Argentina floods: Dozens dead in La Plata and Buenos Aires

Dozens of people have died in the province of Buenos Aires in Argentina after heavy rains caused flash floods.

One of the heaviest storms recorded moved through the province hitting both the capital, Buenos Aires, and the city of La Plata.

In La Plata, between 300mm (12in) and 400mm of rain fell in a few hours.

At least 35 people were killed there, said provincial governor Daniel Scioli, adding that the city "has never seen anything equal" to it.

Mr Scioli said city authorities had been discovering the bodies as the flood waters slowly receded.

At least another six people had died in the city of Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

About 280,000 people remain without power in Buenos Aires province, according to figures given by National Planning Minister Julio de Vido.

"Our job is focused on restoring service, but we're going to wait until the equipment dries to guarantee the safety of the electricity workers, because we don't want any deaths," said Mr de Vido.

Refinery fire

Mr Scioli said that many of those who died in La Plata were drowned or electrocuted after taking shelter in their cars in the suburb of Tolosa.

"We are giving priority to rescuing people who have been stuck in trees or on the roofs of their homes,'' he added.

Some 2,500 people have been evacuated from their homes.

The city's oil refinery was flooded and then had to close due to a fire. YPF, the company which runs the facility, said "an extraordinary accumulation of rainwater and power outages in the entire refinery complex" caused the fire.

In Buenos Aires, one of those who died was a worker for the city's underground system who was electrocuted while trying to pump water from a flooded station.

Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri said about 350,000 people had been affected by the torrents of rain.

Thousands of cars were carried away by floods and hundreds of families had to be evacuated from their homes.

The city authorities said it was the heaviest April rainfall in a century.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22016255

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Disaster communications: covering the 'last mile'

In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, from earthquakes to armed conflicts, survival depends on knowing the answers to questions such as: Is it safe to go back home? Should I stay where I am or go for help? Where are my family and friends? How and where can I go for help? Where is the nearest health facility?

For survivors of any disaster, huddled under tarps, among the rubble, on top of rooftops, or hidden in the bush, the concerns are not just for food, water or medicines. It is critically important that affected communities know how, when and where aid services can be accessed, what's going on around them, and how they can connect with aid providers. It's the start of restoring self-sufficiency, dignity and hope. The impact of this knowledge can be life-saving.

The need to know now

As Internews documented in the report "Connecting the last mile: the role of communications in the great east Japan earthquake," in a crisis, a community's need for information dramatically increases. People cannot wait for tomorrow. They need and want to know now – just as, US citizens needed and received information during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.

However, in developing countries – think of Haiti after the quake, Indonesia post-tsunami or the Central African Republic during the current political upheaval – there is often a rapid decrease or even instantaneous halt to the amount and quality of information available for local people, those directly affected by the crisis. Dangerous rumours and misinformation begin to run rampant, causing panic and poor decision-making.

As we saw in Haiti, new technologies – primarily mobile, SMS, crisis-mapping and social media – increased the capacity for affected communities, diaspora groups and ordinary citizens to access, communicate and disseminate useful and actionable information, and also demand accountability.

The rapid growth of mobile, increased connectivity, crowdsourcing and mapping tools are accelerating access to vital information. After the earthquake in Japan, locally-driven initiatives such as Sinsai.info – a Japanese version of an Ushahidi Crisis Map – or Japan Google Person Finder became invaluable for both the local community but also the nation and the diaspora.

Humanitarian actors too, are finally adopting some of these tools more systematically within their work, relying on input from affected populations. Initiatives, such as the Digital Humanitarian Network (DHNetwork), are trying to create important inroads in the way aid organisations leverage technology and the power of volunteer tech communities.

Are we listening enough?

Yet to me, the question remains: are we listening enough? And, even more critically, what happens with those who fall through the cracks of the digital and age divide? What about those who live beyond that 'last mile' of existing communication infrastructure?

Despite important progress, particularly since the birth of the Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) network in 2009 and the infoasaid project (2010-2012), the humanitarian community has yet to fully realise that communication is one of the most powerful forms of aid. Humanitarian responses are still too often undermined because people's information needs are still considered a low priority.

And seeking for wider acknowledgement and use of ICT tools to provide information should not neglect the old medium on which people in developing countries most often rely – radio. The disaster in Haiti demonstrates, once again, that local radio is vital for survivors, and that combined with mobile technology and social media, it truly became a lifeline for audiences. In this hyper-connected world, and with over 5 billion mobile phones, the single piece of technology that has proved to work the best in emergency response is local radio.

Unfortunately, the potential of local media in emergency response is also vastly under-utilised and largely untapped by humanitarian organisations. "When the power goes down, community radio stations are essential lifelines, particularly in the early stages of a disaster. Sadly in normal times it is not acknowledged and funding is very limited," Masahiko Konno, technical director of Radio Ishinomaki, said.

Independent local media can improve humanitarian relief and enable people in the midst of crisis to take an active role in their own survival and recovery. Local media is commonly known and trusted by local people, speak the same language, are deeply familiar with local politics and culture, and are often also victims of the disaster. Yes, local journalists also need to fend for themselves and their families, but they can also cover, and do cover, that 'last mile', that one where no mobile phone, internet connection or big data algorithms can reach.

If recent disasters confirm one thing it is that information saves lives, that communication itself is a form of aid, and that failing to effectively engage local communities not only disengages them from the aid response, it also undermines the effectiveness and accountability of humanitarian operations. When the next humanitarian disaster hits, that radio tower on a hill isn't just a broadcast. It's a lifeline.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development-professionals-network/2013/apr/03/disaster-communications-ict-internews

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Pinochet military coup: Chile's renowned poet Pablo Neruda to be exhumed on Monday

A team of national and international experts are to start work this weekend on a new project to determine for certain the cause of death of Pablo Neruda, in September 1973.

His death, which occurred shortly after the military coup of Augusto Pinochet, was officially explained as heart failure after being admitted to hospital for cancer. However, theories that the prominent left-wing poet, who had worked on Salvador Allende’s presidential campaign, did not die of natural causes have circulated ever since.

Led by the Legal Medical Service (SML) nearly 40 years after the poet’s death, experts now hope to find out the truth once and for all.

The team will be comprised of 5 experts from SML, 4 experts from overseas and 4 from the University of Chile. They will make a collaborative report based on scientific tests.

“There will be no room for personal bias,” announced Director Patricio Bustos. ”The team will compile a report from which they can draw theories, but only the facts will be handed to the ministry.”

The poet’s remains will be taken to an anthropological laboratory in the forensic department of the SML, with bio-security precautions and very a strict access-only policy.

A biochemical team and toxicologists will also be present to determine if any potential toxins detected in the artist’s bones are of chemical or biological origin.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.ilovechile.cl/2013/04/02/pablo-neruda-exhumed-monday/83733

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Jakarta - It’s a gravedigger’s life

Cemeteries in Jakarta today are not spooky like they used to be. The spaces have become instead playgrounds for children in the neighborhood or places to feel at “peace”.

At Srengseng Sawah Cemetery in South Jakarta, for instance, people are welcomed by a neat arrangement of graves and trees. The more than 15-hectare cemetery is also near Setu Babakan, the biggest lake in South Jakarta and a center of Betawi culture.

A paved road through the cemetery is often used by motorists as a shortcut to the Srengseng Sawah area from Lenteng Agung.

“Many people pass this road, so we’re never lonely,” Nana, a gravedigger, told The Jakarta Post recently.

Nana has been working as a gravedigger since 2000. He dedicates his life to the work because he didn’t have anything to do in his hometown of Krawang in West Java. His uncle introduced him to the life of a gravedigger.

There are around 60 gravediggers seeking out a meager income at Srengseng Sawah Cemetery, and they come from various areas of West Java.

They are divided into three groups in digging the graves. One group will work for seven days then the work will shift to another group for another seven days.

They work under the supervision of the parks and cemetery agency, the office near the cemetery. The office controls the gravediggers, including their shifts.

One grave is usually priced at Rp 300,000 (US$31) and the money is shared among the group members on duty. Sometimes, if the workers are “lucky”, more than two people will require gravesites in one day.

The gravedigger will dig a 1 x 2.5-meter hole with a depth of 1.5 meters. The work will be easier because they dig in turns. After the hole is dug, they wait for the body to arrive to complete the burial process.

It is usual to see people weep during burials. The gravediggers respect the families, but they are not personally involved in the sadness. They have observed similar scenes thousand of times, for the cemetery has more than 5,000 graves.

The gravediggers not only dig graves for those with mourning family members, they also prepare sites for those who have no one.

The bodies arrive by ambulance from several places, including Cipto Mangunkusumo Central Hospital (RSCM), the police hospital and nursing homes. Gravediggers often dig more than 10 holes at once for the unfortunate.

For those with no family the graves are situated in a special location behind the public cemetery. There are no names on the gravestones. There are only numbers.

If the dead come from the hospital, they are usually buried directly. But if they come from public nursing homes, they are usually wearing a shroud.

‘The bodies from the hospital are totally destroyed. Usually they are accident victims and no one recognizes their bodies,” Wanto, another gravedigger, said.

When the gravediggers have no work digging they tend to the graves by planting and watering grass. They receive Rp 20,000 a month from family members.

“For me, giving them a little incentive to take care of my father’s grave is OK because I want the grave to always be clean and well-tended,” Sri, a frequent visitor to Srengseng Sawah, told the Post, smiling.

She said that the gravediggers collected the money once every three or four months. They usually go to her house.

“If we collect every month, it will be useless compared to how expensive the price of daily needs is now,” gravedigger Nana said.

The gravediggers live in huts behind the cemetery, still part of the cemetery complex.



There are dozens of huts built of the red boards of coffins. For the roofs they use body bags to avoid leaks. One hut is a residence for three gravediggers.

“The bodies from the hospital usually use coffins, and we take the coffins for our houses’ material,” Nana explained.

Are they being haunted because they use the coffins of the dead for their homes?

“Not at all, we are just fine,” Nana said with a smile.

He said that tales of ghosts, pocong (shrouded ghosts) and kuntilanak (female ghosts) were just imaginative stories. As a gravedigger who essentially lives at a cemetery, he said he has never personally encountered disturbed souls.

“This cemetery is friendly. You can hear people going back and forth on their motorcycles, even in the middle of the night,” Wanto said

“Neither have I. Maybe ghosts are now more afraid of humans,” another gravedigger said.

For the gravediggers, the happy periods are during Ramadhan and Muslim holidays. During that time many people come to the cemetery to visit their relatives’ graves.

It is a busy period for the gravediggers. No wonder they often ask their wives or children to come to Jakarta and help them out.

“In that time we receive more money from people after tending their families’ graves,” Nana said.

Being a gravedigger is hard, but for Nana and his friends this is the only opportunity they have to support their families.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/04/03/it-s-a-gravedigger-s-life.html

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China plots more sea burials; faces grave space limitation

On April 4 Chinese everywhere will honor their deceased loved ones by packing up bags of gifts, flowers and fare to take to their graves as part of Qingming festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, a national holiday of adulation for Chinese ancestors. But the more than 2,500-year-old ancient tradition underscores a crippling theme in much of the now-urbanized China: there's no room.

As Quartz reports, city officials are ramping up efforts to change the perceived importance of grave burials by also offering mass burials at sea for the recently departed on Tomb Sweeping Day. Cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Jiaxing in Zhejiang province are covering costs for transportation, the sea burial and even offering subsidies ranging from $60 to an upwards of $800. This year Shanghai increased its sea burial subsidy five times more, subsequently leading government officials to add another ship to its sea burial fleet to meet a growing demand.

The relief is likely welcome for an otherwise pricey undertaking. With more than 9 million residents who are increasingly moving to cities, the densely-populated China has trouble keeping up with a demand for burial plots. As TIME reported in 2009, a permanent plot in Hong Kong can cost more than $30,000 while a temporary plot is priced around $3,000, leading some families to send bodies abroad to be buried.

But limited space is not the only problem that the families of China's departed face. Perhaps spreading remains at sea is the best way to avoid grave robberies, which are also problematic in China. Last month four men were arrested in Shanxi for digging up female bodies to sell for ghost marriages, a ritual of burying recently deceased women alongside dead bachelors so they can be together in the afterlife, TIME reports. Ghost marriages are outlawed in China, but the practice continues in some rural areas where a female body can earn up to $21,000 on the black market, according to state-run Global Times.

Chinese people burn over 1,000 tonnes of paper products on Tomb-Sweeping Day. The so-called "white consumption" of sacrificial offerings amounted to about 10 billion yuan within the 24 hours in 2012, according to the China Consumers' Association.

This year, a surging trend of luxury sacrificial offerings is sweeping the nation, with sky-high prices for everything from paper castles to yachts and Apple products. Their price tags range from several hundreds to dozens of thousands of yuan per piece.

"Fake money for burning, paper gold ingots and cigarettes are out of fashion. On the other hand, there are many modern high-end products which sell well both in my shop and online store," says a Nanning funeral products retailer surnamed Huang.

Huang's store stocks over 50 kinds of offerings, including fake property ownership certificates, famous-brand watches and even large castles -- a 20,000-yuan item which many customers have reserved in advance.

Huang's online consumers are scattered across several provinces and regions.

Wei Jiankang, a 52-year-old high school teacher, paid a similar business about 1,000 yuan for a paper iPhone, car and computer to mourn his deceased parents in the Qinglonggang Cemetery in the suburbs of Nanning.

"They bore hardships to bring us up but passed away quite early. My dad never dreamed of driving a car or using a mobile phone," he says, adding that he now wants to gift them such privileges posthumously.

Being a grandfather himself, Wei took his family on the drive from Guilin City to his hometown village near Nanning, where he will burn the sacrifices.

"I felt so much regret that I could not offer them a better life. Though living frugally myself, I bought these things without hesitation upon the store owner's recommendation," says Wei.

In fact, the cost price of a paper mobile phone is only 0.5 yuan and a paper sports car about 1.5 yuan, according to a funeral products workshop owner surnamed Wei in Xitang District of Nanning.

Wei says, "The retailers get windfall profits by prompting this blind vying based on people's special emotions and experiences in mourning their loved ones."

Insiders say this trend is tantamount to profiteering from dead people. The craze has prompted producers and retailers of sacrificial merchandise to come up with new products, a drive which causes immeasurable waste and environmental pollution.

China is a nation that pays great respect to filial piety. And the Qingming Festival, in particular, encourage people to remember departed family members, notes Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor with Renmin University.

"Qingming" means purity, peace and civilization in Chinese, adds Zhou, while urging people to profoundly rethink the purpose of this holiday by honoring the dead in more tasteful ways.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.sott.net/article/260460-China-plots-more-sea-burials-Faces-grave-space-limitation

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/culture/2013-04/03/c_132283141.htm

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Cleanup efforts under way at scene of Lhasa landslide; Rescue workers still looking for 47 victims

Rescuers have started disinfecting the site of Friday's huge landslide that buried 83 workers in a mining area near Lhasa, in the Tibet autonomous region, to prevent the outbreak of disease.

Though 36 bodies have been retrieved, the team had not found the others missing, who are thought to be buried under the debris, by Tuesday.

Experts said the landslide has changed the local environment and may have contaminated water resources.

"It is not unlikely that disease can break out in such cases with a prolonged rescue operation," said Li Suzhi, president of the General Hospital of the Tibetan Military Area Command, who led a 60-stong medical team.

The rescue headquarters has organized professionals to conduct disinfection and sterilization at the site of the incident and for nearby residences.

"We have seen some rotting bodies. But we did not observe any intestinal, respiratory, or other kind of contagious diseases here thanks to the preventive measures," said Li.

"We monitored and purified local water resources, especially drinking water."

Two trucks and some 20 epidemic prevention workers dressed in sanitary suits could be seen spraying disinfectant at the site.

The team sprayed 1,000 kg of disinfectant on more than 20,000 square meters of land on Tuesday.

Geng Aimei, head of the epidemic control and prevention team under the Tibetan Military Area Command, said rescuers had been educated about disease prevention.

She said the team regularly changes its masks and gloves, particularly those rescuers who have touched the bodies.

Rescuers also had their bodies cleansed before going into the tents, to avoid bringing pathogens from the accident scene.

Xu Deming, vice-minister of land and resources, said preliminary investigations found the landslide was a natural geological disaster and experts will verify the cause.

Dorje, an academic with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said loose rocks triggered the landslide.

Returning from a field inspection, he said large glaciers previously covered the area where the landslide originated.

Dorje said rocks hidden under the glaciers broke into smaller, loose rocks over a long period due to stress from thermal expansion and contraction, as well as rainy and snowy weather.

"Smaller rocks near the source of the landslide then collected together and snowballed into a massive landslide that was incredibly destructive," he said.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-04/03/content_16371649.htm

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More human remains found at World Trade Center 9/11 debris

In a newly-resumed excavation for finding human remains at the site where two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001, more pieces of bone fragment have been found, which may lead to more victims being identified, according to AP on Tuesday.

The two pieces were found Monday on just the first day of a 10-week sifting operation. The city has collected about 60 dump truck loads of debris from construction areas around the trade center site over the past two and a half years that is now being examined for remains.

In 2010, the search for human remains ended in a controversial decision, as the excavation was costing hundreds of millions of dollars and most debris was being taken to a local landfill.

Families of the victims were angered that the search ended, as over 1,000 bodies still remain unaccounted for, although some believe their loved ones were vaporized during the attack.

Throughout all searches that have been conducted, more than 1,800 pieces of potential human remains have been found. In 2006, several bones were found in a manhole near ground zero.

The material will be taken to a mobile sifting unit set up on Staten Island, city officials said.

Human remains that can not be identified will be released to Sept. 11 memorial.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.examiner.com/article/more-human-remains-found-at-world-trade-center-9-11-debris

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Rwanda: Genocide Victims' Remains Still Missing 19 Years Later

Remains of hundreds of victims of the1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are still missing in several sectors of Ngoma communities, 19 years after the Genocide.

This was disclosed by residents of Kibungo sector in Ngoma district, while preparing for the upcoming 19th commemoration of the Genocide yesterday. The commemoration week is scheduled to begin on Sunday, April 7.

According to Clarisse Kabaliza, a Genocide survivor, those who participated in the Genocide are still adamant to reveal where they buried their victims' bodies.

"It is a shame that people who killed our relatives and neighbours cannot show us where they dumped them. Most of them live with us today, after serving time in jail," she complained.

Another survivor, Claude Mbonimana, said this means they have been denied the chance to accord their loved ones a decent burial.

"If only they could show us where they dumped the bodies then we can try to give them a befitting burial," she said.

But Samson Gihana, the Ibuka chairman in Ngoma district, said they remain optimistic that at some point the whereabouts of the remains would be revealed.

"We begun preparations in advance so that some remains can be identified and given decent burial and we are optimistic some perpetrators will speak out in due course," he said.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201304030125.html

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18 more bodies recovered; 2 survivors narrate horror of pirate attack on fishing trawlers in Bay

Eighteen more corpses of the fishermen missing since March 25 were recovered from the Bay of Bengal yesterday, pushing the body count to 21.

Earlier on Monday, three bodies were recovered by locals.

In a joint operation, Navy and Coast Guard personnel found three bodies floating near the Kutubdia channel around 1:00pm yesterday and 15 about five nautical miles from the Kutubdia Lighthouse around 3:00pm, Lt Com SM Masudul Islam, commanding officer of Coast Guard Ship Towhid, told The Daily Star.

“The bodies, decomposed for a week, could not be identified immediately,” he added.

The rescue operation would continue for a day or two for the fishermen still missing, said the official.

The bodies recovered yesterday were first taken to Kutubdia and handed over to Kutubdia Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Amirul Islam and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Firoze Ahmed. They were later turned over to Cox’s Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Babul Akhtar at Manama Ghat in Pekuwa upazila.

The ASP said, “The bodies were found with hands and legs tied. We have asked the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital to conduct autopsy of the bodies.”

According to police and locals in Banshkhali, 34 fishermen on three trawlers — Allahr Dan, Allahr Dan-1 and Al Makka — left Shekherkhil area of the upazila for deep-sea fishing on March 24 and 25.

Abul Hashem and Jafar Majhi, owners of Allahr Dan and Allahr Dan-1, filed two general diaries on March 26 with Banshkhali Police Station about their missing crew and pirates attacking their boats.

Three of the crew aboard Allahr Dan came back ashore in the early hours of March 27 and told the trawler owners that all the three boats had been attacked by pirates some 25 kilometres from the Kutubdia channel.

As the news of floating bodies reached the shores, some relatives of the missing persons from Banshkhali went to the sea on a trawler on Monday and recovered three bodies. The deceased were identified as Nizam Uddin, Md Yunus and Md Matin.

Nurul Kabir, son of Abul Hashem, said, “We left for the sea on our own, as the police were not helping us find the missing people.”

He said they found the bodies near Jahajkhari area, about 20km from Kutubdia channel. There were more bodies, but they could not recover those due to poor visibility and rough sea.

Nur Hossain, one of the survivors, said a gang of 20 to 25 pirates started chasing them around 10:00pm on March 26. “I was driving the trawler when they started to fire rubber bullets at us. I was hit a couple of times. I tried my best to flee away, but gave up after around two hours.”

“Some of the pirates got on our boat and started beating the crew. I somehow managed to jump off,” he said.

The two other survivors, Kamal and Kashem, had followed Nur. They were rescued by another fishing trawler and dropped at Moheshkhali.

Nurul Kabir said the pirates looted valuables worth around Tk 12 lakh from his father’s fishing trawler.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/18-more-bodies-recovered/

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Fate of stranded migrants in Yemen 'very grim'; reports of organ trafficking and many unclaimed bodies

The plight of thousands of migrants stranded in Yemen after trying to reach Saudi Arabia and the Gulf has reached desperate proportions, the International Organisation for Migration warned on Tuesday.

"The situation of migrants in Yemen is very grim," IOM spokesman Jumbe Omari Jumbe told reporters.

Yemen has seen a spike in the number of migrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa who risk their lives to cross the Red Sea in smugglers' boats only to find themselves blocked at the tightly-controlled Saudi border.

Numbers have doubled from around 53,000 in 2010 to over 107,000 last year. Ethiopians make up the overwhelming majority, but others hail from countries such as lawless Somalia and Eritrea.

"In Haradh town, which the migrants see as a gateway to Saudi Arabia and beyond, thousands of migrants roam the streets and sleep rough in the open with no money for food or medicine," Jumbe said.

"Many migrants visiting IOM's offices have been rescued from unscrupulous gangs of kidnappers, traffickers and smugglers and are injured, some with broken limbs. Criminal gangs are also reportedly trading in human organs," he added.

In addition, the hospital mortuary in the northern Yemen town of Haradh is now filled with the unclaimed bodies of migrants, he said.

Funding shortages have forced the IOM to curtail a programme providing free meals to stranded migrants in Haradh from 3,000 a day to just 300 -- with only women, the elderly and unaccompanied youngsters now receiving food.

The lack of cash has also forced the organisation to suspend a voluntary repatriation programme which provides migrants with flights home.

The IOM is also working in Ethiopia to try to discourage would-be migrants from making the Red Sea crossing.

"But people are desperate. And because of that desperation, people are sometimes willing to risk everything," Jumbe said.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-02/212303-fate-of-stranded-migrants-in-yemen-very-grim-iom.ashx#axzz2PLjX0bAs

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