Empty Words...

Much has been made in recent years of the concept of support for our troops. Some of the blogs that I have read were almost laughable to me. One statement in particular has always stood out... "Supporting the troops means eating PB sanwiches for a week so I can afford to send more care packages". Would you really do that?? I'd be sick by the end of the week, certainly sick of PB sandwiches!!

I spent a considerable portion of my offline time mulling this over. I began to speak to refugees new to our country and a realisation came over me. I am 100% behind supporting the troops, I don't think I need to explain myself there. Yes, I believe a bumper sticker or pin is supporting the troops if that is what you can afford. Of course, I believe that eating PB sandwiches for a week is also supporting the troops, but how many of us support what they are actually doing??

Last year the UN called on the west for a 19,000 strong force to assist in areas including the Sudan, where there is violence on an almost incomprehensible scale. The call was declined by then Prime Minister Howard and will not likely be heeded by Rudd after he has finished slashing the Defence budget to pieces. The simple realities for many of our countries leaders at that time was that we are already stretched way to thin, primarily across the Middle East, to support this request. I have since followed the situation in the Sudan with sadness and pure frustration. If ever we were to question the true meaning of human misery, we have only to look in that direction and see for ourselves. I get to see it every day. In my line of work we have daily contact with Sudanese, Lebanese and Middle Eastern refugees. One mother told me of growing up in a constant war zone, watching people die, homes burn and people roaming the streets with guns for the first 10 years of her life.

Every war is like any story in that each has 2 sides. There is the conflict and then there are the innocent victims. EVERY Soldier I have spoken to speaks of the heartbreaking sights they witness on a daily basis, displaced families, children killed and maimed or at risk of their lives for venturing outside. We have witnessed Community Centres and schools opened to support the local population as all around them their lives are torn apart by attacks from their own countrymen. How many of us have sent packages in support of these ventures?? I'm guessing there wouldn't be many among us who have not supported these causes in some way.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the plaza doing some shopping before meeting a friend to catch a movie. As I walked down a walkway, window shopping I spotted a stall for UNHCR. I stood for a moment watching them try in vain to catch the attention of people walking by. I must have watched for close to 5 minutes as each person who walked past dropped their head or averted their eyes as they walked past. I actually looked at the bags in my hands and thought about my reason for being there. How good is my life that I have these options?? And so I walked straight to the stall and told them to sign me up. Now, we all know I am no great fan of the UN but this made such an abundance of sense to me. I could send food parcels or clothing or whatever I felt was needed but what I can do with $25 a month and what they can do is so different. This from the UNHCR website......

Single donation $105 can provide enough blankets for seven families $142 can provide a household kit for a displaced family in Darfur $325 can provide fuel efficient stoves for 50 families as well as training on their usage To become an Action Partner and provide ongoing protection and assistance to refugees, please complete details below. $25 per month can provide 50 mosquito nets to protect against malaria $30 per month can provide clean safe water for refugees $50 per month can provide all season tents for 5 families

I have always been sceptical of these aide organisations and in the past it has prevented me from donating, but I can now ask refugees and find out for myself that our donations DO help these people.

This is one of the many refugee camps stretching across areas such as Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Angola and Zambia.

Many of these camps are surrounded by barbed wire to protect it's inhabitants from Militia and rebel forces.

The War in Darfur (called by some as Darfur Genocide) is a military conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Unlike the Second Sudanese Civil War, the current lines of conflict are seen to be ethnic and tribal, rather than religious.[1] One side of the armed conflict is composed mainly of the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed, a militia group recruited mostly from the Arab Baggara tribes of the northern Rizeigat, camel-herding nomads, who are opposed to religions other than Islam. The other side comprises a variety of rebel groups, notably the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, recruited primarily from the land-tilling non-Arab Fur, Zaghawa, and Massaleit ethnic groups. The Sudanese government, while publicly denying that it supports the Janjaweed, has provided money and assistance to the militia and has participated in joint attacks targeting the black African tribes from which the rebels draw support.[2] The conflict began in February of 2003. Read more here

Iraq Appeal Situational Overview The humanitarian situation in Iraq continues to be dire. UNHCR estimates there are some 2.0 million Iraqis displaced internally, and up to 2.2 million in neighboring states, particularly Syria and Jordan. The internal rate of displacement is continuing at a rate of some 40,000 to 50,000 a month. Many were displaced prior to 2003, but an increasing number are fleeing now. Large numbers of Iraqi refugees are poor and live in low income areas. There are reports of women and young girls forced to resort to prostitution or survival sex and children forced into labour or other forms of exploitation in order to survive. Australia for the UNHCR has launched its Iraq appeal in aid of those displaced by the conflict and ongoing unrest.

So the question I asked myself in those moments before signing up was 'What would $25 a month mean to me'??

• If I was a smoker, 2 packets of cigarettes (so I would be healthier for helping)
• If I was a drinker, that would be 2 1/2 cans of Jacks at the pub (once again I would be healthier for helping)
• 2 large pizzas
• A TShirt
• A latest release cd or dvd
• Half a pair of jeans
• 2 tickets to see a movie

I think I can do without any one of these things to help people.

Success in any one of these regions needs to be a partnership between our military forces and ourselves. Every one of us can become a part of this partnership by assisting in the support of the people injured, displaced and traumatised by the conflicts in their regions. As our forces stabilise their regions, we can assist to stabilise their lives.

AC