Timeline of events in humanitarian relief and development
Encyclopedia
The following is a timeline of selected notable events in the history of humanitarian aid
, international relief and development.
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
, international relief and development.
- 1705 – Bhai KanhaiyaBhai KanhaiyaBhai Kanhaiya , was a Sikh of Guru Tegh Bahadur and was requested to establish the Sevapanthi or Addanshahi order of the Sikhs by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Bhai Sahib was born in a Dhamman Khatri family of Sodhara near Wazirabad in Sialkot district...
Ji (1648–1718), founder of the Sewa Panthi or Addenshahi sect of the Sikhs. He established a Dharamsala at Kavha village in the Attock district of PunjabPunjab regionThe Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, now in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, 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 SahibAnandpur SahibAnandpur Sahib is a city 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 SahibAnandpur SahibAnandpur Sahib is a city 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 SinghGuru Gobind SinghGuru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...
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 SolferinoBattle of SolferinoThe Battle of Solferino, , was fought on June 24, 1859 and resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II against the Austrian Army under Emperor Franz Joseph I; it was the last major battle in world...
: Henry DunantHenry DunantJean Henri Dunant , aka Henry Dunant, was a Swiss 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 CrossInternational Committee of the Red CrossThe International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
) is inspired to organise to assist the victims of war.
- 1863 – foundation of the International Committee of the Red CrossInternational Committee of the Red CrossThe International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
.
- 1864 – first action of Red Cross delegates at Dybbol, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
- 1877 – Famine Relief Fund set up in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for people suffering in the 1876-78 Bengal FamineBengal famineThere 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*Bengal Famine , a movie by Bimal Roy...
in British India. By the end of October, £426,000 had been raised.
- 1937 – Tan Kah KeeTan Kah KeeTan Kah Kee was a prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore, and a Communist leader in the People's Republic of China.- Early years :...
presides over fundraising efforts in which overseas ChineseOverseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
, especially Singaporean ChineseSingaporean ChineseSingaporean Chinese may refer to:* Chinese Singaporean, the citizens or residents of Singapore who are of Chinese ancestry* Singaporean Mandarin, the dialect of Mandarin Chinese spoken in Singapore...
, contribute millions of Straits dollarStraits dollarThe Straits dollar was the currency of the Straits Settlements from 1904 until 1939. At the same time, it was also used in the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, Sarawak, Brunei, and British North Borneo.-History:...
s worth of humanitarian aid in response to the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese WarThe Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
.
- June 28, 1948 – the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government flies supplies into the Western-held sectors of BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
over the blockade during 1948-49, known as the Berlin Airlift.
- 1968 – Biafran WarBiafraBiafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra . The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious...
: 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 FrontièresMédecins Sans Frontières' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
.
- 1978 – Massive number of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos flee to neighbouring 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 ReliefOperation Provide ReliefOperation Provide Relief was part of United Nations 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...
, humanitarian relief for SomaliaSomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, is led by the United States. After looting of the aid, it is reorganized as Operation Restore Hope, an American military operation with the support of the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to deliver humanitarian aid and restore order to Somalia, that eventually leads to the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.
- 1993 – Workers' Aid for BosniaWorkers' Aid for BosniaWorkers' 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 Bosnian refugees – met to discuss how to organise solidarity with those people in ex-Yugoslavia defending a...
is typical of many community-level voluntary organizations formed in the United Kingdom to directly support the victims of the violence in YugoslaviaYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, as a direct result of public outrage.
- 1994 – Great Lakes Refugee CrisisGreat Lakes refugee crisisThe 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 Great Lakes region of Africa in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide...
in Central Africa. Humanitarian relief to refugees fleeing Rwanda is distributed primarily in Congo/Zaire, and Tanzania.
- 1995 – responding to a flood in North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
which had caused a famine, the United States government initially provided over $8 million in general humanitarian aid (the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
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 neighbouring countries where they were received by UNHCR and other agencies. NATO responded with a bombing campaign against Serbia. Charitable groups from around Europe send many aid convoys similar to those sent to Bosnia several years previously; Aid ConvoyAid ConvoyAid Convoy is a British charitable organisation running and supporting various humanitarian aid projects, mostly in Eastern Europe. Its aims are achieved primarily by means of running convoys.-Projects:...
is founded.
- 2009-2010 – Viva PalestinaViva PalestinaViva Palestina is a British-based registered charity which came into being in January 2009 with the initial intention of running a humanitarian aid convoy to the Gaza Strip...
and Road to HopeRoad to HopeRoad to Hope is the name of a humanitarian aid convoy from the United Kingdom to Gaza, and of the charitable organisation which arranged that convoy.-Evolution:...
take aid convoys through the normally closed border between MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
en route to the otherwise besieged Gaza StripGaza Stripthumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.