A number of Katrina volunteers have organized into a new organization named "Critical Response" in order to provide emergency response to disasters, both natural and human-made. Critical Response is working to send a rescue and relief team into Southern Lebanon to assist with humanitarian aid efforts. The Critical Response team will go into areas that are not currently being served adequately by relief organizations due to the high risks involved. As was the case in New Orleans, innocent civilians in Southern Lebanon are being sentenced to death through delayed relief efforts. Critical Response is asking for ideas and help by networking from people of conscience.

A number of Katrina volunteers have organized into a new organization named "Critical Response" in order to provide emergency response to disasters, both natural and human-made. Critical Response is working to send a rescue and relief team into Southern Lebanon to assist with humanitarian aid efforts. The Critical Response team will go into areas that are not currently being served adequately by relief organizations due to the high risks involved. As was the case in New Orleans, innocent civilians in Southern Lebanon are being sentenced to death through delayed relief efforts. Critical Response is asking for ideas and help by networking from people of conscience.

In addition to rescue and relief operations in Lebanon, the Critical Response team will develop networks and an infrastructure to enable other American civilians to provide assistance to residents and other aid groups throughout the region. There are plans to organize travel and training assistance for those who would like to be a part of humanitarian relief in the region. Critical Response will also join with the region’s independent media presence to show a fair and balanced picture of what is happening on the ground in this region.

According to Brandon Darby, co-founder of Critical Response, "Critical Response wants to provide aid and not take sides in this political struggle on a governmental level. Personal views cannot be allowed to minimize the ability to help innocents. When groups of powerful men cannot get along, the rest of us are not absolved from our responsibility to ensure that children have water, food, and medical supplies." Caroline Heldman, Communications Director, adds, "Somewhere in that region there is a young girl trapped in rubble. Few are hearing her call, and we want our hands to join others in helping her."

Critical Response is not motivated by political concerns in the region, rather, by the level of human need and suffering. They intend to send a response team wherever civilian needs are unmet, whether it be in Lebanon or Israel. Critical Response is taking a non-partisan and politically neutral stance and is dedicated to civilian solidarity, however, it refuses to allow political pressure from stopping an accurate analysis from being transmitted and publicized. According to Darby, “The residents and groups in the region are in need. Out of fear of feeding the enemy, the Israeli Defense Forces are stopping all aid convoys from entering the area. The refusal to allow aid through is cutting 100,000 civilians off from basic necessities. This is not acceptable. If trucks cannot get through without a missile hitting them, hopefully groups of U.S. citizens on foot with back-packs full of food, water, and medical supplies will have more chances of getting the aid to the children in need. We are sending three team members to establish routes for supply lines. We hope to bring many more once logistics are more definite. Other agencies in the region have assisted greatly to make such action possible by committing supplies and other resources. Humanitarian aid must be delivered by any means necessary." Sean White, supplies coordinator for the organization, states, “Enough is enough. We are staunchly opposed to the killing of civilians in war, and our tax dollars paid for many of the bombs that are falling on civilians in Lebanon. The privilege we can use as U.S. citizens is immense and should be used as a tool to stop such cruelty. There are so many Americans who vocally disagree with war. We are hoping to make it easier for them to participate in true solidarity and resistance to such human suffering."

Critical Response will initiate short-term search and rescue missions on an as-needed basis, and work to establish community led, autonomous, self-sustaining relief organizations in affected areas. According to Darby, “large, centralized organizations are incapable of responding to disasters in a socially and economically just manner. Local social justice advocates from the affected areas must be empowered to be autonomous from outside leaders. They know what their communities need much more so than anyone else. Connecting such groups to media and networks of support is the primary focus." Brandon Darby participated with rescue operations in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina before officials arrived. He was a lead organizer with the Common Ground Collective and started the 9th Ward and Lower 9th Ward Projects that have served over 100,000 displaced and returning residents of New Orleans. Darby is joined by a team of concerned individuals and generous donors who are interested in service-oriented direct action that results in alleviating human-suffering and the delivering of humanitarian aid despite the risks involved.

For more information, contact Brandon Darby at 512-912-8000 or visit our website at www.commongroundresponse.org.