Blood Diamond

Watched Blood Diamond last night.

It was so stirring and I was still deeply affected by the scenes of rebels and the plight of the refugees and victims in Sierra Leone when I was trying to sleep later. Blood Diamond is a really powerful movie and shows the atrocities of civil war and the horrible realities of neighbours killing neighbours. I would say the worst situation pictured in the film was the situation of child soldiers being brainwashed and used to kill fellow citizens. And I mean child soldiers, children as young as 8 or 9 being dragged away from their families. And other children being massacred on the streets just because they were born in that country.

The Sierra Leone crisis may be over but you can help those in Iraq and Sudan now by visiting the UNHCR Donation site. UNHCR is the United Nations Refugee Agency. Can you imagine your city being ripped apart and being all alone, separated from your family? A one-time donation of USD50 registers 150 exhausted refugees in order to assess their needs and trace their families. Families' names are printed on several lists and fortunate people who manage to find these safe refugee areas are given the opportunity to look for their family's names and be reunited with them.

If you're thinking, 'Why should I help people so far away when there are people suffering in my own country so close to me?", then don't be like the majority of people out there (including me, embarrassingly), just feeling a bit of heartache when you see a slideshow, visit the Malaysian Charities directory and scroll down for a list of charities you can help.