- Timeline of events in humanitarian relief and development
The following is a timeline of mainly American events in the history of
humanitarian aid , international relief and development aid.*
1705 – Bhai Kanhaiya Ji (1648 -1718 ), Founder of the Sewa Panthi or Addenshahi sect of the Sikhs. He establishd a Dharamsala at Kavha village in the Attock district of Punjab, now inPakistan , which he turned into a preaching centre. His special mission was selfless service of humanity with no distinction of caste creed or nationality. In 1705, Bhai Kanhaiya Ji was on a visit toAnandpur Sahib when the Fort ofAnandpur Sahib was invested by a combination of hill troops and the imperial army. During the frequent sallies and skirmishes, Bhai Kanahaiya Ji used to roam around serving water to the wounded and dying without distinction of friend and foe. Some Sikhs complained toGuru Gobind Singh that Kanaihya had been resurrecting the fallen enemy. Guru Gobind Singh Ji summoned him and told him of the Sikhs’ complaint. Bhai Kanaihya Ji replied: “Yes my lord, what they said is true in a sense but I saw no Mughals or Sikhs in the battlefield. I only saw the Guru in everyone. Guru Gobind Singh Ji was pleased with his reply and blessed him and told his Sikhs that Bhai Kanaihya Ji had understood his teaching correctly. After the evacuation of Anandpur Sahib, Bhai Kanaihya Ji retired to Sodhara where He died in 1718.*
24 June 1859 –Battle of Solferino :Henry Dunant (who went on to found theInternational Committee of the Red Cross ) is inspired to organise to assist the victims of war.* 1863 – foundation of the
International Committee of the Red Cross .* 1864 – first action of Red Cross delegates at Dybbol,
Denmark .* 1877 – Famine Relief Fund set up in the
United Kingdom for people suffering in the 1876-78Bengal Famine inBritish India . By the end of October, £426,000 had been raised.* 1937 –
Tan Kah Kee presides over fundraising efforts in whichoverseas Chinese , especiallySingaporean Chinese , contribute millions ofStraits dollar s worth of humanitarian aid in response to theSecond Sino-Japanese War .*
June 28 1948 – theUnited States government flew supplies into the Western-held sectors ofBerlin over the blockade during 1948-49, known as theBerlin Airlift .* 1968 – Biafran War: disagreement about how to deal with gross human rights abuses cause a split that will result in a group of Red Cross doctors forming
Médecins Sans Frontières .* 1978-Massive number of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos fleed to neighboring countries where they are received by UN agencies like the UNHCR, and private non-governmental agencies. The largest numbers flee to Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and China.
* 1985-Ethiopian Famine leads to massive relief response by the United States and other countries.
* 1992 –
Operation Provide Relief , humanitarian relief forSomalia , was led by the United States. After looting of the aid, it was reorganized asOperation Restore Hope , an American military operation with the support of theUnited Nations to deliver humanitarian aid and restore order to Somalia, that eventually lead to the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.* 1993 –
Workers' Aid for Bosnia is typical of many community-level voluntary organizations formed in the United Kingdom to directly support the victims of the violence inYugoslavia , as a direct result of public outrage.* 1994-
Great Lakes Refugee Crisis in Central Africa. Humanitarian relief to refugees fleeing Rwanda was distributed primarily in Congo/Zaire, and Tanzania.* 1995 – responsing to a flood in
North Korea which had caused a famine, the United States government initially provided over $8 million in general humanitarian aid (thePeople's Republic of China was the only country to initially contribute more aid). However, eight years later, the United States government has provided $644 million in aid to the country which comprises nearly 50% of the aid going to North Korea. Fact|date=February 2007* 1999-Kosovo War and Refugee Crisis. Serb military action led to the flight of refugees to Albania and other neighboring countries where they were received by UNHCR and other agencies. NATO responded with a bombing campaign against Serbia.
ee also
*
Attacks on humanitarian workers
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