Big Brother, I mean, George Clooney, is watching you…well, ok, probably not you exactly
and certainly not from just around the corner (sorry mega fans) but he is watching a lot of people from afar, especially those located in Sudan.
All part of his next endeavor to become the ultimate slashie (actor/humanitarian), Mr Clooney is the brainchild, funder and developer behind the Satellite Sentinel Project, a venture which is all about using satellites to capture images of potential human rights abuses in Sudan. Taking advantage of the most flashiest of flash technology (and no doubt George’s grand earnings from Oceans, 11, 12 and 13), each day those who work on the project monitor images of the country from all the way back in the US. Collecting pictures, they hope to gather information to bring about justice in future war crime cases. They also aim to do other things such as observing and trying to stop war crimes as they happen.
Pretty nifty sounding? On the surface yes. The ethics of the project has however been questioned, a nice summary of which you can check out here and here. Despite George's techno skills, he's by no means lonley in his pursuit to apply cutting edge technological developments in conflic zones. Oxfam Australia has been working with other NGOs like World Vision to support these new efforts to improve their ethical standards and to harness new technologies safely for the prevention of mass atrocity crimes. You can read about it here. Something you most definitely shall want to pay attention to however is of course what is actually happening on the ground in Sudan at the moment.
The fact of the matter is, right now tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees face life-threatening water shortages and a growing threat of fatal diseases. Why? Well, as you may or may not know, for the last year, conflict has been occurring in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, forcing more than 100 000 refugees to flee Sudan.
As the conflict continues to spread, so does the number of refugees. The Jamam refugee camp in South Sudan is already at capacity which is why those who inhabit it are now facing those water shortages and increasing chances of fatal diseases spreading.
The Governments recent contribution of $16 million to West Africa and the South Sudan Crisis is a step in the right direction, but refugees are still being forced to live on only 6 litres a day for cooking and drinking only. The international humanitarian standard is 15 litres minimum. A situation likely not to improve until the conflict does, but you can help by DONATING whatever you can to Oxfam's Africa Crisis Food Appeal.
Feature Image: 66eme Festival de Venise (Mostra)
Base image: Andy Hall, Oxfam
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and certainly not from just around the corner (sorry mega fans) but he is watching a lot of people from afar, especially those located in Sudan.All part of his next endeavor to become the ultimate slashie (actor/humanitarian), Mr Clooney is the brainchild, funder and developer behind the Satellite Sentinel Project, a venture which is all about using satellites to capture images of potential human rights abuses in Sudan. Taking advantage of the most flashiest of flash technology (and no doubt George’s grand earnings from Oceans, 11, 12 and 13), each day those who work on the project monitor images of the country from all the way back in the US. Collecting pictures, they hope to gather information to bring about justice in future war crime cases. They also aim to do other things such as observing and trying to stop war crimes as they happen.
Pretty nifty sounding? On the surface yes. The ethics of the project has however been questioned, a nice summary of which you can check out here and here. Despite George's techno skills, he's by no means lonley in his pursuit to apply cutting edge technological developments in conflic zones. Oxfam Australia has been working with other NGOs like World Vision to support these new efforts to improve their ethical standards and to harness new technologies safely for the prevention of mass atrocity crimes. You can read about it here. Something you most definitely shall want to pay attention to however is of course what is actually happening on the ground in Sudan at the moment.
The fact of the matter is, right now tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees face life-threatening water shortages and a growing threat of fatal diseases. Why? Well, as you may or may not know, for the last year, conflict has been occurring in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, forcing more than 100 000 refugees to flee Sudan.
As the conflict continues to spread, so does the number of refugees. The Jamam refugee camp in South Sudan is already at capacity which is why those who inhabit it are now facing those water shortages and increasing chances of fatal diseases spreading.
The Governments recent contribution of $16 million to West Africa and the South Sudan Crisis is a step in the right direction, but refugees are still being forced to live on only 6 litres a day for cooking and drinking only. The international humanitarian standard is 15 litres minimum. A situation likely not to improve until the conflict does, but you can help by DONATING whatever you can to Oxfam's Africa Crisis Food Appeal.
Feature Image: 66eme Festival de Venise (Mostra)
Base image: Andy Hall, Oxfam
