9781422285466

Chapter one

The UN Charter and the UN’s Role in Humanitarian Relief

The Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004, was one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. An underground earthquake spawned tidal waves that killed more than 200,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India,Thailand, Somalia, the Maldives, Myanmar, and the Seychelles Islands. Hafun, a fishing village in northeast Somalia, was one place hit by the tsunami. One resident of Hafun, nine-year-old Faduma Farah Aden, wanted to go to school but never believed she would have a chance to do so; most of the girls in Hafun have to spend their days looking after sheep and fetching firewood.

Wo r d s t o U n d e r s ta n d

guerrilla : a soldier independent of a country’s official army and who fights with irregular tactics. humanitarian : being concerned with or wanting to promote the well-being of other humans. preamble : opening words of a document. sustainable : able to be maintained at a specific rate.

9

Chapter One