Guide to war zones printed in Arabic

After a quick tutorial from secretdubai and Keefieboy, I now understand how to link to articles from Emirates Today - and cut & paste from there as well. Woohoo!

Here's an example of the kind of story that blogosphere can spread to more readers helping the public and Emirates Today at the same time:

Guide to war zones printed in Arabic :: Emirates Today

Extract:

The Arabic version of The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, published by Medecins Sans Frontieres, was launched last week in Abu Dhabi.

“In the UAE, we are all peace loving people who believe in humanity,” said Asma Saddique Al Mutawa, who funded the publishing of the book. “As a volunteer with MSF and other organisations, I felt the need for such a book in Arabic. This information is for people like us, housewives and volunteers. It should not be limited to specialists.” While delivering relief aid, humanitarian workers often face security risks because there is a blurring of the line between independent humanitarian assistance and military intervention. Fredrick Finio, MSF executive director in the UAE, said that 90 per cent of people caught up in armed conflicts are civilians.

“During a crisis there are no lawyers in the field to explain humanitarian laws, nor can victims afford them, hence this book,” said the book’s author Francoise Saulnier Bouchet. “Those involved in conflict resolution need to understand their responsibility towards human beings in a non-discriminating manner.” The guide, which works as an A to Z, has been translated into six languages and provides precise meaning for terms and concepts such as humanitarian work, the global war on terror, and the International Court of Justice.

If you follow the link you'll find the whole article. How long will this "permalink" last? I'm not sure. It's unfortunate that Emirates Today does not provide you with a link there back to its main page.

Currently Emirates Today is advertising itself as "Heavy in Content." Let's hope that's its aspiration, and it's not resting on its laurels.

While I'm in a curmudgeonly mood: I could not find information on how to obtain the book (or any of its translations) at MSF. How do you get a copy? And shouldn't it be available for free? Or is it necessary to create the financial incentives to create it -- a la new medicines from drug companies.