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Action By Churches Together
ACT International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies.
ACT International raised US$52.7 million in 2003 for humanitarian assistance in 52 countries.
2003 saw civil conflicts and wars, and natural and environmental disasters compounded by unnatural factors, causing untold hardship in the lives of millions of people.
The war in Iraq and its violent aftermath dominated much of the news during the year. Twelve years of sanctions, decades of government repression and economic ruin were replaced by another period of uncertainty, insecurity and hardship for the people of Iraq, as the country faced the challenge of rebuilding itself. On March 20, as the first bombs fell on the country, the ACT alliance called on those engaged in military action to ensure that humanitarian agencies involved in relief efforts in Iraq had the space to assist those in need following armed intervention. ACT underscored the long-standing humanitarian principle of unconditional access to people in need, while its local members and partners and international members came together to coordinate its response, turning churches and mosques into places of safety during the fighting and later, into distribution points for much-needed relief items.
While the world’s attention was focused on Iraq, Liberia descended into a civil conflict that by August would leave this west African country broken and adding up the cost of 14 years of civil wars. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, a year of conflict pitting Palestinians and Israelis against one another plunged those living under the shadow of occupation deeper into poverty and despair. 2003 also saw Israel’s security barrier—in some places a wall, in others a fence—slowly go up, cutting off people living in the West Bank from the rest of the country, their livelihoods, and, in some instances, their land.
Beyond the headlines, millions of people in Africa faced extreme hunger, all the while battling ever-increasing cycles of poverty, the ravages of HIV/AIDS and natural disasters. Burundi seemed set to slide back into civil conflict. In India and Pakistan, people faced the consequences of lingering droughts and floods that left them with little or no resources and reserves. Earthquakes in China killed indiscriminately and left thousands of people homeless. And as the year drew to a close, an earthquake struck the ancient city of Bam in Iran, killing nearly a quarter of the city’s population of 80,000 people. In Iraq, as in other conflicts, the humanitarian community came under fire as it found itself targeted while responding to the needs of those they were assisting.
One of the toughest challenges to the humanitarian community remains the funding of responses to emergencies brought on by conflicts in parts of the world that seem to have been forgotten. Colombia, Chechnya, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan are a few of these ongoing emergencies. In Sudan, where several decades of civil conflict have resulted in more than 4 million displaced people, a fragile peace agreement between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army brokered in 2003 did not solve or alleviate the humanitarian challenges facing the people of southern Sudan. And even as peace seemed to gain a foothold in the south, conflict was flaring up in the western part of Sudan.
As divisions in the world seemed to grow, as conflicts engulfed whole countries and regions, and natural disasters laid waste to whole regions, members of the ACT alliance found ways to bridge the divides, to help bring healing to broken communities and assist people in dealing with some of the worst effects brought on by war or natural disasters. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where fragile peace agreements seemed to be holding, churches helped those struggling to recover from the years of conflict by initiating, among others, supplementary feeding schemes, seed distribution and the rehabilitation of schools and health centres. In Liberia, where a peace accord was signed in August, ACT members came together as a network to respond to the enormous needs of their fellow Liberians who had lost so much in the most recent conflict. In southern Africa, where drought, floods and crop failures year after year were compounded by poverty, HIV/AIDS and political factors, some of the worst effects were averted as ACT’s members worked with local partners to overcome the challenges. Small pockets of hope perhaps, but a witness to ACT's mission, which is to respect human dignity and restore livelihoods and communities affected by disasters and humanitarian crises, and to provide prophetic leadership in addressing human factors that contribute to emergencies and their disproportionate impact on impoverished and marginalised communities.
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Web Address:
act-intl.org
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