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 | Survivor Corps Criticizes use of Cluster Munitions in Russia Georgia Conflict | | News Facts
September 1, 2008—On August 15, 2008, Russia dropped cluster bombs on civilian areas in the neighboring country of Georgia, killing at least 14 civilians and wounding dozens more. This weekend, the Georgian government admitted to having dropped cluster bombs in certain locations between the Roki tunnel and Dzara road. This area links Georgia's South Ossetia with North Ossetia, which is Russian territory. Georgia claims not to have dropped any cluster bombs in civilian areas. |  | | | On August 7, 2008, Russia began an armed offensive against Georgia over South Ossetia, a region long recognized as part of Georgia but home to an ethnic minority with close ties to Russia. | Keti Javakhishvili, a twenty-five year-old woman in Gori, Georgia, barely survived a cluster bomb attack. She was walking with neighbors to get bread when the cluster bombs fell. “I heard an explosion and dropped to the ground,” she told Human Rights Watch researchers from her hospital bed. Javakhishvili suffered massive trauma to her liver, stomach, and intestines, as well as shock due to severe blood loss. Also among the civilians killed an injured in the attacks were Dutch journalist Stan Storimans and Israeli journalist Zadok Yehezheli. | | In May of 2008, more than 107 nations negotiated a treaty banning cluster bombs. It is estimated that 80 percent of cluster bomb victims worldwide are civilians. Each cluster munition releases tens or hundreds of smaller "bomlets" over a wide area, killing indiscriminately. Many of the bomblets do not explode on impact, but instead become defacto landmines that continue to kill and maim civilians and cause economic devastation for years to come. Survivors often suffer long-terms disabilities as a result of their injuries, which lead to economic hardship and social isolation. Survivor Corps led the charge to include revolutionary provisions in the treaty requiring governments to assist survivors of cluster bombs. | | “Survivors around the world are united in calling for an end to this blatant disregard for human life. We hope that the tragedy in Georgia and Russia prompts countries to adopt the UN Convention banning cluster munitions," says Ken Rutherford of Survivor Corps. | | Use of cluster munitions in the current Russia Georgia conflict represents the first known use of the weapon since 2006, when they were used during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Reactions to that conflict initiated an international movement to ban cluster munitions. The resulting UN treaty, negotiated in May of 2008, will open for signatures in December of this year. | | | | YOU CAN HELP | | Join others from around the world by signing the People’s Treaty to say that YOU want to ban cluster bombs forever. Your Senators must tell the military to stop using cluster bombs, and your Senators like hearing from people like you! Tell your Senators to ban cluster bombs. | | WHAT ARE CLUSTER BOMBS? | Cluster munitions are large weapons which are deployed from the air and from the ground and release dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions. Submunitions released by air-dropped cluster bombs are most often called “bomblets,” while those delivered from the ground by artillery or rockets are usually referred to as “grenades.” |  | | WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH THIS WEAPON? | Air-dropped or ground-launched, they cause two major humanitarian problems and risks to civilians. First, their widespread dispersal means they cannot distinguish between military targets and civilians so the humanitarian impact can be extreme, especially when the weapon is used in or near populated areas. |  | | Many submunitions fail to detonate on impact and become de facto antipersonnel mines killing and maiming people long after the conflict has ended. These duds are more lethal than antipersonnel mines; incidents involving submunition duds are much more likely to cause death than injury. | | About Survivor Corps
Around the globe, people are inflicting harm on one another on an alarming scale with alarming ease. There were approximately 250 wars throughout the 20th century. Today, there are more than 39 conflicts raging in the world -from armed conflicts in Latin America to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to genocide in Darfur.
More than 35 million people have been displaced from these conflicts-innocent people who have been robbed of their dignity, their homes and their livelihoods. With no hope or tools to rise above their circumstances, far too many victims lash out, seeking revenge for their plight and perpetuating the cycle of violence and suffering. Something has to be done to break this downward spiral. | Survivor Corps operates under the credo that no one is better equipped to change the world than those who have been most scarred by what's wrong with it. There is a way to break the cycle of violence, and it begins with showing survivors a new, more hopeful way forward. | What is the Survivor Corps philosophy? No one is better equipped to change the world than
those most scarred by what’s wrong with it.
Whom does Survivor Corps serve? We serve people who have been injured by global conflict.
Primarily through training and support of the organizations that serve victims of conflict.
Where does Survivor Corps work? Wherever communities are experiencing or recovering from
conflict - currently in over 50 countries.
Why should I support Survivor Corps? We have a ten-year track record of results improving
health, creating economic opportunity, and changing laws & policies for survivors of conflict.
How does Survivor Corps work? We work across the spectrum of issues and organizations that
affect the lives of survivors.
Can Survivor Corps really solve this problem? Yes. We believe that by showing survivors a
new, more hopeful way forward, we can help break the cycle of violence.
Survivor Corps provides the tools and support survivors need to rise above their injuries and give back
to their communities. Learn more at www.survivorcorps.org | About Jerry White
Survivor Corps founder Jerry White is a global survivor activist who has dedicated his life to helping victims of violent conflict. While camping in Northern Israel in 1984, he stepped on a landmine, and he spent nearly six months in Israeli hospitals learning to walk on an artificial leg. Since then, he has become a recognized leader of the historic International Campaign to Ban Landmines, co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace. He has testified before the US Congress and the United Nations and appeared in hundreds of media interviews and profiles. |  | About I Will Not Be Broken The loss of a loved one, a painful divorce, or a serious physical injury---we must all, at one point, face tragedy -- unavoidable moments that divide our lives into “before” and “after.” How do we muscle our way through tough times and emerge stronger, wiser -- even grateful for our struggle? In 1984, author Jerry White lost his leg -- and almost his life -- in a landmine accident. He has endured the pain of loss and the challenge of rebuilding. As cofounder of Survivors Corps, White has interviewed thousands of victims of tragedy. With this book, he shares what he has learned. White outlines a very specific five-step program to coping with disaster; to achieving strength and hope; and to turning tragedy into triumph. In their own words, his survivor friends and colleagues share their stories. It's a group that includes the well known, like Lance Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, and the late Princess Diana, and also everyday survivors. Through their stories and the author's words, the book takes readers step-by-step through the process of not only surviving tragedy and victimhood, but going on to thrive. |  | | For more information about I Will Not Be Broken, visit: http://iwillnotbebroken.smnr.us | | | | | | Multimedia Elements
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