Citing Sources

Wondering how I came by my information? Here's how it happened.

I started online, with www.rcs.ir/persian and clicked on the single English page. The Donate Now! button does nothing... none of the buttons do anything. From there, I went to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies at http://www.ifrc.org/

IFRC has no information whatsoever on Iran. You can donate online to a set list of causes, but Iran does not appear on that list.

Finally, I began making phone calls, starting locally with the Willamette Valley chapter of the Red Cross. The people I spoke with had no information, but promised to look into it. In the meantime, I called the national Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C. and got pretty much the same answer. Not only did they not know how to get money to Iran, they had no idea that anything was happening in that region. (Keep in mind, this was nearly a week ago, before CNN et. al. picked up the story.)

So I ended up calling the IFRC's New York delegation to the UN, which is incredibly intimidating for a housewife, let me tell you. The lady I spoke with said that their Iran affiliate had not requested aid, but did not seem to know anything about the internet and telephone restrictions that Iran is currently under. She was also convinced that I could donate from the rcs.ir address, which is not currently working.

Eventually it all came back to the local level. The Willamette Valley Red Cross called me back, and I spoke with Karen Schultz. She assured me that while online donations are out for now, any donations made by phone, mail, or in person to local Red Cross chapters can be earmarked for Iran's Red Crescent.

It may take longer for the money to reach Iran than it normally would by internet... but it will get there.