#if i kill myself in front of the financial aid office i can send a message AND i don’t need to teach tomorrow

[vshamru]

i am doing Not Well

[underlockv]

No one really wants to talk about election stuff much I'm sure but I do think if you're going to claim voting for one candidate over another you do you diligence and actually look at what someone's done while in office. If you're serious about your political action, feel free to read further. Keep in mind I am not American, but unfortunately the entire world is affected by American politics.

I saw a post recently saying "hey I know everyone's saying theres no difference between parties at this point but its so important you vote for the lesser evil because of workers rights and environmentalism and gaza(because the other guy is worse!)" when if they had actually looked at what the person they insist is a champion of those things has done on those fronts I think they wouldn't be saying so (though for gaza they at least dont say he is doing well on that front, thank you for that at least , bad liberal politics post).

I don't like being a downer, and I don't like the idea of spreading nihilistic hopelessness, but if you shout from the rooftops a candidate or a party is doing wonders in these areas and they actually are not, that's misinformation. That helps no one.

Honestly the way certain people get complacent when they vote in the "good" party worries me greatly. "As long as I vote in these guys, everything will be done right! I can stop worrying and stop paying attention." And then those guys are doing the exact same stuff, but with polite language on top to hide the crime of it.

"I believe in workers' rights" as you quash a rail strike that is the difference between rail safety both for employees and communities near the tracks kind of thing.

Not like there was an environmental crisis over that recently? Oh but they paid a 15 million dollar fine (a company worth 48.87 billion, so a tiny fee to continue to criminally understaff trains overwork operators, and pay them nothing).

"Its a great tragedy what is happened in Gaza" as you bypass congress to send more weapons to Isreal. And to say Trump wants to nuke Gaza? He probably has said so, he won't because Isreal wants to keep the land habitable so they can have all of it. There is no "worse" here. The guy in power already signed carte blanche for Isreal to kill every Palestinian. If we can't reach Biden on this issue, it doesn't matter we can't reach Trump. In this instance specifically, there is no difference, If you're pretending Nukes are an actual option you clearly do not understand what is happening in this situation at all. This is fucking horrible and I feel like throwing myself out a window over the fact nearly every western superpower is supporting this genocide, but to state "oh, the other guy would do genocide HARDER" there isn't harder here. The most you can argue is "he will also do the same shit". Thanks, we know (also I will continue to do all I can to help Palestinians be it protest, mutual aid funds, donation drives, and vocal unerring support because I'm sure the people perpetuating this genocide would love if people against them did throw themselves out windows).

I wish people were more honest about their motivations here. And especially more honest about the fact they have zero idea on things the party they decided are the "good ones" are actually doing. It makes me feel like someone could tell you "I'm a good person" while spitting in your face and you'd look up wondering why it's raining.

Do I want Trump to win the election? Not at all. All he does is lie and self aggrandize and do whatever the fuck makes him the most money.

The thing is Biden and his party /also/ do all they can to protect the financial interests of their lobbyist backers, often backed by billion dollar corporate interests, this has been made even more legal by SCOTUS recently.

and of course whenever SCOTUS comes up people point to how trump elected these justices doing all this, while also ignoring: Obama had a supermajority while first in office and promised to codify Roe vs Wade into law to enshrine abortion rights and did not.

Why? Well. The only way that really seems to make sense seems to be 1) they didn't really want to enshrine abortion rights or 2) they wanted to keep dangling it just out of reach so you keep voting for them. after all, if they permanently protect women's rights, how can they send you fundraising emails about how women's rights are in question?

The Supreme Court should honestly have been reformed by now anyway, but neither of the parties that rule the United States will ever address it's issues. You basically have a council of sages who take gifts from billionaires running your ultimate law deciding station of government, and no matter what you do you can't fire them. And they are now making policy decisions that say specifically "you can't do anything about us being bribed" and "The president has total immunity while in office". Yet the party in power does nothing about it,

as for that second one you could argue not taking action on rulings they think are wrong proves they are better than the opposition, but saying something is wrong while doing nothing to rectify it says something else to me. It tells me they now have a great new way to fundraise and encourage you to vote.

"Vote for us, or Trump will literally assassinate you! Don't worry I won't though! But I'm not going to do a single thing to repeal it, my hands are tied haha. You wouldn't want the other guy to have this power though? Right? Again, no, I won't do anything to stop this."

>In before a liberal democrat tells me pointing this out is as bad as a vote for trump and asking for anything from a government is treason(I'm not American so good luck bud). Because we all need to sit around and nod politely as the world collapses, after all if people saw the corruption they might (gasp!) not vote! and then the same shit would happen faster.

Though, tbh, and I feel like shit saying this, at least if it was happening under the Republicans you would actually be paying attention and maybe the Democrats would actually be pushing back to at least look like they give a fuck (ineffectually, but it would be cool if you could point to a thing they've done in office effectually to contrast any of this other than say the right words. Actions actually matter).

I don't want things to come to that but as the public stands around doing nothing in the face of these abuses of power, war crimes, and dissolution of worker' rights and the party in power only campaigns off fear and does no positive things to gain votes... what other outcome will there be?

... and even if they did say they were going to do something good now... how could we believe it would actually happen?

[jbbuckybarnes]

Professor Sugar - 1/7

Pairing: Student!Reader x Professor!Bucky Description: Like tons of other students you struggle with finances, but you can’t get any aid since your parents are filthy rich. The system doesn’t care that they broke off contact after you came out as bisexual. There is, however, someone else that cares. The prof of your class on PTSD and trauma. Professor Barnes. Warnings: Financial Instability, not beta read. Written for the challenges of: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ & @fanfictionaries​

Professor Sugar Masterlist // Masterlist

New Semesters iPad & Pen: Charged Backup Notebook & Pen: Packed iPad keyboard: Packed Phone: Charged Waterbottle and emergency bag: Packed The first day of the second semester. The first day of the semester that you packed so full of credits that you were sure you would be going insane by the end of it. Why did you study an area of psychology again? You had put out a nice outfit, cleaned your glasses and showed up early for the first class in the course about trauma. A part of psychology you hadn’t been that good at in the first semester. Second row, iPad set up and water bottle out. Internally you were hoping to always be this prepared for class. It took about ten minutes for the other students to fill the lecture until the professor came in with a simple “Hi!”. Holy mother of Jesus! Authority figures shouldn’t be looking this good, especially in the courses you were bad in. He had brown hair, beautiful blue eyes, a strong build and the voice of a god. As the lecture started and he went into his background you realized how much softer his demeanor was compared to other profs and how knowledgable he was beyond just this topic. He mentioned being a soldier, working at the VA for a while, why he wanted to teach.

You took all your braveness and went to his table after the lecture. “Mr. Barnes?” You asked in a reluctant voice and made him look up. “Yes, Miss (Y/L/N)?” He gave you a soft smile. God, he was cute. Help. "Um, I almost failed a course similar to this last semester and wanted to ask for more resources to study,” you asked and held onto the iPad in front of your chest. "I'll send a list out to everyone tonight. If you need further help, my office is in building B2 and my hours should be updated on the website soon." "Alright, thank you." *Wow, you did that without being nervous!* The rest of the day was spent with organizing the coming week with the new class schedule, study time and the little job you worked at the little supermarket below your apartment. You had Mr. Barnes’ course twice a week. That meant it gave you more credits and you were not allowed to fail it unless you wanted to pay the system until you die and beyond. The other courses didn’t sound too hard to study for, just a lot compared to what you had the previous semester when you still had the time for two student jobs. Goals for the semester: -Get A’s and B’s -Don’t fail Mr. Barnes’ class -Either make more money or save more -Don’t kill my annoying but lovely roommate -Maybe have something resembling a balance (if I can’t have a social life) -Eating stuff other than instant noodles would be nice -Workout twice a week for my sanity -Make one acquaintance per course -Download the damn lecture, dumbass -Write myself study guides for hard topics -Keep my iPad notes organized -Start using a to-do app -Did I mention not killing my roommate? “I’m home, bitch!” echoed through the apartment. “How was your day, broski?” “Ugh, my boss doesn’t get better with time. I can tell you that?” She exhaled exhausted, “Samantha, I would really like it if you could do overtime.” She imitated him. “Your boss can fuck off,” you grumbled as you threw her the bag of chips and jumped onto the couch. “Grey’s?” “Grey’s.”

______________ *pling* +Study Resources for our class+ You opened the email, being hit with a wall of resources for the course. „Might as well start now,“ you mumbled, getting out your iPad and keyboard. You spent the entire afternoon that Saturday writing an outline for the course to study it. Two and a half pages filled with just categories and their respective topics. You would need to ask him if this was the best way to study it or if you would need all of it. You had experienced these kind of resources sometimes being way more than what was needed in the end. „Never seen you so determined.“ Samantha stood in your door with her third coffee of the day. „You know I almost failed a similar class last semester. The rest isn‘t that much of a problem. Plus the prof is cute, so I don‘t wanna look dumb,“ you croaked a bit tired. „Don‘t get your hopes up.“ She grinned. „What? No. God no!“ You frowned and shook your head at her. She didn‘t believe you one second. Of course she wouldn‘t, she‘s always on a mission to make stuff more inappropriate than they are. Monday rolled around and you in this class of his he finally starts teaching the topic. You could tell that he loved what he taught, always stopping for questions and going on little tangents here and there. Not only was he great at his job, he also was one of the teachers uploading their slides to the uni network. He couldn‘t make it easier for you to study this and ace it. You feel like you‘ve never tipped so many things in just one lesson, needing five minutes after the class to create a document hierarchy that made sense for you to study later. His office hours were starting 30 minutes after class, so you packed your stuff, grabbed a cheap study snack on the way and knocked on the door to his little office a few minutes later. ��Come in!“ a muffled deep voice came through the door. „Hey.“ „Hello, Ms. (Y/L/N). What can I help you with?“ He smiled up at you from his papers in front of him. „Well, you sent the resources and I decided to make an outline for how I want to study it, but I‘d love your advice if I‘m missing something. I really don‘t wanna fail this course. Last semester I was close,“ you rambled a little. „Nothing wrong with failing one of your classes. Let me see.“ He held out his big hand and you handed over the three pages. „Not when your finances depend on finishing in 3 instead of 4-5 years,“ you mumbled and a silence fell across the room while he read through the outline you wrote. „This is a good outline! Could you send it to me for future students?“ He asked while handing it back to you. „Of course.“ You nodded eagerly. „Anything in particular that you struggled with in the last semester?“ He asked interlocking his fingers. „Well, I didn‘t have much time to study with two jobs. I‘m down to one right now until summer.“ You explained to him. „Take enough breaks, Ms (Y/L/N)!“ „I‘m trying. Not going super well.“ A pathetic chuckle left you. „Did you check with the-„ „Yes, I‘m not able to get aid cause my parents that I haven‘t talked to in 3 years are rich and have a bank account with my name on it that I can‘t access. The system doesn‘t understand that, so here I am.“ You sent him a weak smile. „I give you the homework of taking an hour long break in the student café after my classes. Two times a week. Doable?“ He held out his hand again, he had nice hands, they looked soft. „Yeah.“ You reached out to shake his hand, being a little overwhelmed by how strong he could grab.

A/N: Yes, the Samantha in this is lowkey inspired by @sassy-pelican​

[regretsdelusionstoughluck]

PART 3

WEDNESDAY MORNING

While Damon was online looking for odd jobs he noticed an add for dancers needed. He’s had a stripper license since he was 19 and used this as a means for extra money when not deployed. He sent this to Oliver in an email prior to calling him on his way to the pharmacy.

“Morning”

“Check out the email”

As he pulled out his iPad, he saw the email

“What the fuck is this?”

“Strippin....you already do way more,  plus a bachelorette party would get you a killing. I used to dance at a few of them when I was home”

“Got anything else?”

“Banquets, I know a lot of companies. I can send you a list of catering companies you could do work for. What you got going on right now?”

“Laying on the couch, going into the office”

[Really? That’s the best you got? What part of “I want out of this life do you not understand?]

While he wasn’t thrilled about it, he took some time to think about t and he realized that bachelorette parties are for the entertainment value and he did keep his body in shape. However, didn’t want his current situation to mirror that of “The Players Club”.

Oliver got up from the couch to fix himself an omelette while continuing to talk. “Yo, I got you on speaker phone, doing some stuff in the kitchen”

“Man, remember when we were young and we would see vacationers out here, we vowed that one day it would be us taking trips with our families?”

“I do, and when I look at where I’m at, I think to myself “What the actual fuck?”

[We were lied to. In 2008, when we were in high school, we were told to go to college. That it was the ticket to a successful life. What they didn’t tell us is that the economy would tank. They didn’t go cover any alternatives. They never went over the cost of living and the fact that people here are working three jobs. I should have seen this with my own parents. Dad worked for the state and then worked as a janitor in the evenings. Mom still works as a financial aid officer at a state college. The preparation sucked. What the fuck am I gonna use creative writing for? Why was that in school?]

He cut the conversation short to eat his breakfast and get a shower in before work. Afterwards, he ironed a pair of pants and a golf shirt and heaved to the office where the direction informed him and Claudia:

“I have a project for the two of you. Our event is coming up at the mall. You two are going to be drawing outlines to these animal pieces on the construction poet right there. We’re expecting about 200 kids”

“No problem” Oliver said looking at the green construction paper in front of him

“It’ll be a breeze” Claudia assured him as she took a pair of scissors and the elephant trunk and demonstrated. 

“So it’s like build a bear type of think but with other animals but they’re decorating their bags with them. That’s cute”

“Yeah, so are you gonna go to the career fair next week”

“The one at the convention center?”

“Yea, I heard there’s going to be several companies there.”

[Resume-FEMA, fucking, and non-profit]

“I plan on it. Do you know if any government agencies are gonna be there? I couldn’t find a roster anywhere”

“Not sure”

They continued working while talking about goals and aspirations when he noticed an alert on her phone. Knowing the conference due to getting the same alert an hour earlier, he asked her how she knew about it? Somewhat embarrassed, she snapped “What are you doing looking at my phone?!”

“I merely glanced over!” he exclaimed before taking her aside and confessing to being involved in the worlds oldest profession “I hate it. One would think attractive people and pleasure but there’s no real live and frankly it feels like a modern version of slavery. I can’t get a decent date to save my life”

After a moment of silence, she admitted that she was a phone sex operator and that she worked in evenings. “I have a friend who also is in high class escorting”

“High class?”

“Let’s talk about it later? How about we meet for a drink after work? We need to get a bit more of this done.”

Meanwhile, Damon was scouting on the web when his eye caught the attention of a webcam modeling website.

 He though about his current life and how he’d mange to file his taxes. He normally got a 1090 at the end of the year. He also though about the repercussions of this and the thought that the clientele could  be from his local area. He had a flashback to being deployed in Germany where he and some buds where in a night club, partying surrounded by beautiful women. “We are like royalty!”  He thought about a conversation he had with his peer about wanting to serve for eight years and then retire and start college. Little did he know that half way though that time frame that he’d suffer a back injury along w/ PTSD from witnessing the death of a friend at the hands of a grenade.

He applied for work with multiple agencies and thought about how he could sporadically work vs checking in daily. With webcam modeling he could set his own schedule. With that in mind he decided to text Oliver.

“Who was that?”

“My friend Damon”

“So about how long have you with with this company?”

“About six months. I’m trying to start grad school”

They chatted while filing paperwork. They talked about politics, racial issues, economic issues, and the like. Claudia made for good company. She graduated with two degrees. She majored in English Education and Journalism and worked as a teacher’s aide for a period. She was tired of the work with virtually no pay. She responded to an add. Currently she works for a phone sex. One has seen the commercials late at night. She’s one of them. Definitely more conventional than Oliver’s current job. 

As he was getting ready to eat lunch, she Claudia asked him if he wanted to eat while they worked. “Sure” he said as he went to grab his lunch out of his bag. 

“We work with several schools in their special ed departments”

“What do y’all do?”

”We will be finalizing contracts for events mainly. But we do outreach and after school programs on social etiquette and speech practices our goal is to  help those with autism be as integrated into society as possible” Noticing Oliver’s garden salad, she asked him “you health conscious?”

“Yep. Grew up like that. My parent’s rarely fried anything, but they didn’t ban them from the house. My mom was always big on vitamins and drinking plenty of water. I practice that today, to keep things under control. Being a diabetic, I have to watch it.”

Shocked at the revelation she asked him when he was diagnosed. He was diagnosed at 6 years old.

“I’m trying to lose weight, but I find myself emotionally eating more than I should”

Trying to avoid saying anything that could be interpreted as offensive, he simply said that he had his days too, hence the reason he goes to the gym six days/week, doing a combination of cardio and weights. After they finished eating lunch, they cut more construction paper and bagged it. They filed folders away for about an hour when Oliver signed out.”See you tomorrow?”

“You’ll see me in a couple of hours.”

The sun was beaming as Oliver drove home. He rolled down his window and plugged his phone in to have some music playing. He checked the mail and saw the electric bill was in. “Shouldn’t be this much” he said “I’m never home”

He checked his email as well as his escorting profile receiving three request including one overnight stay. Booking these trips back to back, he thought about his weekly check at $8.75/hr at 25 hrs per week along w/ the money from the three client’s that he’d earn. He’d have enough to pay his final payment on his only student loan and to pay his car note.

He kicked off his shoes to give his feet some air and called his mom.

[I’m being nice. This place is a shithole, in fact the only reason my unit isn’t laden with roaches is because I frequently buy those foggers and then I have to open the damn windows and door risking my shit being stolen. Also, Bengal and Boric Acid along the cracks and corners have done wonders.]

He looked up and realized that it was time to meet Claudia. He traded in his work outfit for a pair or black cargo shorts, a zero-nineteen tank top from K-Mart, and a pair of flip-flops and headed out. He got in the truck, turned the air on and arrived to the bar 20 minutes later. Locating Claudia at a table in the bar area we walked in to meet her when the waiter took their drink order.

[She’s a pharmacy tech and she still needs to be a lady of the evening by night? I’m fucked-literally and figuratively]

She advised him to update his profile to include massages and casual dates at a lower rate. While they were talking, A woman walks up, dark skin, about 5′9, in her mid 20s. She spotted Claudia and walked in the sit next to her.

“Hey chick!”

“Hey!”

“Hello, I’m Aya, how are your doing?” she said as she reached out to shake Oliver’s hand

“Oliver, I’m good. How about you?”

“So this is the guy? He’s cute”

“He’s taken”

“Actually I’m very available”

After ordering a drink, she begin to explain to Oliver how she got into her current part time job.  “I started off escorting however a client of mine introduced me to a coworker of his that owned a matchmaking service. I showed up to a mixer I went out on one date. I never saw the guy again afterwards. That said, he did mention to me that he had utilized services where one would rent a dates for events. I eventually branched off and begin advertising on craigslist and the like.”

“So do you still...….you  know?”

“Sporadically, but that’ll cost extra.”

Later that night, he decided to update his profile w/ additional services offered. He decided to try out a couple of speed dating events himself. He might even snap a client or two.  Perhaps, he’d been looking in the wrong places, maybe it was time for more upscale social functions. His current evening work was not a glamorous job and frankly it was quite dangerous. 

[Prostitution can be traced back as far as biblical times. Not a new profession and it’s a profession that’s always been available for the money. Sometimes, we use it to pay off a loan or some sort of debt. For others, it’s the love of sex. Some just like the temporary luxury that comes with being one’s bitch. Me? I’d like nothing more than to settle down. I know there’s a way. It may take a while to find it, but I refuse to have THIS be my stop.]

STORY SYNOPSIS

CHARACTERS

PART 4 TO FOLLOW

[crystallllines]

god i tried to register for classes (dumb move?)

probably. i need to ask brown for... some kind of massive extension because i WANT TO PASS THIS CLASS I NEED TO but i didn’t figure out what was wrong until today, until constant confusing and conflicting urges to slit my wrists (explicit mental imagery, invasive, persistent), until crying on the bus, until finally breaking down in front of ham (first), then mommo, then aimee

“why didn’t you do this sooner?”

because, god, i thought i could make it. i did. i didn’t think it was as bad as it was because i wasn’t normal-sad, i was suicidal-scared

and now i don’t know about financial aid; i forgot that classes must be immediately paid for

i’m going to see him during office hours (i think?), right before class, rather than sending an email because... fuck.

like, i don’t know if i can explain “my heart got crazy weird over the last two months; i was scared about my health but i thought if i was careful i could keep my body functional without sacrificing school. looking back, i probably should’ve gone to the ER instead of that interview thursday night because my blood pressure was definitely above what’s considered ‘pre-hypertensive. there has been a lot of home stress that i thought would clear up a bit if i passed this class and could show my family and the school that i’m Worth It. these things are just starting to clear up.”

but fuck. i don’t know. killing myself is not an option (i do not want to die. can you believe that? i don’t want to die! i’m sort’ve mind-blown that i can say that with total sincerity now!!!). neither is not going to school.

i’m so scared.

[newstfionline]

Scrutiny over terrorism funding hampers charitable work in ravaged countries

By Rob Kuznia, Washington Post, April 19, 2017

As the Syrian military began laying waste to the city of Aleppo in an offensive to vanquish rebel forces last year, a doctor was at his wit’s end.

Anas Moughrabieh was trying to save civilian lives, treating patients remotely via teleconference from his office in Detroit. As people were rushed into the Syrian hospital with grave head injuries, doctors there had run out of hypertonic saline, which relieves pressure in the brain. That and other simple supply shortages led many to die, including children. He looked on helplessly from 6,000 miles away.

Although the hospital was run by the Syrian American Medical Society--a District-based charity that relies on donations--lack of funding wasn’t the issue. And in this case, the brutality of the Syrian regime wasn’t responsible for the supply shortage.

The problem was a U.S. bank.

During the bloody siege, the medical society had tried to wire $80,000 to a vendor in Turkey so its hospitals could stock up on medical supplies. But the U.S.-based bank, in its diligence to ensure the funds weren’t being funneled to overseas terrorists, was holding up the transfer. By the time the money went through six months later, the deadly siege was over.

“Patients on life support cannot be patient,” Moughrabieh said. “They either live or they die.”

The wire transfer delays during last summer’s bloody campaign in Aleppo reflect a broad pattern: At a time of historic humanitarian need, banks are increasingly hesitant to conduct business with charities that work in disaster zones for fear that they could be caught up in funding international terrorism.

Known in charity circles as “derisking,” because banks are seeking to avoid rather than manage risk, the issue has been brewing for about three years, largely as an unintended consequence of stepped-up efforts to counter terrorism financing, charity advocates and finance professionals say.

“The inability to get humanitarian assistance to refugees from political conflicts or natural disasters can result in death from starvation, exposure, and disease,” concluded a 2016 report from the World Bank. “The elderly and the young are particularly hurt by de-risking and are literally dying as a result.”

Two-thirds of all U.S. charities that work abroad are reporting difficulties accessing financial services because of the banking trend, according to one of two new studies that show for the first time the scope of the impact the banking trend has had on aid providers working in catastrophe zones.

“I was surprised,” said Kay Guinane, director of the D.C.-based Charity & Security Network, which represents nonprofit groups working in crisis regions and issued one of the new reports. “I don’t think any of us had any idea how big a problem this really is until we got this data.”

The other report, released last month by Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic and the Netherlands-based Women Peacemakers Program, found that institutional donors such as Western governments and large foundations--as well as banks--are increasingly neglecting human-rights organizations that focus their work on women’s issues and operate in areas such as Syria and Iraq.

The world is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since World War II, with the United Nations estimating that 65 million people have been displaced by climate change and war and that 20 million are in danger of starvation.

Drought and famine are plaguing Somalia, Nigeria and South Sudan. A Saudi-led blockade of goods is starving innocents in Yemen. The Syrian government has been blocking aid deliveries to its own people and this month allegedly killed at least 80 civilians in a chemical attack.

The derisking trend also has prompted recent closures of orphanages in Lebanon and Sudan, has cut off relief for persecuted minorities in Burma and has terminated school programs for students in Afghanistan, according to the Charity & Security Network report.

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Charity & Security Network report asserts that it is the first comprehensive empirical study on the impact that bank derisking has had on nonprofit organizations.

The 305 charities surveyed said they experienced delays in wire transfers, requests for unusual additional documentation, increased fees and account closures.

The issue stems from well-intended efforts to tighten controls on terrorism financing in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Since then, the U.S. Treasury Department has labeled nine U.S. charities as supporters of terrorism and has designated 54 worldwide.

No U.S. charity has been put on a terrorist list since 2009, but the report contends that at least 5,875 of the roughly 8,665 U.S. charities that work overseas have been adversely affected by banking behavior aimed at disrupting terrorism.

One District-based charity, which works to promote gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Lebanon and elsewhere, was hit when Citibank froze its accounts on March 10.

“Our checks have started to bounce,” said an executive, who asked that the charity not be publicly identified out of fear of retribution that could further stall its efforts. “We are working for the betterment of people’s lives in the world. We’re not doing arms trade, or something horrible like that. I am almost beside myself with frustration.”

Sue Eckert, lead author of the Charity & Security Network study and an expert on the intersection of economics and national security, said the fundamental nature of terrorist financing is changing in part because of the bank-led crackdown on traditional cash streams.

“It’s by and large not coming through the formal channels now,” she said, noting that Islamic State funds now often “derive from their physical control of territory--from oil, sale of antiquities, and taxation and extortion, including kidnapping for ransom.”

Bank associates acknowledge the problem. Rob Rowe, a vice president at the American Bankers Association, said the chaos wrought by civil war in Somalia, for example, has left bankers feeling blind.

“Unfortunately, banks just can’t send funds,” he said. “They look at it and say, ‘We can’t make the distinction between a charity that’s trying to get money to a starving family versus one that is ready to go out and buy a stockpile of Uzis to fire on civilians. We don’t have enough information, we can’t make that call, and if we make the wrong guess, we’re the ones that are in trouble.”

The financial sector has been spooked by a spate of high-profile fines. HSBC--Britain’s biggest bank--was fined nearly $2 billion in 2012 after a U.S. Justice Department probe found its controls for money-laundering inadequate. Paris-based BNP Paribas bank was fined nearly $9 billion in 2014 for violating sanctions against Sudan, Cuba and Iran.

BNP, as one example, was accused among other things of stripping information from wire transfers so they could pass through the U.S. system without raising red flags.

On occasion, even established charities have had their accounts closed. It happened to the Syrian American Medical Society in early 2015, more than a year before its wire-transfer debacle during the Aleppo siege in summer 2016. In February 2015, Chase Bank closed the society’s account with little explanation. JPMorgan Chase’s media relations department declined to comment,

“During that period of freezing, we weren’t able to wire money; we weren’t able to pay our staff in the U.S.,” said Randa Loutfi, a pediatrician and the organization’s director of programs.

Society officials scrambled to find a new bank. Large financial institutions politely declined, Loutfi said. She believes the word “Syria” in the title of her organization immediately made banks wary.

“We show them the license that we work under from the government,” she said. “Still, many banks were scared. They start the process and then, ‘Sorry, we cannot continue.’”

It took months for the organization--which treated roughly 1.4 million Syrians in 2014 alone--to get its finances back in order. The charity wound up splitting its money among three smaller banks from the Midwest.

Another U.S.-based group, Syria Relief & Development, which runs about 30 hospitals in Syria and has a shelter program for Syrian refugees in Jordan, has had its accounts closed by five different banks since 2015. Mais Balkhi, the Kansas-based organization’s advocacy and outreach manager, said dealing with banks has been one of the group’s biggest challenges.

“We’re having more attacks, people are dying, but we are sometimes unable to help because banks are closing accounts and delaying transactions,” Balkhi said.

Much of the focus on charities as potential fronts for terrorism centers on a simple phrase: “Particularly vulnerable.”

Helping to create the mistrust of charities after Sept. 11 was a highly influential but little-known intergovernmental organization called the Financial Action Task Force, an advisory panel that formed in 1989 to combat money laundering. Immediately after the attacks, the purview of the global task force expanded to terrorist-financing concerns and it deemed nonprofit organizations “particularly vulnerable” to terrorist abuse.

In June 2016, recognizing the harm to charities caused by that designation, the Financial Action Task Force removed it. But the manual used by state and federal bank examiners in the United States who investigate banks for ethical and legal lapses still reflects the old standard, charity advocates say.

Bank derisking isn’t always the most pressing problem plaguing aid givers in crisis-ravaged countries, where they are putting their lives on the line to help. In 2016, 14 doctors working with the Syrian American Medical Society were killed in combat zones, mostly when bombs fell on hospitals.

But the banking woes compound the problems.

“It’s silly to add the money issue to all the other challenges,” Loutfi said. “We already have enough challenges.”