Help for rape victims and their families in Eastern Congo
In Eastern Congo, a raped woman means shame for the family and the community. For this reason, hardly anyone wants to take care of children born of rape. Aid organisations try to break this cycle of violence through education and family therapy.
Rebels in Congo finance their terror with illegal income from the sale of raw materials.
For example, they sell coltan – for the production of cell phone capacitors. The GErman Catholic aid organization missio wants to prevent this in the future. An interview with its project partner, the Congolese Priest Justin Nkunzi
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has written her autobiography, A Life for Liberia. A few days after her birth, she says at the beginning, an old man visited her parents to look at the newborn and wish her luck. And said, “This child will go to the top.” He was right: the girl became the first woman in Africa to attain the office of head of state through an election. In 2011, she received the Nobel Peace Prize.
An international petition denounces Israeli army violence against peaceful Palestinian protesters – and demands their protection.
The business of the sex mafia with children is flourishing worldwide. For example, in the Philippines
Along with drug and arms trafficking, sex tourism is one of the most lucrative sources of income in the organized crime sector. Child rights organizations estimate that every year half a million men fly from Europe alone to Third World countries as clients. The young victims pay the price. They often suffer the consequences of sexual abuse for the rest of their lives. In the Philippines, an Irish priest and local nuns work with children who have been victims of the sex mafia. But the entanglements reach all the way to Europe.
This radio feature won the
Lebanese television journalist May Chidiac was the victim of a bomb attack. The Christian and critic of Syrian government lost one arm and one leg. But she continues to fight for freedom in her home country.
The chances of survival against HIV are still low
Around 700,000 children worldwide are still infected with HIV every year, most of them in southern Africa. Medicines could drastically reduce the infection rate of infants and increase the life expectancy of infected children. However, there is a lack of well-equipped medical facilities, affordable medicines, and social and political measures for prevention.
In Cambodia and the Philippines, two projects offer help to affected children
French-born Pierre Legros and his wife, a Cambodian, founded the human rights organization AFESIP in her homeland. In the Philippines, an Irish priest, Father Shay Cullen, runs the Preda Child Protection Center. Both not only care for victims of child prostitution, but also push for the prosecution of perpetrators. However, the risk to criminal gangs and sex tourists is still negligible.
Vera Bohle from Berlin is the only German woman who clears mines in international crisis areas. Her last assignment was in Afghanistan.
