Archive for category: Refugees and Displaced Persons

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5 Tips on How to Host Refugees at Your Home

How_to_Host_Refugees_at_Your_HomeWith recent global events, there are many refugees seeking a place to live and support from United States citizens. Here are five tips on how to host refugees at your home.

5 Tips on How to Host Refugees at Your Home

  1. Offer to host your home. There are many different charities and organizations that work to provide refugees a home such as VolunteerMatch, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services and World Relief. Through these organizations, you can fill out a form and get matched up with a refugee or refugees who need a place to call home. Some of the matches are temporary and only last a few months while others can be long-term and last a few years. The organizations also provide information on how to host refugees at your home.
  2. Share your knowledge. Once you have offered up your home, it is important that you teach refugees all they need to know about their new home. For example, teach them how to use household appliances, instruct them on basic housekeeping skills and introduce them to the community. They will need to know where the grocery store, the post office and other important places are located.
  3. Support them throughout the process. Make sure there is professional help available for the refugees such as counseling or a coordinator who can check in on them and see how they are doing as most have been through traumatizing experiences.
  4. Keep your boundaries. It is important to respect refugees and not force them to do things they may not feel comfortable with. Always give them the option to participate in an event or outing; never force them or make them feel like they have to take part.
  5. Think it through; don’t just go for it. Don’t offer up your home just for the sake of doing it. Make sure to think it through. As a host, you must understand that there are many challenges you may face and it might not go smoothly at first. Be sure you are prepared for all possible outcomes.

Hosting refugees can be a very rewarding experience and can make a huge difference in their lives.

– Jordan Connell

Sources: AOL, The Guardian, World Relief
Photo: Flickr

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Pope Francis Supports Global Education for Refugee Children

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Pope Francis announced his support for global education for refugee children at the Jesuit Refugee Service’s 35th anniversary ceremony.

The ceremony included 15 refugees along with friends and staff of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Pope Francis stressed the importance of education for refugee children and youth in order to build peace and improve societies. “To give a child a seat at school is the finest gift you can give,” said the Pope.

Pope Francis has formally recognized and pledged support for the JRS Global Education Initiative to increase the number of refugees served by JRS’s educational program by 100,000 by the year 2020.

“Your initiative of ‘Global Education’ with its motto ‘Mercy in Motion,’ will help you reach many other students who urgently need education which can keep them safe,” Pope Francis said.

Today there are more than 60 million people who have had to flee their homes.

The Initiative helps refugees overcome barriers to education such as overcrowding in schools and being accepted into host communities. Education can keep children safe from gender-based violence, child labor and early marriage. It can also prevent them from joining armed groups.

Only 36 percent of refugee children attend secondary school and less than 1 percent have the opportunity to pursue higher education.

“For children forced to emigrate, schools are places of freedom… Education affords young refugees a way to discover their true calling and to develop their potential,” said the Pope.

JRS works in 45 countries and 10 different regions across all faiths and nationalities to help the most vulnerable in the hardest to reach areas.

According to Independent Catholic News, JRS was founded in 1980 by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus to meet both the human and spiritual needs of refugees. JRS is currently focused on helping refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic and the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

JRS is continuing to grow and expand in order to accommodate for refugee children and their need for education.

– Jordan Connell

Sources: Independent Catholic News, Jesuit Refugee Service, Vatican Radio
Photo: Flickr

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Syrian Conflict: Typhoid Outbreak Among Palestinian Refugees

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The United Nations (U.N.) is calling for access to Yarmouk, a Palestinian refugee camp in the outskirts of Damascus, due to the increasing evidence of a typhoid outbreak. As of Sept. 20, a total of 90 cases has been reported.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) discovered the outbreak in August among Palestinian refugees outside Syria’s capital after conducting more than 500 medical exams.

The agency was able to gain access to one of the areas affected and established a mobile health point, which provides limited health care, water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, according to a UNRWA spokesperson.

Before the Syrian war began in 2011, there were 160,000 Palestinians in the Yarmouk camp, many of which were employed.

In late March of 2015 when the Islamic State entered the camp, there were 18,000 refugees. Since then, several thousand have fled and the U.N. has no access to the camp. ISIL left days later, but they still have a heavy presence on the al-Nursa Front.

Access has been blocked by the government as a result of clashes with rebels in December 2012. In addition, the government controls the entrance to the camp and sets limits on food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies that enter, claims the Jafra Foundation.

The organization adds that people are trapped inside with very little resources and estimates that there are about 5,000 to 8,000 people left within Yarmouk.

Other affected areas of the typhoid outbreak are Yalda, Babila and Beit Saham.

UNRWA’s $15 million Syria Crisis Program has only gotten 30.8 percent of the fund it needs for this year. The current situation is so dire that 95 percent of Palestinian refugees depend on UNRWA for their daily need of water, food and health care.

Additional help in priority intervention includes cash assistance, which can help up to 470,000 Palestinian refugees. There is still additional funding needed for critical non-food items such as blankets, mattresses and hygiene kits.

Typhoid is a life-threatening illness caused by bacteria in Salmonella typhi and spread by eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease can be treated with antibiotics but can be fatal in some cases. UNRWA is administering antibiotics, giving out water purifying tablets and educating the population.

– Paula Acevedo

Sources: Aljazeera, Associated Press, U.N. News Centre
Photo: Wikimedia

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Former Vietnamese Refugees Reach Out to Fleeing Syrians

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As Syria’s civil war worsens, thousands of Syrians are compelled to abandon their lives and relocate to other countries. Their journeys often include the daunting task of crossing oceans in small vessels that are barely sea-worthy. However, safety does not always await them on the other side.

The mass exodus from Syria has caused no small amount of strife among political leaders as they discuss how to accommodate so many refugees.

Working citizens eye the situation warily, anticipating the incoming Syrians as a threat to their livelihoods. Settling in can be very difficult for refugees when their new community is unwelcoming. Such situations can result in refugees living in squalor and becoming a burden to their new country.

The U.S. agreed to take in 10,000 Syrians in the upcoming year, but the Vietnamese American population has decided that more can be done to ensure the newcomers receive a hospitable welcome. After all, only a few short decades separate the Vietnamese from their own experience as refugees.

When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, roughly 125,000 Vietnamese refugees entered the U.S. by boat, much like the Syrians. If they were lucky, they found housing and a source of income. The unlucky spent years in refugee camps or searched the country for separated loved ones.

Now, as they see their own history playing out before their eyes, Vietnamese Americans strive to generate compassion for the fleeing Syrians.

In California, home to the largest population of former Vietnamese refugees, individuals have organized a 4-mile walk-a-thon to raise money for refugee accommodation. A Twitter campaign has also been established to allow U.S. citizens to voice their support for the Syrian refugees.

Other ways that U.S. citizens can assist in the accommodation and acculturalization of refugees are by volunteering at local resettlement agencies, donating funds and household items, becoming an English tutor and spreading the word about refugee aid.

“I want to see what we can do to help the Syrians because that is us,” says Tom Q. Nguyen, who lost his mother and sister when his family fled Vietnam in the 80’s.

Nguyen and fellow campaigners hope that their efforts will inspire others to take part as well. Perhaps the actions of these former Vietnamese refugees mark a new outlook on refugee accommodation.

According to the UNHCR’s 2015 report, nearly 60 million forcibly displaced persons exist in the world today. Half of these are victims of the turmoil in Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia, and all are in need of a new home.

– Sarah Prellwitz

Sources: Migration Policy 1, Migration Policy 2, NY Daily News, Rescue
Photo: Google Image

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Potential Typhoid Outbreak in Syria

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The U.N. Relief and Works Agency’s (UNWRA) health program has dramatically decreased the risk of communicable and vaccine-preventable diseases among Palestinian refugees in Syria. However, doing such great work is challenging among crowded refugee camps that are not easily accessible. The threat of contagious diseases is always present.

The threat of a potential typhoid outbreak spreading to the capital of Damascus was prevalent in July, had UNWRA not been allowed to help. The largest “unofficial” camp at Yarmouk emptied of Palestinian refugees after fighting began between Islamic State, local groups and government forces. Refugees are temporarily in Yalda and other towns close by controlled by armed groups that have reached deals with the government. The groups have strong leaders and civilian committees that collaborate with UN agencies.

UNWRA was able to deliver whatever was needed to refugees between April 23 and June 8. They provided 6,000 food parcels each month, and healthcare. Since June 8, UNWRA has no longer been allowed, as a result of assassinations in Yalda, supposedly by insurgents. Those inaccessible places saw the loss of UNWRA host areas for the distribution of water and medical services.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other aid organizations have little access to these areas where there is a strong need for water purification tablets and hygiene kits. In a similar situation last year, access was eventually granted. In other parts of Syria, 10,000 Palestinians have been displaced to a small Aleppo camp with no electricity or water. To the east of Aleppo city, the large Neirab camp is under government control.

UNWRA has done everything it can in the places it can access. UNWRA staff wasted no time when they heard about the potential typhoid outbreak in Yarmouk. They took blood and water samples from those who showed symptoms, and within 24 hours typhoid medicine was delivered to Yarmouk. Currently, the number of cases is decreasing and under control.

UNWRA is hopeful about preventing outbreaks, with its rapid response of reporting cases to UNWRA senior staff, having medicine in Damascus office and 3 month supply kept at clinics. The concern for areas that are not easily accessible is still present.

Agencies are preparing for worsening conditions in Deraa and Aleppo. Before the conflict started in 2011, there were 560,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the UNWRA in Syria; today, there are 480,000, 95 percent of which need constant aid. The number of consultations for medical services has gone up from 100 to 500.

Palestinian refugees are closed off from Jordan and Lebanon, which leaves them with two options: staying in a war zone or being smuggled to Turkey, where they will take unreliable boats to Europe.

UNWRA needs $414 million just for Syria this year due to the 2014 appeal being only half funded. Due to under-funding, it will have to postpone the school year for 700 schools for half a million children unless they receive $101 million from donors by August. A source believes they should qualify, considering they are one of the countries taking part in the US-led campaign against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, which already has cost $5 billion.

UNWRA devotes half of its budget to education; schools ensure continuity and stability for children in conflicted Syria and Gaza, unstable Lebanon, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Jordan, all trying to manage the influx of Palestinian and Syrian refugees.

In the past decade, donor contributions have not kept up with population growth. UNWRA offers protection and services to 5 million refugees, but it currently only has enough money to provide relief and healthcare, leaving education out of the equation.

– Paula Acevedo

Sources: Europa, Irish Times
Photo: Mashable

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Bayern Munich Donates $1 Million to Refugees

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The 2013 UEFA Champions League winner, FC Bayern Munich, is donating $1.11 million to refugees in Germany who arrived via Hungary and Austria. There is a training camp set up to supply food and enroll refugees in German classes. Bayern Munich will also donate soccer equipment to the incoming refugees.

Germany has taken 20,000 refugees in Munich alone and plans on taking 800,000 asylum seekers before the year is over. In 2014, the entire European Union took 626,000 refugees.

There are many aspects about Germany that makes it attractive for refugees. Germany has the strongest economy in Europe and is one of the safest countries in the world. Refugees in Germany get to enjoy a strong human rights record and free education for their children.

The police force in Germany asked Germans to stop donating items for the incoming refugees because the volume of aid they were taking in became overwhelming.

Germany estimates that each refugee costs about $14,500, which means 800,000 refugees will cost $11 billion this year. There will be $6.7 billion set aside in 2016 for refugees agreed to by the government.

Bayern Munich’s example is just a small package of what Germany is offering to refugees. The entire community has been involved in aiding refugees. Industries are going to provide job opportunities for refugees in Germany and there will be recruitment at refugee centers.

On September 12, Bayern Munich walked out with one German child and one refugee child to symbolize integration and to encourage Germany.

– Donald Gering

Sources: Al Jazeera 1, Al Jazeera 2, The Guardian, The Independent, UNHCR
Photo: PBS

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German Organization Connects Individuals with Refugees

Today in Germany hundreds of thousands of refugees arrive each year, looking for asylum and safety. Many are from primarily Islamic nations.

The massive influx of people has strained local officials— finding adequate housing for everyone is a challenge.

Many cities have put massive amounts of refugees in old schools or re-purposed shipping containers. Often, the refugees are not welcome in their new neighborhoods due to religious tension. According to National Public Radio, “The western German city of Schwerte even proposed placing 21 refugees in a barracks on the grounds of a Nazi-era concentration camp.”

Berlin Residents Mareike Geiling and Jonas Kakoschke believe that refugees deserve a more humane treatment than mass, impersonal accommodations. This prompted them to create the organization Refugees Welcome— a website that matches refugees looking for asylum with people in Germany and Austria willing to open their homes to these people in need.

“We don’t like the idea of putting these people into one place where many, many people live,” explained Geiling to NPR.

“Many asylum-seekers have to stay there for years … doing nothing, because they are not allowed to do anything. They are not allowed to work, they are not allowed to have German classes sometimes and sometimes it’s not a city, it’s a village and there’s nothing to do and so you get depressed after years and stuff like this,” said Kakoschke.

Kakoschke and Geiling are a couple living in Berlin, and they were the first to open their doors to a refugee in need. The couple matched with a thirty-nine year old Muslim man from Mali, who had recently applied for asylum and is waiting for a working permit. For this reason, Kakoschke and Geiling raise money to cover their new roommates cost of rent and utilities.

NPR reports that the Malian man is afraid to give his name for safety reasons, but said “It surprised me a lot because … the people here don’t want to see people like us in their land.”

Before Kakoschke and Geiling opened their doors to him, the roommate was homeless. “Sometimes I’d take the bus from different sector to different sector at nighttime until, you know, 2:30” in the morning, he says. Then he’d “get out and sleep for 20 minutes and go back on the train again sometimes and go back in the mosque and pray there for 30 minutes and sleep there for one hour.”

Refugees Welcome has been very successful so far on a small scale. The website has matched 122 refugees to welcoming German and Austrian flatmates.

Refugees Welcome reports, “Through Refugees Welcome people have moved in to 80 homes in Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Konstanz, Leipzig, Marburg, Munich, Munster, Norderstedt, Offenburg and Wolfratshausen. Through Refugees Welcome Austria (our Austrian sister-organisation) people have moved in to 44 places in Eisenstadt, Knittelfeld, Salzburg and Vienna. The new flatmates are from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria and Tunisia.”

– Aaron Andree

Sources: NPR, Refugees-Welcome
Photo: thegaurdian

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Re:Build System Focuses on Refugee Education

Build Rebuilds Refugee Education from the Ground Up
One of the main priorities for families living in refugee camps in the Middle East is the education of their children. Architects, nonprofit organizations, and a scaffolding company have teamed up to create the Re:Build construction system, a project that creates low-cost durable buildings built of readily available resources such as sand and soil. The buildings, which are planned to house schools, are easily set up and can be transported to other locations.

Children consist of a large proportion of refugees from Syria, and many of them have been out of school for several years. Building schools and providing them with education provides them with vast opportunities and empowers them to create their futures for themselves.

In order to better refugee education, these mobile, easily constructed schools can be expanded by adding extra modules, built by the refugees themselves, use sustainable materials that are locally and widely available, are weatherproof even in areas with seismic activity, and are designed with their communities in mind.

How do these systems work? They use wall frames filled with natural materials such as sand, gravel, or stones. The roof frame is topped with soil to provide insulation and a fertile place for micro-crops to grow. The structures have structures to reroute rainwater, come with solar panels, and have plywood flooring.

The Re:Build construction system was designed and implemented by architects Cameron Sinclair and Pouya Khaezli, nonprofits Save the Children and Relief International, and scaffold company Pilosio Building Peace. Together, they have constructed two schools in Jordan: one at Za’atari camp and another at Queen Rania Park in Amman. The Za’atari camp is the Middle East’s largest refugee camp which has now been existence for three years.

They are not only cost-effective but also mobile–they do not require construction crews to set up. According to Sinclair, many parents of the school’s new students helped construct the building. The cost of each school is still quite high – $30,000 each – but with crowdsourcing campaigns and local nonprofit donations, these schools are beginning to effect great changes for the children who use them.

In times of conflict, when many people feel as though they have no control over their situations and destinies, education can serve as an anchor for the heart.

“We victimize refugees by treating them as second-class citizens instead of understanding that they are some of the most resilient and hardworking people on the planet, said Sinclair. “By engaging the refugees as paid laborers ensures that they once again feel in charge of their own destiny and leave with the skills to reassemble the school back in their home country.”

– Jenny Wheeler

Sources: Huffington Post, “Building the Peace” Award
Photo: Flickr

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Should We be Accepting Refugees in America?

Accepting_Refugees_in America
As Europe continues to struggle with a steady stream of refugees from Syria, Iraq and beyond, the United States is still debating a proper policy response to the crisis. It begs the question – what are the implications for accepting refugees in America on a large scale?

White House discussions regarding U.S. refugee policy have been held in recent weeks, but it still seems that the Obama administration is far from making a concrete decision.

President Obama has stated that the U.S. will accept around 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year, but more longstanding U.S. involvement has yet to be confirmed.

In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, director of migration and refugee services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops William Canny laid out some key ways that genuine U.S. involvement could greatly aid Syrian refugees.

“In addition, the United States can resettle a much larger number of the 4 million Syrian refugees than the 1,600 we have to date,” Canny says. “The U.S. refugee program could absorb as many as 100,000 Syrian refugees if the political will to do so existed. Security checks are in place to ensure that those resettled are not a threat to us.”

According to the UN, 7.6 million Syrians have been internally displaced since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, and an additional 4.1 million have been displaced outside of the country altogether. The need for increased U.S. response is growing rapidly.

“A robust U.S. commitment to the resettlement of Syrian refugees would encourage other reluctant nations, especially those in Europe, to accept more and to keep their doors open until this horrific conflict can be ended,” Canny continues. “It also would show that the United States is not indifferent to human suffering and remains, as always, a beacon of hope to the world.”

– Alexander Jones

Sources: New York Times, US News, Washington Post
Photo: Google Images

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Solidarity Symi: A Safe Haven for Syrian Refugees

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The Syria Refugee crisis is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. With the picture of the young refugee boy whose body washed up on shore grabbing the attention of the world, more people than ever are paying attention to this humanitarian crisis.

With increased awareness of the Syrian Refugees, comes an increase in advocacy (as people in many countries are stepping up to tell their governments how they feel about accepting refugees into their countries) and an increase in activism.

Individuals like hotel owner Andrew Davies and lettings agent Wendy Wilcox on the Greek island of Symi, are stepping up to help these those who are fleeing violence and pain in hopes of finding a better life.

Together, the pair has launched a reception service on the tiny Greek island called Solidarity Symi, using an abandoned post office as their resource headquarters.

This organization is a not-for-profit that works to provide food, clothing, shelter, and medical treatment to destitute Syrians who have crossed over the Mediterranean into Europe.

These heroic individuals work at this project eight hours a day in addition to the jobs they work at to make a living.

There are 30 core volunteers that work to get the refugees taken care of while they are in Symi and to direct them to resources about how to continue their journey safely.

Though some Symi residents worry about the influx of refugees hurting their tourism-based economy, Davies’ thoughts on the matter are simple. “How could we lie on the beach reading books when people were suffering?” he asks.

Many cross the Mediterranean in dangerously overloaded boats, with smugglers who overcharge them or delay the trip. But, in a country torn apart by war, many Syrians are left with no other choice.

As Francine Uenuma of Save the Children emphasizes based on the refugees she has spoken to near Serbia, “They’re fleeing violence. They’re fleeing persecution. And the risks they’re taking, I think, underscore that point.”

Right now, independent operations like Solidarity Symi are especially important in light of the strain on humanitarian aid agencies such as the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) and the U.N.’s World Food Program.

Solidarity Symi has raised over £26,000 through a Facebook site and donations from visitors. There are donation boxes set up around the island, and community members are working to raise awareness of the organization through on-site and online mediums so that it can continue to develop.

The Facebook page is also continually updated with items that the organization is in need of, so that those present on the island can make material donations such as soap, travel bags, specific foods, sleeping mats, and even toys for children.

The Solidarity Symi Facebook page is a very positive resource that updates supporters with pictures and posts about how their donations are helping and about refugees as individual people, not simply victims and members of a mass migration.

The people working tirelessly at organizations such as Solidarity Symi are a perfect testament to how each individual has the power to make a positive difference.

For more information about Solidarity Symi, or to donate to the organization, visit their website.

– Emily Dieckman

Sources: Blogspot, Daily Mail, Facebook, NPR 1, NPR 2, Reuters
Photo: cooksailing