Humanitarian Crises
by Azfar Hasin
It’s hard to avoid the images of war-torn regions from all around our globe. I have been tracking several of these conflicts and wanted to provide a report on the following:
Russia-Ukrainian War
Israel-Hamas War
Syrian Civil War
Haiti gang war
For each conflict, I will provide background information and the humanitarian impact on the local populations. In addition, I have provided details of those charities and organizations that are on the ground working to help the civilians in the region for those who would like to help. Finally, I will be providing recent updates to these conflicts.
Russo-Ukrainian War
On February 24, 2022, following a months-long crisis across the Russo-Ukrainian border, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a Special Military Operation, and ordered his troops to start an invasion of Ukraine, escalating an already existing hybrid war in Crimea that had been ongoing since 2014. Contrary to the Russian military’s expectations, Ukraine fought back hard and was able to push back the Russian troops from various positions in and around Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson. In 2023, however, the war entered a period of attrition without significant gains on either side, due to Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive and the fortification of preexisting Russian positions. Recently, the U.S. Congress, after arguing for over six months, approved new aid to Ukraine, which paired with increased aid from European allies, might give Ukraine the ability to regain lost territory. But the long-term prospects for peace in the region remain murky, with no end in sight for the largest conventional war of the 21st century.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has incurred significant humanitarian costs. It has killed at least 10,000 civilians, injuring 20,000, and has started one of the worst refugee crises in modern European history, exiling over 6 million Ukrainians from their homeland, In addition, almost a million young Russians have left their country to escape mobilization and compulsory military service. The war has killed 100-300 thousand soldiers on both sides, one of the largest death tolls for conventional forces in a war that has only been raging for a few years.
There are a few ways to support the Ukrainian people. Charities that cover Ukraine include the Ukrainian Red Cross, a regional partner of the International Red Cross; the World Central Kitchen, which according to Forbes has served over 260 million meals since the invasion; VostokSOS, which provides trauma support; and Voices of Children, which provides support for Ukrainian children affected by the war. In addition, you can donate to United24, a charity run by the Ukrainian government, which raises money for Ukrainian defense as well as humanitarian purposes.
Israel-Hamas War
On October 7, 2023, members of the Qassam Brigades, the militant wing of Hamas, launched a coordinated operation against several civilian and military positions within Israel, killing over 1,000 people, the majority of which were civilians, as well as kidnapping hundreds. This unprecedented terror attack received a harsh Israeli military response from the sky, and later a ground invasion. The subsequent war that is occurring has been called by many to be one of the worst humanitarian crises of modern times. With no way to escape and the gate to Egypt blocked, the people of Gaza are trapped, being forced to move frequently in order to avoid military bombardment as the Israeli military seeks to destroy Hamas.
The war has killed at least 35,000 (40,000 now) Gazan civilians, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry, and is destroying access to healthcare in the Gaza Strip. This death toll has been contested by other countries, including the United States and Israel. 1.4 million people coming from the North and Khan Younis seek refuge in Rafah, the last city in the Gaza Strip to not have been cleared of Hamas fighters yet. Now with the Rafah Offensive in full swing, an estimated 810,000 (according to UNRWA) have fled Rafah in the past weeks. The war has exacerbated an already existing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. All entrances into the Gaza Strip are controlled by Israel, and getting shipments of humanitarian aid to a war zone is difficult, as there are Israeli concerns of Hamas utilizing humanitarian aid for their own benefit.
That being said, there are still ways to help the people in the Gaza Strip. These include donating to the World Central Kitchen, which resumed humanitarian aid after a pause following the death of several of their aid workers in Gaza; the Palestinian Red Crescent, a branch of the Red Cross; and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, which specializes in medical assistance for Palestinian youths.
Syrian Civil War
As the Arab Spring spread through the Middle East in the early 2010s, the Syrian Arab Republic was no exception. Protests against authoritarianism led to a crackdown, however, which led to a full-scale civil war. The Syrian Civil War soon became the new Cold War’s first proxy war, with the Kurds, Turkey, the United States and NATO on one side, and the al-Assad regime, Russians, and Iranians on the other, with terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda getting involved as well.
Over the past decade and a half, over half a million people have died, according to SOHR. Almost 7 million people have become refugees, according to UNHCR, and a similar figure have been made internally displaced. Even after the establishment of a shaky and tenuous ceasefire line in 2020, average Syrians continue to experience hardship, as a devastating economic crisis, worsened by Western sanctions, and an escalating ISIS insurgency take their toll on this country with a rich history that goes back to ancient times.
There are several charities you can fund to help the Syrian people and the refugees, such as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Save the Children, and World Central Kitchen. In addition is a group known as the White Helmets. They are a volunteer organization that operates in opposition-controlled territories, participating in search and rescue operations and medical evacuations. The White Helmets have been the subject of scrutiny by Russia and the Syrian regime, who try to link them to terrorists. Officially known as the Syria Civil Defense, they are a registered humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) that receives funding from the U.S. and U.K., as well as European and other partners around the world.
Haitian Gang War
While the on-going wars in Ukraine and Gaza have taken up much of the information space, another conflict has been brewing, one much closer to the United States. Haiti, located in the Caribbean next to the Dominican Republic, has had a long and troubled history. Over the course of the country’s life, Haiti has been ravaged by dictatorships, natural disasters, diseases, failed UN and American interventions, and now more recently, a full-on gang war. The most recent of these crises started in May of 2020, when several gangs conducted attacks in the capital of Port-Au-Prince, with some gangs uniting under the G9 Alliance. It escalated following the killing of the former president Jovenel Moïse, and continues to worsen this year as the government of the country falls into shambles. However, a way out might be visible for the people of Haiti as the possible deployment of Kenyan and Carribean police officers as a peace-keeping force is on the horizon.
According to a UN official, this gang war leaves one million people at risk of famine and another 4 million facing food insecurities. UNICEF and Save the Children serve Haiti, as does World Central Kitchen, which has been in the country since the deadly 2010 earthquake. A Haitian based organization one may donate to is Fonkoze. The organization sends financial and development aid to Haitians in order to break the cycle of poverty in a system known as microfinance and has been called “one of the most effective organization in Haiti” by the New York Times.
Links to Organizations:
In addition: see real-time updates to all the conflicts listed here and more in this map I’ve been working on since May 2023.
Summer/Fall 2024 Updates
Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Over the 2 months after the article’s publication in June, the ball has significantly shifted into Russia’s court. Russian forces have launched various offensives in Ukrainian held territory, taking several villages and towns in the Avdiivka and Bakhmut sector, many of which were previously taken by the Armed Forces of Ukraine last year. Russia seeks to control Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk (Donetsk Oblast), both strategic Ukrainian strongholds that have endured almost a decade of conflict. However, these offensives have cost thousands of Russian lives and millions of rubles worth of equipment, negatively impacting the Russian economy.
Recently, the AFU launched a large armed incursion into Kursk Oblast, Russia, possibly seeking to distract and bring in Russian soldiers from other sectors. The incursion marked the first occupation of Russian land since WWII and the German Invasion. Debates in the West have been surfacing on allowing Ukraine to use long-range Western missiles against targets in Russia, an act Putin said would cross a red line and bring the West more fully into the conflict.
Israel-Hamas War
Over the 2 months after the article’s publication in June, the war in the Gaza Strip has continued with no end in sight, growing in scale and expense. In Gaza, each time a Hamas brigade is rebuilt in a sector of the Strip, the IDF launches a new raid and fighting is renewed. This model has been repeated several times, resulting in a fierce insurgency in Northern Gaza and Khan Younis, where the IDF have battled the Qassam Brigades three separate times over the 10 months since October 7. In Lebanon and elsewhere, tensions have exploded following escalatory tit for tat attacks between the IDF and Iranian backed Hezbollah, finally culminating in the Majdal Shams strike on (disputed) Israeli controlled Golan Heights, killing 12 Druze children. Following that, Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander and allegedly killed Ismael Haniyeh, political leader of Hamas, who was in Iran. Tensions are high, and both Israel and Iran are gearing up for a possibility of a larger war.
Syrian Civil War
Over July and August, relatively little has changed in Syria. The Regime’s economic struggles, the protests in HTS (Islamist, former ties to Al Qaeda) controlled Northern Syria, and the protests in Assad Regime Suwayda Governorate all continue. Erdogan’s Turkey and the Assad Regime have both signaled their willingness to reopen relations, potentially putting a dent in international, mostly Western, efforts to block off Assad.
Haitian Gang War
The situation in Haiti has significantly improved in the past few months. The unelected and unpopular acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry stepped down in April, making way for a transitional government led by Gary Conille. The Kenyan-led response force has entered Haiti and has started the long process of clearing out the capital of gangs.