Stories about Disaster from April, 2010
Haiti: Getting it Wrong
Haitianalysis.com points out all the ways in which a British newspaper columnist gets it wrong about Haiti.
Haiti: Visiting the Capital
Adventures in Life visits downtown Port-au-Prince, while Chronicles of an Unplanned Return blogs about Haiti's school system.
Guyana: More than bravado
Signifyin’ Guyana thinks the actions of the country's President have something endearing about them, adding: “I hope it turns out to be a lasting positive part of his legacy…”
Ukraine: Chernobyl's 24th Anniversary
April 26 marked the 24th anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Ukrainiana writes about a 1990 movie, “an irony-packed perestroika-era drama offers an X-ray of Soviet crisis mismanagement.” Chernobyl and Eastern Europe reviews three documentaries on the catastrophe. Michael Forster Rothbart‘s Chernobyl photography project is featured in zReportage online magazine...
Bangladesh: A Lucky Escape From Death
Sajib tells a breathtaking story with pictures, how he and his family miraculously survived when the rooftop of their house fell down.
Russia, Poland: The Truth About Katyn
Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop writes about Andrzej Wajda’s 2007 film Katyń, which has been shown twice in Russia in the past few weeks (reactions from the Russian blogosphere are here) – and comments that the truth about the massacre is “only coming out now in the former Soviet Union...
Haiti: Food Aid
A mainstream media news story which highlights “the problems posed by continued food aid to Haiti”, grabs the attention of Ellen in Haiti, who says: “The problem with the article is that it just talks about food aid….in Port au Prince. There is so much else in Haiti that needs...
Haiti: Threat of Rain
Concern Blogs reports that “the United Nations has determined that 9,000 of [Haiti's] Bourdon Valley’s residents are at immediate risk of losing their lives in this area due to dangers posed by the rains.”
Haiti: Part of History
The Haitian Blogger republishes an article by Melanie Newton which suggests that what happens in Haiti post-earthquake “is a question of world historical significance.”
UK: Krakow Funeral Broadcast in London's Trafalgar Square
Rosie Walunas writes that London's Trafalgar Square “was nearly filled to capacity” on Sunday, as people gathered to watch TV Polonia's coverage of the funeral of late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria in Krakow. Mark Grigorian (LJ user markgrigorian) posts more photos from the live broadcast and...
Russia: Volcanic Eruption Provokes Cooperation and Jokes
Two days passed since Mother Nature showed its power to mankind letting the Icelandic volcano with unpronounceable name “Eyjafjallajökull” fill the European aerospace with ashes. As the ash cloud went east, more and more airports were closing, which led to European-wide transport collapse. Russian bloggers – also affected by the...
Poland: Social Network Criticized for ‘Black Ribbon’ Gifting Option
Sylwia Presley translates online reactions to a new gifting option that a popular Polish social network has introduced this week: black ribbons.
Georgia, Russia, Poland: Imedi-TV's Kaczynski Controversy
Giorgi Kvelashvili of Jamestown Foundation Blog writes that the fake news broadcast aired by a Georgian TV channel on March 15 did not contain mentions of Lech Kaczynski's death in a plane crash – even though some recent Russian media reports claim otherwise.
Haiti: Back to School
“You could see some parents crying by the streets watching other neighborhood kids leaving for class; their kids had gone to school once, on January 12th, and never came back”: For Inside Disaster, Emmanuel Midi reports on back to school time in Haiti.
Mongolia: Earthquake in Ulaanbaatar
Radigan Neuhalfen writes a story about the most recent earthquake in Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia, and also provides a background of seismic research in this country.
Haiti: Goal of NGOs
The Haitian Blogger agrees that the goals of non-governmental organisations in Haiti should be “to put themselves out of business.”
Slogans do no honor to China’s miners
Qian Gang from China Media Project comments on the propaganda campaign regarding the rescue of 153 Miners in Shanxi.
China: Web mobilizes to help Yushu earthquake victims
Between local government attempts to keep news of the Yushu earthquake contained and China's top leaders calling for "all-out" assistance from the public, desire from offline and virtual civil society to contribute to rescue efforts any way they can has been loud and forward.
Poland: Controversy Over Polish President's Burial Location
Today's announcement that the Polish presidential couple, killed in the tragic aircraft accident over Smolensk last Saturday, would be buried in Krakow's Wawel Castle has raised a lot of controversy. Sylwia Presley translates the views of some Polish Facebook members.
Haiti: Red Cross Presence
The Haitian Blogger questions the presence of the American Red Cross in Haiti.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: La Soufriere
“As a teenager I saw the awesome power of volcanoes when the Montserrat Soufriere Hills rumbled to life…since then I have looked at our dozing mountain with more than a little fear and respect”: From St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni marks thirty one years “since Vincentians awoke to the...
