Relief agencies say nearly 1/3 of all Iraqis need emergency aid

The Associated Press
Published: July 30, 2007

LONDON: About 8 million Iraqis — nearly a third of the population — need immediate emergency aid because of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Iraq war, relief agencies said Monday.
Those Iraqis are in urgent need of water, sanitation, food and shelter, said the report by Oxfam and the NGO Coordination Committee network in Iraq.
The report said 15 percent of Iraqis cannot regularly afford to eat; 70 percent are without adequate water supplies (up from 50 percent in 2003); 28 percent of children are malnourished (compared with 19 percent before the 2003 invasion); and 92 percent of Iraqi children suffer learning problems.
The report also said more than 2 million people — mostly women and children — have been displaced within Iraq, and 2 million Iraqis have fled the country as refugees, mostly to neighboring Syria and Jordan.
"Basic services, ruined by years of war and sanctions, cannot meet the needs of the Iraqi people," said Jeremy Hobbs, the director of Oxfam International. "Millions of Iraqis have been forced to flee the violence, either to another part of Iraq or abroad. Many of those are living in dire poverty."
He urged Iraq's government, the United Nations and the international community to do more to help Iraqis, despite the risk of the war's widespread violence involving coalition forces and insurgents.
"The Iraqi government must commit to helping Iraq's poorest citizens, including the internally displaced, by extending food parcel distribution and cash payments to the vulnerable. Western donors must work through Iraqi and international aid organizations and develop more flexible systems to ensure these organizations operate effectively and efficiently," Hobbs said.
Oxfam has not operated in Iraq since 2003 for security reasons, but a survey it published in April found that more than 80 percent of aid agencies working in the country could do more if they had more money.
Some humanitarian organizations refuse money from governments with troops in Iraq, on the grounds of security and independence.
"The fighting and weak Iraqi institutions mean there are severe limits on what humanitarian work can be carried out. Nevertheless, more can and should be done to help the Iraqi people," Hobbs said.

Writing from Paul's cutsy apartment in Chelsea...

So strange to be in New York City, such a busy city...but all I feel right now is loneliness. Landon left this morning, and the weather seems projecting my feelings...it's pouring raining, the wind is strong and hits you with cold bitterness...Instead of being outside enjoying and exploring this exciting city I'd rather stay inside, on my laptop, listening to music, dreamining and living in my dream world, where all of my friends are there and there is no goodbye...

Giorgio de Chirico, Mystery and Melancholy of a Street. 1914

I had such a fun weekend and the next days will be exciting as well. I got to the city on Friday night, and right after we got to Paul's apt we went out. We first stopped in a really fancy italian bar where we had limoncello, and then we went off to a cute gay lounge club named G. On Saturday morning Landon and I went to the MOMA, which filled me with emotions and goose bumps, I was surrounded by some of the art pieces that I love the most, and I felt such a great energy and a stron vibe...then we met Paul and two other AIESECers from national staff in a very cute and delicious italian restaurant. Right after we met with Brian, one of our friends who's interning at the UN for the summer, and we hang out with him and his malaysian friend Amer. We went to a brazilian place where I introduced them to Capirinha;) the two of them then went home and Paul Landon and I went to the "in" place for the young gay community in New York: Splash! Such a fun club! I danced the whole night, I really really had a blast, met some fun interesting people (a chinese-polish gay guy who invited me to go dance with him on monday night:) and a hair-style crationist from hollywood!), we dance till 6 am, we went outside and walked the city while the sun was rising...it is so true that the city never sleeps! Yesterday it was our time to sleep, so we went napping at Central Park and had a very lovely afternoon, followed by the most amazing margaritas I've ever had and delicious mexican food. We then ended the night at Paul's where he opened a new bottle of delicious scotch for me and we talked the night away...

My heart is in conflict with my mind. It is true that I am having such a great time, but my thoughts keep jumping back to my beloved Columbia, where I left most of my heart...

Anyways, tonight I'm going out for dinner with Sid and Sharon, two friends from MU who I haven't seen in a year, and I am really excited to catch up with them! Tomorrow I have the interview with Givenchy and then a lunch with a guy who knows my dad and stepmom. Afterwords I'll probably go to the MET and have some more orgasmic art experiences there:) followed by a dinner with one of my stepmom's ex-student who I haven't met yet but with whom I've talked quite a bit on the phone and I'm really excited to meet him in person! On Wednesday morning Brian wants to give me a tour of the UN....and then that's it! Bye bye Miss American Pie! bye bye my beloved United States...bye bye my previous life, time to turn the page! But I'm not ready yet, so I keep ripping pages off to stand where I used to, where I was happy and confortable...but sometimes we need to challenge ourselves and get out of that confort zone to really grow, to learn, to become "adults", become responsible of our own choices...and we inevitably leave some things and mostly some people behind.

But as my dear Antoine said, let time play its role and destiny play its game...

I'm excited for this next step of my life, and I am also happy to leave so much behind...it shows me how much love I have around me and how much my life, my friends, my experiences mean to me....I have marked in my mind every single last hug my friends and I exchanged, and each of them is so special to me! it won't be the easiest thing keep living my life without them right next to me, walking by my side...but I'm a better person because of all I've lived and because I let myself influence and be influenced by my beloved friends....now it's time to keep going and hop to the next adventure! No more malencolyc thoughts, now only hope for the future!!!

One of the best night of my life....whowhoo!!!!

3.40 am...I just got back home, I'm having the rest of some delicious chicken nachos from El Rancho...wow, what a beautiful night!
It's my last weekend in Columbia, Missouri....I am gonna miss this fucking place to death! As I said before on multiple times and occasions, I'm leaving a huge chunk of my heart here and it will be hard as hell to leave without it but I am a strong woman and I will survive and be just fine! Tonight Kandice Luke and I started the night at Tellers, one of the nicest bars in CoMO, with a couple of beers and OMG, all of us saw our first iPhone!!!! Gotta admit it was pretty damn cool!!! After Tellers we went to Sake, a Japanese restaurant that becomes a cool bar with couches and cool atmoshpere and electronic music on the background. We all tried some Japanese beers and after Luke recognized the bar-tender we also got free Geisha shots....delisciousious!!!! After Sake was the storm, the rain was just pouring on us but we kept going:) Willie's was next, a SkinnyDipping beer later we're off to our next place, Generic, a techno disco that ended our tour of the bars just perfectly! We just drank some more, dance our asses off and enjoyed the rest of the night....But the night was still young and we were too drunk to go back home and sleep...so we got some beer and went to Stephen's Lake, a stupid fake small mother-fucker lake closed to my house...and we skinny-dipped there! How beautiful! We kept drinking, and drinking, and doing front and back flips in the water, until we were sure we saw some flash lights coming closer to us and we were fucking scared the cops would just catch us naked in the stupid mother-fucker lake (that wouldn't be the best picture now, would it?), so we got dressed really fast and left...3 am, all is closed downtown except for fucking El Rancho!!!! Mexican cheap fast-food, in the heart of downtown Columbia.....delicious, let me tell you! And seriously - we were all completely drunk, wet from head to toes and full of sand!!!! How cool is that, being that nasty downtown Columbia and nobody fucking cared!!!!!

But that was my wonderful night...now, I'm leaving cause I got a job offer for Media Plus Consulting in Brussels, Belgium. I will be selling advertising spaces around the globe, to be plublished on country reports that end up on American and European media. I'm sooooooooo scared and excited at the same time about this job!!! I will be traveling all the time - which is exciting - but it is also scaring cause bye-bye stable life-style, gotta go leave for random places I don't even know, living in hotels, not knowing anybody...man it's fucking scaring but hey - I've got those balls and my enthusiasm for a nomad life for a reason, right:) Here we come random countries, gotta buy my ad spaces so that I can make money and survive in your country!!!

Man, I'm gonna miss Columbia TO DEATH! Seriously - I totally understand that I am done here, I'm through and I'm fine with it....but oh god, will I miss it! Antoine, Stephanie, Hector, Kandice and Luke, Sarah.....all of those people who meant so much to me in those past few years...poof, gone from my radius of view, gone for a while from my life. I love every single one of them and I know that when you love some one, it is not as easy to lose track of each other. I know that me and my friends and my big love, we'll all communicate on a regular basis and I do count of them for moral support, smiles and encouragements when I need them the most!!!!

Whatever will happen, just for the sake of having had said it, I am kind of sad

Laeving this post with hope - I hope! I will keep updating this blog with stories

Following the American dream...

these past few days have been quite interesting, I've gotta admit it. I'm in a weird place of my life right now where I don't know what's going on and IT FREAKS ME OUT! Graduated last month, applying for jobs and living my life in my college town where my friends still study and work and live their lives, while me...I'm just here waiting, trying to make something happen and trying to make a change in my life. The other day I was 100% depressed: I felt like nobody around me was going through the same - aka, I did something wrong to be in such a fucked up situation! No job, from tomorrow no home, in few weeks no money, as usual no boyfriend, no family, no friends to relate to...I felt so alone and as I couldn't hold on to anything or anybody. I felt as I was the in the center of my compass and I couldn't find my north pole, and I keep just spinning and spinning around with no direction and no future hope. But that was yesterday...last night after an horrible day spent crying on the phone with my mom, moving out of my room to sleep on an air matress in my living room, saw HIM avoiding me after what we've told each other, recieved the worst booty call from an ex who seemed to have changed his mind on the phone, and after my best friend seemed to have avoided me for the past few weeks since his in-laws were in town, Kandice called me and thank god we hang out!!! Hector picked me up and it was the all good times again! Me Hector Kandice and Luke hanging out, playing cards and drinking beer, watching comedy shows, talking about life and beliefs. It just bumped to my mind that it is all worth it. What I am goin through right now IS ALL WORTH IT. My friends fill my heart in a way that makes me feel alive. On nights like that I just like to sit back and observe them and I feel so good, I feel the love all around, no boundaries and no constraints. Pure 100% love of friendship that I wouldn't trade for anything else. Sometimes I feel lonely and I wished I'd wake up in the morning in HIS arms, feeling HIS love...but it doesn't matter cause what I've found in my friends' hearts already fulfills me, I don't need HIM and HIS built-up character and HIS full-of-himself personality!!! Knadice and Luke are the only people here in Columbia that I can still relate to. They're moving in 3 weeks to DC and still don't have a job there, they're making the big move and they're as scared and excited of life as I am. They have each other, they have their beliefs, their friends and their memories, and that's all they need. That's all I need. I had thought for the past few days that I wasn't gonna make it, that I had to go back to Italy and dispite my mom saying that I wouldn't be a failure, hell yeah! that's how I'd feel! But then my dear friend, the American dream, just showed up in the conversation and in Kandice's eyes: we're gonna make it! We'll make it and then we'll say WE HAD IT! We lived it, we'll have what we have dreamt of because we're in America and that's how people live their lives. I've gotta stop being scared, I like to see myself as a resourceful person. Kandice gave me the idea of getting a shitty job while waiting for an opportunity to come and man! I can do it. I'm not failing it, I'm obteining it with all my strenghts and my hopes. It is ALL UP TO ME, no predestination and no "mean to be" whole shit, it's ME!!! I'll fight for what I want and I'll get it, nobody in the way!
Be ware....as Luke would say: we're Ameri-Can't's!!!