By Kristele Younes Heading into Libya was quite an experience. As the conflict rages on, and the no-fly zone is enforced by the international community, the town of Benghazi in eastern Libya was only accessible by road from Egypt. Yet the nineteen hours it took to get there from Cairo were not enough to prepare…
By Catherine Philp Nine years ago in the bright Kabul spring, I met a young woman called Marla Ruzicka. She was hard to miss, with her wild blonde hair and animal pyjamas peeking out from the hem of her long kameez. She was harder still to miss the morning she marched to the gates of…
Last month you came with us to Afghanistan. Now we’re taking you to the US military base at Ft. Leavenworth with CIVIC’s new Field Director Kristele Younes. Kristele comes to CIVIC with extensive experience advocating for civilians from Pakistan and Iraq to Congo and Bosnia — though this was her first time in Kansas!…
In one minute or less, we’ll give you an inside look at civilians in war and CIVIC’s work to help them. You can expect photographs, powerful stories and progress toward their well-being. We’ll go to Afghanistan where CIVIC created and just delivered the first-ever trainings on addressing civilian harm to American, international and Afghan military…
Posted by Chris Rogers Politicians in Pakistan agree on little these days. In a country where partisan rivalry runs high, and regional and religious politics compound deep sectarian and ethnic differences, divisiveness is a constant. However, in the last two weeks I have seen consensus around at least one issue: the need to address civilian…
In a new report out today, the CIVIC documents civilian losses as the result of armed conflict and their consequences. Since 2001, Pakistani military operations, US drone strikes, militant and terror attacks, and other forms of conflict-related violence have killed or injured thousands and displaced millions in northwest Pakistan. The Center’s Christopher Rogers spent a…
Posted by Scott “No one even helps you bring in the dead; you collect the bodies at your own risk,” a woman called ‘L’ explained to me at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. Fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has raged on and off for nearly two decades, but never has it been…
Posted by: Shelly When I was nine, my biggest responsibility was to make my bed in the morning and sometimes I didn’t even do that. Like most kids, I was completely reliant on my parents and other adults to meet my needs. But what if one of my parents died and it was now…
Posted by: Marla B Last week NATO commanders proposed a new idea: a medal for “courageous restraint” if troops avoid using force that could harm an Afghan civilian. Steps like this make it clear their heads and hearts are in the right place, given how important such avoidance is in Afghanistan right now–-both for humanitarian…