Missions

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti is a humanitarian crisis that remains engraved in the memories of people across the globe. With more than 220,000 fatalities, and over 1 million people left without a roof over their heads, relief efforts were titanic. With the support of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations body (ECHO), TSF provided satellite telecommunications support for the humanitarian response community, including the government and the United Nations, whilst working to provide communications services for thousands of families.

Hurricane Ida swept the coasts of Nicaragua and El Salvador in November 2009. At the request of UNDAC, TSF teams traveled to both countries to provide communications to the United Nations assessment teams.

Typhoons Ketsana and Parma resulted in the deaths of more than 800 people and caused damage in 8 regions of the Philippines. A TSF team was operational in Manila less than 24 hours after the NDCC request. The telecom facilities installed by the team connected coordination centers in Manila, Tuguegarao and Tarlac; they also benefited UNDAC evaluation teams in 3 regions. More than 1070 calls were made to those affected, who were able to contact their family abroad.

In early October 2009, two successive earthquakes struck the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The number of victims is over 1,100, more than 1,200 seriously injured and nearly 200,000 people homeless. TSF implemented several satellite connections for UNDAC teams, coordination centres, and the hospital in Padang. Humanitarian calling operations were also set up in the isolated villages of the Padang and Pariaman districts, which had been completely destroyed by the disaster.

On September 29, a devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami. TSF provided telecom and IT support to the organisations present. In coordination with the NDMO, humanitarian calling operations were conducted in the evacuation centres.

The resumption of conflict between the Pakistani army and the Taliban in May 2009 forced more than 2 million people to flee northwest Pakistan. In very difficult security conditions (attacks, kidnappings), TSF provided more than 3,000 calls to civilians heavily affected and often injured by the violence. In such a context, talking with a loved one is priceless.

The April 2009 earthquake in Italy left 260 people dead and more than a thousand wounded. The onsite TSF team provided emergency satellite lines to the civil protection coordination centres.

In partnership with UNHCR, TSF conducted a telecom assessment at Al-Waleed camp near the Syrian border in Iraq. Recommendations were submitted to the UN agency regarding the means of communication and access to the computer tool for Iraqis of Palestinian origin displaced in the camp.

Despite a peace agreement signed in 2003, the provinces of eastern DRC are the scene of repeated violence. In the district of Uélé alone, at least 135,000 people were displaced, 900 killed, and more than 700 kidnapped. At the request of UNICEF, TSF installed a telecom centre at the Monuc camp in Dungu. This connection allows United Nations agencies present to respond to the need of thousands of displaced people living on this huge camp.

In response to the storm that blew over the south of France, the TSF headquarters offered assistance to local authorities in 4 departments of the southwest. TSF teams installed satellite lines in the Prefecture of Pau and in 11 towns in the region.

Tens of thousands of people crossed the DRC border into Uganda to flee new clashes between the Nkunda National People's Defense Congress and the Congolese army. In this very tense security environment, many families had been separated. TSF helped these people by allowing them to contact their loved ones again. Nearly 2,000 families received a call in the Matanda and Nakivale camps in Uganda.

At the end of 2008, more than 23,000 people were affected by heavy floods and landslides in the provinces of Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui, Panama. At the request of UNDAC, TSF deployed on November 28 from its base in Nicaragua to support UN coordination and assessments.