delegates to "be the change you want to see in the world."

She said those in power needed to make decisions which helped conserve the planet for future generations.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Durban, added that the world's political leaders were in danger of failing humanity.

"We express our displeasure with local and international political leadership which has failed to take decisive steps to make the changes required for the survival of humanity and life on earth," he said.

"We as the religious community demand that our political leaders honour previous commitments and move towards ethically responsible positions and policies," said Cardinal Napier.

"There is strong evidence that such steps will not be made at COP 17," he added.

The Cardinal therefore urged the global spiritual community to do what their political leaders had failed to do and not accept platitudes instead of action on climate change.

Mardi Tindal, leader of the United Church of Canada, the country's largest Protestant denomination, said Jesus' call to love one's neighbour spoke directly to global decisions on the environment.

She said: "When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he said love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and he added, love your neighbour as yourself."

"We can't be compassionate followers of Christ without being concerned by the threat of climate change and its impact on our global neighbours," Tindal added

Fellow Canadian the Rev Willard Metzger, the General Secretary of the Mennonite Church of Canada, added that environmental responsibility was an act of worship.

He said: "Caring for the earth is a form of worship to God the creator. God put passion and energy into creating something beautiful for his children.

"How can we do anything but treat it with respect. Anything else would be an insult.

"How would a parent feel if their child trashed a gift they had spent time and effort making."

The interfaith declaration calls on governments to act now before global warming does irreparable harm to the earth.

It states: 'We call upon our leaders, those of our faiths, and all people of Earth to accept the reality of the common danger we face, the imperative and responsibility for immediate and decisive action, and the opportunity to change.'

UK-based global development agency Christian Aid's climate talks expert Mohamed Adow said that if nothing is done human suffering on a huge scale would be the consequence.

"We want to leave Durban with a deal which is a strong response to the climate chaos which is hurtling towards us - and which is already having devastating effects on poor people," he explained.

"Governments need to agree how to respond to the latest climate science, which shows that without deep emissions cuts now, dangerous global warming will occur. It will cause human suffering on a terrifying scale," said Adow.

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Christians and Muslims in Kenya strengthen HIV/AIDS strategies

As new HIV/AIDS infections and related deaths decline, Christian and Muslim leaders in Kenya discussed how to improve their strategies at a conference in Nairobi from 23 to 25 November 2011 entitled 'Doing More, Doing Better: Towards Zero New Infections.'

It critically examined faith groups' approaches and concluded that some led to increased stigma, denial and shame.

"For the last 30 years or so, religious leaders across the different religions have generally perceived and approached HIV and AIDS as a sexual moral issue," said the Rev Wellington Mutiso, general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya. "This has led to faulty perceptions that individuals, families and communities with high incidences and mortality are most promiscuous, unfaithful and least spiritual."

The conference was sponsored by the National AIDS Control Council (the Kenyan government anti-HIV/AIDS steering body in partnership with the UK-based charity Christian Aid), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

UNAIDS said 2.7 million globally were newly infected with HIV in 2010, down from 3.2 million in 2001. About 33.4 million people globally are HIV-infected. Nearly 1.5 million Kenyans are living with HIV/AIDS.

The religious leaders recommended viewing the disease as a social, economic, political and medical issue. They said comprehensive, integrated and stigma-free approaches should combine moral and public health issues. Past responses have tackled it as a sexual and moral deviance problem, they noted.

"Churches have been stressing ABC (Abstain, Be faithful and Counselling or Condom use) as an approach for some time. This is has been very important for the churches, but we feel should [re-examine] this method. I would say, for instance, it is very important to counsel infected individuals for them to choose whether to use condoms or not," said former Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi in an interview with ENInews.

"The church, especially the Anglican church, has been saying the use of condoms is within the context of the marriage. We have stuck to that because if the condoms are given without control, this can mean increased sexual activities among the populations," he said.

Across the country, faith based organizations are leading efforts to provide treatment in mission hospitals. They also run programs that support women, children and orphans. In addition, the groups have promoted behavior changes, which experts say are crucial to reducing HIV infection and transmission.

One-quarter of all support in the area of HIV comes from faith-based institutions, Ana Isabel Nieto, chairperson of the UNAIDS Coordinating Board, told the gathering. "It is not always visible or said; it is silent support that should be recognized," said Nieto, while urging the religious institutions to work with all people regardless of their sexual identity or orientation.

Until recently, mosques could not send messages on HIV/AIDS because leaders viewed it as a sexual sin, according to Sheikh Haidar Kafi, secretary general of the Kenya Council of Imams and Scholars. He said worship houses have since become crucial points for disseminating information on the pandemic.

[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.]

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Ten years after: Christian Aid in Afghanistan | Ekklesia

Ten years after: Christian Aid in Afghanistan | Ekklesia: This month marks 10 years of international intervention in Afghanistan. Liberating its women was one of the justifications given for the US led NATO intervention in the country and toppling the Taliban – a regime that made female education illegal and forbade women to hold jobs or even to leave the house without a male family member.

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