Joe Biden was just 29 years old when he suddenly lost his first wife, Neilia, and their young daughter, Naomi, in a car crash in 1972.
In 2015, another of Biden’s children, his 46 year old son Beau, who had been following in his father’s political footsteps, died of brain cancer.
Throughout his political career, Biden has spoken openly about those losses. Today, as president, he did so again, faced with a national tragedy whose scale is hard to fathom: 500,000 people dead from coronavirus in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
Read more at:
'We must resist becoming numb': Biden marks 500,000 Covid deaths with national address – live | US news | The Guardian
Showing posts with label Tragedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tragedy. Show all posts
2/22/21
10/25/16
Iraq: The Human Cost of Retaking Mosul - a new refugee exodus looms on the horizon for Turkey and EU
Iraqi and Kurdish forces will very likely prevail in their battle to
retake Mosul from the Islamic State, but their victory will come at a
high political
and humanitarian cost. In ousting the militant group, the operation in
Mosul could raise Iraq's civilian casualty rate — the third-highest in
the world behind those of Syria and Yemen — because of the large number
of civilians who remain in the city. At the same time, the civilian
presence will slow the advance of the coalition fighting to reclaim Mosul,
which hopes to minimize collateral damage.
Though many of Mosul's roughly 750,000 residents will remain trapped in the city, where the Islamic State will use the civilian presence as a shield to discourage airstrikes, hundreds of thousands of others will seek refuge elsewhere. But in a region already overwhelmed with displaced people from an array of conflicts, refuge will be hard to find.
The United Nations considers the potential flow of displaced persons from Mosul, the largest city in which a campaign to oust the Islamic State has been undertaken, the year's "most complex humanitarian operation." Aid agencies have warned that the offensive to retake the city will further degrade the humanitarian situation in northern Iraq. Since the campaign began Oct. 17, families have been fleeing by the hundreds, adding to the 4 million Iraqis displaced by the Islamic State since January 2014. An estimated 200,000 people are expected to be displaced from Mosul and its environs by Oct. 28, and by the end of the battle, that number will be closer to 1 million. (Even before the offensive began, 3.3 million Iraqis remained internally displaced, while another 238,500 had fled to neighboring countries in the region.) Of these displaced persons, as well as the 1.2 million-1.5 million civilians who will be otherwise affected by the Mosul offensive, an estimated 700,000 people will need daily assistance.
Anticipating the humanitarian fallout of the Mosul operation, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is leading several international aid efforts to coordinate aid response. Nonetheless, the sheer number of people leaving Mosul could overwhelm Iraq's camps, some of which are already experiencing supply problems. To tend to the needs of the displaced population, essential transportation arteries must be kept open and passable so that trucks can bring in clean water for drinking and bathing.
Food aid requires help from outside agencies, such as the World Food Program, which is already struggling to maintain its support to the 1.5 million people it currently supplies. Security concerns are also complicating the process of resettling civilians into camps, since Islamic State militants have been caught trying to hide among them. Authorities have intensified screening procedures in light of the Mosul offensive, further slowing the process.
Read More in Stratfor Analysis
Though many of Mosul's roughly 750,000 residents will remain trapped in the city, where the Islamic State will use the civilian presence as a shield to discourage airstrikes, hundreds of thousands of others will seek refuge elsewhere. But in a region already overwhelmed with displaced people from an array of conflicts, refuge will be hard to find.
The United Nations considers the potential flow of displaced persons from Mosul, the largest city in which a campaign to oust the Islamic State has been undertaken, the year's "most complex humanitarian operation." Aid agencies have warned that the offensive to retake the city will further degrade the humanitarian situation in northern Iraq. Since the campaign began Oct. 17, families have been fleeing by the hundreds, adding to the 4 million Iraqis displaced by the Islamic State since January 2014. An estimated 200,000 people are expected to be displaced from Mosul and its environs by Oct. 28, and by the end of the battle, that number will be closer to 1 million. (Even before the offensive began, 3.3 million Iraqis remained internally displaced, while another 238,500 had fled to neighboring countries in the region.) Of these displaced persons, as well as the 1.2 million-1.5 million civilians who will be otherwise affected by the Mosul offensive, an estimated 700,000 people will need daily assistance.
Anticipating the humanitarian fallout of the Mosul operation, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is leading several international aid efforts to coordinate aid response. Nonetheless, the sheer number of people leaving Mosul could overwhelm Iraq's camps, some of which are already experiencing supply problems. To tend to the needs of the displaced population, essential transportation arteries must be kept open and passable so that trucks can bring in clean water for drinking and bathing.
Food aid requires help from outside agencies, such as the World Food Program, which is already struggling to maintain its support to the 1.5 million people it currently supplies. Security concerns are also complicating the process of resettling civilians into camps, since Islamic State militants have been caught trying to hide among them. Authorities have intensified screening procedures in light of the Mosul offensive, further slowing the process.
Read More in Stratfor Analysis
10/13/13
Illegal Immigration: 'EU has abandoned us' says Malta PM - by Chris Mangion
Malta and Italy have been abandoned and are facing the migration tragedy alone; a tragedy that is constantly changing and gaining momentum, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning.
Read more: 'EU has abandoned us' - PM - maltatoday.com.mt
Addressing the annual general meeting at the Ghaxaq PL Club, Dr Muscat observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the latest Lampedusa tragedy.
The Prime Minister accused the European union of choosing money over life, saying that money is more important than people. “While all European countries including Malta reached out and helped in the Greek financial crisis, Malta and Italy’s are left alone to face this humanitarian crisis”, Muscat said, adding that peace in Europe can only happen through peace in the c which will stay out of reach without a clear and concrete strategy.
“At first it was Africans who took to rickety boats and look for a better future, but now people from Syria, are attempting the same trip to fleeing from war,” Muscat said. Unless action is taken our seas will witness further deaths.
10/4/13
Italy: Lampedusa tragedy: migrants to Europe need more than sympathy - by Hugh Muir
In all the coverage today of the sinking of the migrant boat off the coast of Italy – and with up to 300 dead, there will be a lot of it – one quote needs to stay at the forefront. "This is not an Italian tragedy, this is a European tragedy," said Italy's interior minister Angelino Alfano as he arrived on the island of Lampedusa. "Lampedusa has to be considered the frontier of Europe, not the frontier of Italy." c
Italy says it is facing a continual problem with these boats, as the ambitions of thousands who want to make a life for themselves are commandeered by the ambitions of crooks and traffickers willing and able to make a quick buck. Neither phenomenon will abate of its own accord.
There will be more days like this, more tragedies in places such as Lampedusa. The last decade saw welcome growth in the developing world as poor countries, principally India and China surged, taking 620 million out of poverty compared with 1990 and the UN's millennium development goals helped galvanise international institutions. But the improvement has been patchy. Even in those countries where poverty has been impacted, many who have been pulled out of officially classified poverty remain vulnerable in terms of living and social conditions. They may not die of poverty, but it's no way to live.
And what are we doing about this constant and inevitable knocking at the door of Europe? How do we reflect the truth that an undeveloped population – blessed or perhaps cursed with modern communications – will strike out for a better life in the developed world. We confront the problem with an unedifying hotchpotch of neuroses and political spasms that ensure we never truly see it in the round, never discuss it rationally and never get to grips with it.
Read more: Lampedusa tragedy: migrants to Europe need more than sympathy | Hugh Muir | Comment is free | theguardian.com
Italy says it is facing a continual problem with these boats, as the ambitions of thousands who want to make a life for themselves are commandeered by the ambitions of crooks and traffickers willing and able to make a quick buck. Neither phenomenon will abate of its own accord.
There will be more days like this, more tragedies in places such as Lampedusa. The last decade saw welcome growth in the developing world as poor countries, principally India and China surged, taking 620 million out of poverty compared with 1990 and the UN's millennium development goals helped galvanise international institutions. But the improvement has been patchy. Even in those countries where poverty has been impacted, many who have been pulled out of officially classified poverty remain vulnerable in terms of living and social conditions. They may not die of poverty, but it's no way to live.
And what are we doing about this constant and inevitable knocking at the door of Europe? How do we reflect the truth that an undeveloped population – blessed or perhaps cursed with modern communications – will strike out for a better life in the developed world. We confront the problem with an unedifying hotchpotch of neuroses and political spasms that ensure we never truly see it in the round, never discuss it rationally and never get to grips with it.
Read more: Lampedusa tragedy: migrants to Europe need more than sympathy | Hugh Muir | Comment is free | theguardian.com
8/12/13
The Netherlands: Dutch Prince Friso dies after year and half in coma
Dutch Prince Johan Friso has died after a year and a half in a coma following an accident at an Austrian ski resort, officials say.
He was hit by an avalanche in February 2012 and buried for 15 minutes.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima are said to be on their way home from a holiday in Greece.
"Prince Friso has died of complications related to the hypoxic brain injury, which he suffered as the result of his skiing accident in Lech, Austria on 17 February 2012," a royal palace statement said.
Read more: BBC News - Dutch Prince Friso dies after year in coma
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)