Missions

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.

300 people lost their lives in the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that rocked Balochistan in October 2008. TSF assisted survivors by offering them a free call. 514 families were able to contact their relatives and give them news through the telephone calls organised by TSF.

Thanks to the Libreville agreement that put an end to fighting between the Central African army and rebel armed groups, refugees gradually regained their village after two years of absence. TSF supported the rehabilitation project set up by IRC by installing radio links between the capital offices and the bush offices, as well as in vehicles to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers.

TSF supported satellite communications and IT resource centres for humanitarian emergency operations following four hurricanes in Haiti.

Violent fighting between Russian and Georgian forces in the breakaway region of South Ossetia forced 160,000 civilians to settle temporarily in camps where living conditions were particularly difficult. At the request of OCHA, TSF deployed to provide telecom facilities for UNHCR-led assessments in the west of the country. More than 300 families were also able to contact their relatives during telephony operations.

The flood of the Zambezi River exceeded the alert level by 3m at the beginning of 2008. More than 100,000 Mozambicans were displaced in temporary accommodation camps. At the request of UNCEF, TSF supported the ETC in the coordination centres of Mopeia, Caia and Mutarara. The team then traveled through the temporary camps to offer free calls to those affected. More than 1000 families were able to give news to their loved ones.

Heavy rains at the end of 2007 caused severe floods that affected several communities in northern and eastern Bolivia. In addition to the 48 fatalities and 5 missing, more than 40,000 families were affected and depended on humanitarian aid. OCHA requested that TSF provide IT and telecom support to UNDAC teams assessing the needs of survivors. Two coordination centres were also connected by TSF in La Paz and Santa Cruz.