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Timeline of events in humanitarian relief and development

 

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Timeline of events in humanitarian relief and development



 
 
The following is a timeline of mainly American events in the history of humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarianism purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crisis. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity....
, international relief and development aid.






































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The following is a timeline of mainly American events in the history of humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarianism purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crisis. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity....
, 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
    Punjab region

    Punjab , also Panjab , is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. The "Five Rivers" are Beas River, Ravi River, Sutlej, Chenab and Jhelum River; all these are tributaries of the Indus river, Jhelum being the biggest one....
    , now in Pakistan
    Pakistan

    Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
    , 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 to Anandpur Sahib
    Anandpur Sahib

    Anandpur Sahib is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the state of Punjab , India. Known as "the holy City of Bliss," it is a holy city of the Sikhs and is one of their most important sacred places, closely linked with their religious traditions and history....
     when the Fort of Anandpur Sahib
    Anandpur Sahib

    Anandpur Sahib is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the state of Punjab , India. Known as "the holy City of Bliss," it is a holy city of the Sikhs and is one of their most important sacred places, closely linked with their religious traditions and history....
     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 to Guru Gobind Singh
    Guru Gobind Singh

    Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Sikh Gurus of Sikhism. He was born in Patna, Bihar in India and became a Guru on November 11 1675, at the age of nine years, succeeding his father Guru Tegh Bahadur....
     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
    Battle of Solferino

    The Battle of Solferino was fought on June 24, 1859 and resulted in the victory of the allied Second French Empire Army under Napoleon III of France and Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia Army under Victor Emmanuel II of Italy against the Austrian Empire Army under Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria ; it was the last major battle in world history w...
    : Henry Dunant
    Henry Dunant

    Jean Henri Dunant , aka Henry Dunant or Henri Dunant, was a Switzerland businessman and social activist. During a business trip in 1859, he was witness to the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in modern day Italy....
     (who went on to found the International Committee of the Red Cross
    International Committee of the Red Cross

    The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private Humanitarianism institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. The community of states has given the ICRC a unique role , based on international humanitarian law of the Geneva Conventions as well as customary international law, to protect the victims of international and internal war....
    ) is inspired to organise to assist the victims of war.


  • 1863 – foundation of the International Committee of the Red Cross
    International Committee of the Red Cross

    The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private Humanitarianism institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. The community of states has given the ICRC a unique role , based on international humanitarian law of the Geneva Conventions as well as customary international law, to protect the victims of international and internal war....
    .


  • 1864 – first action of Red Cross delegates at Dybbol, Denmark
    Denmark

    Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
    .


  • 1877 – Famine Relief Fund set up in the United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
     for people suffering in the 1876-78 Bengal Famine
    Bengal famine

    There have been a number of significant famines in the history of Bengal including:*Bengal famine of 1770*Bengal famine of 1943*Bangladesh famine of 1974...
     in British India. By the end of October, £426,000 had been raised.


  • 1937 – Tan Kah Kee
    Tan Kah Kee

    Tan Kah Kee was a prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore, and eventually a respectable Communist Party of China leader in the People's Republic of China....
     presides over fundraising efforts in which overseas Chinese
    Overseas Chinese

    Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese people birth or descent who live outside the territories administered by the rival governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China ....
    , especially Singaporean Chinese
    Singaporean Chinese

    Singaporean Chinese may refer to:* Chinese in Singapore, the citizens or residents of Singapore who are of Chinese people ancestral home* Singaporean Mandarin, the dialect of Mandarin Chinese spoken in Singapore ...
    , contribute millions of Straits dollar
    Straits dollar

    The Straits dollar was the currency used in the United Kingdom colonies and protectorates in British Malaya and Borneo, including the Straits Settlements until 1939....
    s worth of humanitarian aid in response to the Second Sino-Japanese War
    Second Sino-Japanese War

    The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the twentieth century. From 1937 to 1941, it was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan....
    .


  • June 28, 1948 – the United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
     government flies supplies into the Western-held sectors of Berlin
    Berlin

    Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
     over the blockade during 1948-49, known as the Berlin Airlift.


  • 1968 – Biafran War
    Biafra

    The Republic of Biafra was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria. Biafra was inhabited mostly by the Igbo people and existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970....
    : disagreement about how to deal with gross human rights abuses causes a split that will result in a group of Red Cross doctors forming Médecins Sans Frontières
    Médecins Sans Frontières

    M?decins Sans Fronti?res , or Doctors Without Borders, is a Secularism humanitarian aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing country facing Endemic ....
    .


  • 1978 – Massive number of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos flee 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
    Operation Provide Relief

    Operation Provide Relief was part of a United Nation endorsed effort called The Unified Task Force to secure and facilitate humanitarian relief for the people of Somalia, an effort that was assisted by the UN UNOSOM I mission beginning in 1991 in light of a severe famine, initiated and exacerbated by the ongoing Somali civil war....
    , humanitarian relief for Somalia
    Somalia

    Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
    , was led by the United States. After looting of the aid, it was reorganized as Operation Restore Hope, an American military operation with the support of the United Nations
    United Nations

    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
     to deliver humanitarian aid and restore order to Somalia, that eventually lead to the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.


  • 1993 – Workers' Aid for Bosnia
    Workers' Aid for Bosnia

    Workers' Aid for Bosnia was founded in London, United Kingdom in 1993, after a call by the Campaign Against Fascism in Europe . Sixty people – socialists, trade unionists and Bosniansn refugees – met to discuss how to organise solidarity with those people in ex-Yugoslavia defending a united, multi-ethnic Bosnia and Herzegovina....
     is typical of many community-level voluntary organizations formed in the United Kingdom to directly support the victims of the violence in Yugoslavia
    Yugoslavia

    File:LocationYugoslavia2.pngYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century....
    , as a direct result of public outrage.


  • 1994 – Great Lakes Refugee Crisis
    Great Lakes refugee crisis

    The Great Lakes refugee crisis is the common name for the situation beginning with the exodus in April 1994 of over two million Rwandans to neighboring countries of the African Great Lakes region of Africa in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide....
     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
    North Korea

    North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula....
     which had caused a famine, the United States government initially provided over $8 million in general humanitarian aid (the People's Republic of China
    People's Republic of China

    The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
     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.


  • 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.


See also

  • Attacks on humanitarian workers
    Attacks on humanitarian workers

    Humanitarian aid workers belonging to UN organisations, Private voluntary organizations / Non-governmental organizations or the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have traditionally enjoyed both international legal protection, and de facto immunity from attack by belligerent parties....