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Rebecka Rosenquist
Rebecka Rosenquist joined AlertNet in 2007 after completing a Master's degree at the London School of Economics, where she focused on aid coordination and independence. Along with internships at the International Crisis Group and the U.S. State Department, she has previously worked in American politics, training and supporting women interested in running for elected office.
MEDIAWATCH: Threat of food shortages as Tajikistan faces the worst winter in decades
19 Feb 2008 15:32:00 GMT
Author: Rebecka Rosenquist

The Central Asian country of Tajikistan, the poorest in the region, is in the grips of an energy shortage that threatens to cause a severe humanitarian crisis. With all of Central Asia experiencing one of the coldest winters in decades, Tajikistan's energy resources are particularly strained because of the country's dependence on hydroelectric power, according to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.

Frozen rivers mean turning to neighbouring countries for energy supplies, but these imports have now been reduced as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan face their own increased demand. While the main Tajik hydropower stations don't have enough water to run their turbines, frozen pipes have left much of the population without drinking water, the BBC reports.

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MEDIAWATCH: Hunger and displacement still stalk E. Timor
05 Feb 2008 17:25:00 GMT
Author: Rebecka Rosenquist

When riots broke out in East Timor in the spring of 2006, thousands were forced from their homes. Nearly two years on, an estimated 100,000 people, or nearly 10 percent of the population, are still displaced and living in camps, 30,000 thousand of them in the capital Dili. Some 1,500-2,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) are even camped out with their goats, pigs and chickens on the paths and corridors of Dili's national hospital, posing a health and security threat to patients and fellow IDPs.

East Timor's "IDP problem" is a hard nut yet to be cracked. The government wants people to return home - so much so that it has approved a cash compensation package for repatriated IDPs, to be paid out according to the level of damage done to their houses in the unrest.

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