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10 Things That Syrian Refugees Need Now

Help Aid Refugees
There are more refugees in the world right now than at any point in history. In addition to the bare necessities: food, water, shelter, this vulnerable group needs us to be their champions. Here is what you can do to help Syrian refugees:

 

10 Things Refugees Need

 

  • Make food aid local. Every day, millions of Syrian refugees eat food shipped from overseas—while local farmers and grocers suffer. Rather than shipping in flour, oil and other food items, international organizations should use that money to buy the food from local providers, which would both feed the hungry and empower the poor. The World Food Program, which recognizes this need, has already distributed over a million food vouchers to refugees that are redeemable in local food markets.
  • Engage refugees in development efforts and politics. The best way to begin lifting refugees out of acute crisis is to actually involve them in problem-solving efforts and local politics. Host countries and aid organizations often discriminate against refugees as objects in need, not subjects with knowledge and power.
  • Engage hosts in advocacy efforts. In the same way that many relief efforts ignore the power of refugees themselves, many ignore the power of local service providers to change in-country government policy. Development organizations need to take advantage of the network of relationships between local employers and politicians to end discrimination against refugees.
  • Create jobs. Too many education efforts in refugee populations wane due to lack of motivation—what job lies at the end of their efforts? To combat refugee retention, host countries need to seek ways to reward educated refugees. In addition, policy-makers should base refugee livelihood programs on careful analysis of refugee-host economies for maximum impact.
  • Integrate populations. Too often, refugee and host country populations remain segregated for years—to the detriment of both. Studies consistently show that integrating communities simultaneously lowers cost and increases economic activity, particularly foreign trade. Freedom of movement is essential to end the refugee crisis.
  • Teach toddlers. Over and over again, education efforts find success where students were motivated to attend school from a young age—like 4. Late-comers often lose motivation and drop out, but the early birds stick it out more often. The World University Service of Canada student refugee program follows this model, and their success has inspired the UNHCR to begin implementing some of their methods in its new education initiatives.
  • Teach girls. Although the balance between men and women in refugee populations is roughly equal, girls usually only make up a quarter of students in refugee schools. Yet development organizations across the world consistently find that women are more likely to work and lift themselves out of poverty. Teaching girls will have greater long-term benefits than teaching boys.
  • End encampment. The reasons to avoid refugee camps abound, and the UNHCR has long recognized the need for new solutions. Camps become sinks of poverty, sources of continued xenophobia, and environmental nightmares. Plenty of space is opening up for anti-encampment advocacy action, like that taken by the London-based Pan-African Development Education and Advocacy Programme.
  • Focus on self-reliance. Development actors have long recognized the importance of moving away from long-term “care and maintenance” programs that stifle self-initiative and effective growth. Five years ago, the UNHCR executive committee made sweeping changes to their approach based on this wisdom, and a renewed focus on self-reliance is key to addressing the needs of Syrian refugees.
  • Consider the negative externalities of good intentions. If one problem has characterized relief efforts in and around Syria, it is lack of coordination. Thousands of iNGOs, government agencies and multilateral institutes have flooded the region with the best of intentions—but not always the best interaction or foresight. As efforts progress, the importance of communication has become clear.

– John Mahon

Sources: The Guardian WFP WUSC
Photo: Daily Star

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UNHCR Ends Rwandan Refugees Status

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Tens of thousands of Rwandans await news on their status as refugee. The June 30th deadline for the discontinuation of refugee status has passed and the future seems uncertain for those who have yet to return to their home country. Fear still lingers with many Rwandans in the aftermath of the 1994 civil war and genocide that shook the country.

UNHCR has now recommended that countries housing Rwandan refugees invoke the “ceased circumstances” clause of the 1951 Refugee Convention. This clause ensures the return of refugees to their home countries when they are no longer persecuted. Because Rwanda has existed peacefully since the end of the 1994 genocide, they seem an ideal candidate for refugee return. Stability has returned and the justice system has worked hard to punish those responsible for genocide crimes and to reintegrate and reestablish healthy communities.

Refugees, however, have their own perceptions of their safety within Rwanda’s borders. Many refugees still fear persecution from the government and believe while situations have improved, there is still reason for hesitation. Many Rwandan civilians are still actively seeking asylum despite the reported safety of the country, thus questioning why UNHCR would invoke the ensured return clause. Many Rwandans are undoubtedly battling the  physical and psychological injuries sustained during Rwanda’s brutal genocide.

To date, only four African countries have followed the UNHCR’s recommendation to invoke cessation including Malawi, the Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This proclamation by UNHCR has been subject to widespread criticism by many who claim that it holds Rwandans hostage to their fear, pushing them home when they still do not feel safe. Some Rwandans fear that if they return, the country will be less stable, safe and free from persecution than UNHCR would like them to believe.

The Rwandan government has issued statements claiming they are prepared to receive the refugees back home. They claim to have developed a plan to successfully repatriate and reintegrate citizens. Government officials insist that the conditions of 1994, which forced Rwandans to flee, no longer exist. The country has undergone a vast reconstruction, which has included improvements to transit centers, education and health facilities. They have worked hard to help reintegrate citizens into society. Now the task at hand is to make Rwandan refugees feel safe in their homes once again.

– Caitlin Zusy
Sources: IRIN, New Times

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American Refugee Committee International 101

The-American-Refugee-Committee
About
The American Refugee Committee (ARC) is an international nonprofit organization that has provided humanitarian assistance and training to millions of beneficiaries over the past 35 years. The ARC works with refugee communities in eight countries around the world – Haiti, Liberia, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Thailand, and Uganda. The people ARC serve have experienced devastating circumstances leaving many of them with nothing. ARC provides them with a number of resources including shelter, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, skills training, education, protection and whatever additional support needed for new beginning.

The Mission
The ARC works hand in hand with its partners and constituencies to provide unique opportunities to refugees, displaced people, and host communities. The goal is to help these people survive conflict and crisis and rebuild lives of dignity, health, security and self-sufficiency.

Programs and Services
Conflict and disaster have devastated numerous countries throughout the world, forcing many innocent victims to flee for safety, sometimes with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. ARC programs are formed by listening to the people they serve, understanding existing problems, designing practical responses, and training survivors to endure the work even after the peace is restored. The ARC also provides a number of beneficial services including gender-based violence prevention and response, economic opportunity development services, and reproductive healthcare services.

What is ARC Doing?
Recently many of ARC’s aid workers have been helping Syrian refugees who have fled the civil war. The camp, located in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, is currently sheltering more than 100,000 people. The camp only represents a small portion of refugees who have been forced out of their homes by the Syrian conflict that has been taking place for more than two years. ARC officials expect the organization will remain in Jordan for while to help provide water and sanitation for another refugee camp that is being planned there. The new camp will potentially handle as many Syrian refugees as the original camp.

How You Can Help
The smallest act of kindness can make a huge difference. Any amount of effort or support can be helpful to people with nowhere to go. There are a number of ways to get involved:

  1. Send an E-Card: Email a family member an ARC E-Card on a birthday or holiday. The E-Card includes a photo of a refugee and their story.
  2. Volunteer: Help raise awareness of the circumstances of refugees. Reach beyond your community by volunteering or interning at an ARC overseas location.
  3. ARC Events: Attend an event and learn more about the work of ARC and the global refugee crisis.
  4. Introduce ARC: Tell people you know about the work of ARC. Introduce them friends, family, peers, everyone!
  5. Make a Donation: Even a small donation can save lives.

– Scarlet Shelton

Sources: ARC Relief Twin Cities
Photo: Global Impact

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New Crisis Models are Good News for Syrian Refugees

New Crisis Models are Good News for Syrian Refugees
As thousands of Syrian refugees flood into neighboring countries, Lebanon stands out as a particularly sought-after harbor. The country’s proximity to Syria makes it a prime target for refugees and, the entourage of international organizations that come with them. Unlike their counterparts in other countries, however, Syrians in Lebanon are not living in camps—for the most part, they are looking for apartments, hunting for jobs, and otherwise acting like typical immigrants. Except that there are a million of them doing so.

Lebanon, which struggles to support its own population of four million, is staggering under the weight of the massive influx of refugees. Because the UN deliberately avoided internment as a solution, Syrians wander Lebanese streets and sleep under Lebanese roofs. Of course, a million extra people with no homes cause serious unrest, not to mention the dramatic surplus of demand that has thrown the Lebanese economy into a tailspin. As prices spike, jobs dwindle, and aid that originally flowed to the Lebanese gets repurposed for refugee relief, the Lebanese, understandably, grow hostile to the Syrians in their midst.

“At first, we were sympathetic, but now it has changed,” says one Lebanese family. “We used to get assistance, food parcels, assistance with school fees, food parcels, diesel fuel, and other aid, but we get nothing at all now.”

The growing dissent among locals signals the lack of coordination and direction of international efforts, which have collectively ignored host-side problems and thus complicated host-refugee relationships.

World Vision, one of the NGOs with the greatest presence in the Syrian refugee crisis, has been active in focusing on both short-term relief goals and longer-term development goals among host populations. The organization has long called for holistic programs aimed at refugee-host integration, increased funding for agencies that recognize the crisis’ underlying social problems, and improved consulting on the ground for a more effective and coordinated response.

In response to the ever-increasing need for both relief and local development, the World Food Program launched a food voucher program in the region in partnership with NGOs like World Vision. The program allocates aid money for expenditures in local food markets, a move designed to both feed hungry refugees and empowers the poor farmers and grocers who can feed them.

Sara Pantuliano, the director of the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute, applauds the work done by organizations like Vision and the WFP. Her institute focuses on protracted refugee situations and the myriad of issues surrounding population integration, and she sees plenty of hope in their work. “We see some improvement in donor responses, in some agencies’ response,” she said.

However, she also recognizes that much of their kind of work runs against the grain of the typical refugee crisis response. “They continue to be the exception in many ways,” she admitted.

– John Mahon

Sources: Devex, Overseas Development Institute, World Vision
Photo: The Electronic Intifada

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No Education for Adults Seeking Asylum

No Education for Adults Seeking Asylum
In the last few years, Australia has become very popular with young adults seeking asylum from their dangerous and crime-ridden homelands. The total number of requests for asylum has risen from 668 in 2008-2009 to 7379 in 2011-2012, with about 65% of the people screened last year aged 30 or younger.

The result of this increase has been that the country’s border patrol has increased and possibly gotten out of hand. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s current policy holds that those arriving at the country by ship who are on bridging visas lose their right to attend school at the end of the school term during which they turn 18. So, the second someone becomes an adult, they lose the right to a proper education.

Those who are seeking asylum in Australia are generally suffering persecution in their country of origin due to race, religion, gender, economic standing, or political affiliation. Many of them may be refugees and are unable to seek an education as a result. They travel to Australia with hopes that they may be able to improve their lives and flourish outside the harsh environment they had been living in.

A 17-year-old Hazara boy fled to Australia after he was persecuted in Afghanistan and Pakistan by extremists groups due to his race and therefore unable to go to school. Leaving his family and life behind, he came to seek education and work in a better place. But he has been left in a lurch thanks to the Australian government. He told The Global Mail, “When I was in my country I worked so hard, I like to work … part of the time work … to study as well. I like that. Now I am not allowed to work and study.”

Upon his arrival in the country, he was not allowed to enroll in school because he would soon be turning 18. He is also not allowed to work, but is provided a small government stipend to meet basic needs. The Red Cross pays for him to study English several hours a week, but otherwise, he just waits for his asylum claim to be processed.

The government argues that children of mandatory school age, 5-17, are put through school regardless of their asylum status but that it would be unreasonable to expect adults to stay in school because of the extra costs that are incurred as a result. However, the education of young adults is arguably just as important as that of children. Going to school provides the asylum seekers with a focus for their lives, makes them feel like part of a community, and provides them with a chance at bettering themselves before either settling down in Australia or getting repatriated back to their own country.

There are schools that are known for going against the government’s demands and allow adult students to stay and continue their education, but without citizenship, those seeking asylum are still unable to get government assistance for higher education or get jobs while they wait.

And things could be even bleaker than initially imagined. The Prime Minister announced on the 19th that all those arriving by boat would be removed to Papua New Guinea and would not be allowed to permanently settle in Australia. Those who are found to be refugees may stay in Papua New Guinea but otherwise must leave. There is no word on what this would mean for those currently waiting for ruling on their asylum requests in Australia, but it is clear that soon education will not be the only thing at stake for those fleeing their country and seeking help in Australia.

– Chelsea Evans

Sources: The Global Mail, Asylum Trends, New York Times
Photo: Harris

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Problem of Safe Drinking Water for Refugees

Problem of Safe Drinking Water for Refugees

Drinking water is a major problem for many parts of Africa, particularly in refugee camps, where minimal living conditions make it difficult to secure safe drinking water. The recommended minimum amount of water a person needs in an emergency situation is 15 liters a day. In Ab Gadam, a refugee camp in southeast Chad, UNHCR struggles to provide refugees with 10 liters per person per day. Currently, in Ab Gadam the drinking water is filtered from a nearby lake, however, when the rain comes, this source of water will be cut off. UNHCR is trying to find new solutions to be able to meet this challenge.

“It is really serious…we need to increase the supply – and that is what we are working on,” said Dominique Porteaud, UNHCR’s senior water and sanitation officer. He made it clear that if a solution was not found people would turn to alternative, unsafe ways of obtaining water that could lead to disease.

Zenab, a refugee living in Ad Gadam with five children, knows all too well the effect unsanitary water can have. After having to flee their village in the troubled West Darfur region, she and her family spent weeks in the border area. While there they dug small holes in the ground to find drinking water. This drinking water was not filtered and caused Zenab’s two-year-old son Ali to get sick. After entering the Ad Gadam camp, Ali is still sick but is now receiving treatment.

As the rain season quickly approaches UNHCR has been looking at several different approaches to supply safe drinking water to the refugees of Ad Gadam. Some of these measures include increasing the number and size of water storage tanks and continuing the search for productive boreholes.

UNHCR has already developed a water treatment plant, which chemically sanitizes water brought in from the nearby lake. The plant can produce enough clean water to supply refugees with 10.5 liters per day, which is still short of the minimum recommended. Refugees have also begun to find their own source of clean drinking water. Zenab and her family collect rainwater that they use to clean clothes, pots and pans, and bathe.

To inform people about the dangers of unsafe drinking water, UNHCR has begun to run awareness programs that stress the importance of clean water, sanitation and hygiene. “It is important that everybody, including the children, know about the best use of water and the dangers of drinking dirty water,” says Barka Mahamat Barka, a UNHCR water and sanitation expert.

– Catherine Ulrich

Sources: UNHCR, UN
Photo: Contribute

Syrian Refugee Camps: Escape or Endangerment?

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For many females in the Syrian refugee camps, the fear of death that propelled them from their home is now replaced by the fear of sexual assault in what is supposed to be their area of sanctuary. Rape and sexual assault have become major issues in the Syrian civil war, especially in the Zataari refugee camp in Jordan, where the problem has become more concentrated and centralized.

Because there is such a harsh stigma surrounding rape and the blame often lies on the victim rather than the assailant, most women do not report any incidence. The female victims often remain silent in fear of retribution from the perpetrators as well as the shame and anger that would fall on their family members.

In response to this problem, many women have entered into unwanted marriages for protection. These marriages are called “sutra” marriages and are becoming increasingly common as the Zaataari camp continues to be flooded with new refugees from across the border. This is often orchestrated by the male members of the family who, feeling they cannot offer their daughters adequate protection, marry them off to someone they believe can.

One Syrian American Medical Society volunteer estimates that the instances of child marriage in Syrian refugee camps are 60% higher than in Syria. Sexual exploitation in the Zaatari camp is so prevalent that a number of refugees have created monitoring groups that have uncovered several “marriage brokers” who infiltrated the camp posing as workers. These individuals are merely escorted off the camp if reported.

CNN recently published an article sharing numerous experiences of women inside the camp. One woman, named Ruwaida, who was a wedding dress designer back in Syria, now designs dresses for girls as young as 13. She says that girls rarely got married that young in Syria, but that it has become commonplace in their new temporary home.

“I feel like I have a child between my hands and she is having to take on a responsibility that’s bigger than she is,” Ruwaida says. “I feel her life is over, her life is ending early.” Another encounter documented was with 14-year-old Eman, who married at 13 and became a mother before her body was even fully developed. She said, “I wouldn’t have gotten married, it’s because of the situation.”

– Kathryn Cassibry

Sources: CNN, Standpoint Magazine
Photo: PressTV

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Jesuit Refugee Service USA Gives Voice to Refugees

Jesuit Refugee Service USA Gives Voice to Refugees
Jesuit Refugee Service is a non-profit Catholic organization that works “to defend the rights of refugees and migrants throughout the world.” The U.S. division of JRS employs advocacy efforts to fight for “just and generous policies and programs” that will benefit refugees and ensure their protection during times of conflict.

JRS/USA partners with JRS branches across the world along with other aid organizations to make the voices of refugees heard and to propose actions that will properly address their situation.
Though JRS/USA focuses on select domestic issues such as U.S. detainees’ right to religious expression, the organization has pinpointed the following international advocacy issues to focus on during 2013:

  • International Detention: JRS/USA works to assist refugees and asylum seekers who risk being detained. The use of detention to limit asylum seekers has increased over the past ten years, and JRS/USA advocates against the unnecessary detainment of those seeking asylum.
  • Haiti and Dominican Republic: JRS/USA is currently fighting against the unfair treatment of refugees and immigrants that is occurring in the Dominican Republic. The government of the Dominican Republic recently enacted policies that have resulted in “the denial and/or revocation of the nationality of Dominican-born persons of Haitian ethnicity,” and mass deportations of people of Haitian descent are occurring. Dominican-born persons of Haitian descent face xenophobia, arbitrary detention, and denationalization.
  • Colombia: Colombia is home to five million internally displaced people, and 500,000 Colombians have fled to countries such as Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela. Most of these refugees lack access to basic services, and legal barriers prevent them from fully integrating into their countries of asylum. U.S. and global funding for the protection and assistance of Colombian refugees and internally displaced people remains insufficient, so resettlement efforts have not been successful. JRS/USA advocates for increased funding for Colombian refugees and internally displaced people and fights to increase the number of Colombian refugees resettled in the United States.
  • Migrants and Asylum Seekers: JRS/USA advocates for more generous international standards for the treatment of refugees and those who have been internally displaced. JRS/USA also fights for improvements in U.S. treatment of asylum-seekers, detained immigrants, and other displaced people.

Most U.S. citizens agree that certain standards of treatment towards refugees and internally displaced people should be upheld, but they disagree about the role the U.S. government should play in upholding these standards. JRS/USA seeks to highlight the difference U.S. policymakers can make in the lives of those threatened by their own government or country of origin.

– Katie Bandera

Source: Catholic Sentinel, JRS/USA
Photo: JRUSA

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What the UNHCR is doing for Refugees

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Abdel is a refugee in Choucha Refugee Camp, Tunisia. He arrived there in 2011 after years as an orphan in Libya. Originally from Cote D’Ivoire, Abdel’s parents had to flee that country for unspecified reasons, and his mother died before he turned five years old.

During the Libyan uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in February 2011, Abdel was held captive for ten months, during which time he and his father were forced to watch his sister’s rape and murder. After the ten months, he was freed and fled to Choucha in the city of Misrata, which at its peak held tens of thousands of Libyan refugees (most of which have been relocated to other countries).

Abdel soon decided that he could not tolerate sitting around in the camp all day, being bored and lonesome. That drive inspired him to apply for a pilot skills training program organized by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Danish Refugee Council, located about 87 miles from Choucha.

Abdel’s enrollment not only gave him something to do other than sit in Choucha, it also gave him a bit of hope for the future. In an interview, he admitted that for the first time in years he is sleeping well and that he’s looking at opportunities to continue his studies beyond Choucha.

In his class, Abdel is learning to make jewelry. The refugees eat and sleep in dormitories during the program, and the close quarters allow them to form friendships that help with feeling lonely or helpless. The program consists mostly of young males, but as the classes have begun to soar in popularity, young women have started to apply as well.

Abdel isn’t the only success story of the pilot programs. Danish Refugee Council project officer Gianmaria Pinto expressed in an interview that at the last session before the end of year break, all of the refugees were excited about that prospect of learning and did not want to return to Choucha.

Choucha is scheduled to close at the end of June 2013. Spokesperson for UNHCR Ursula Aboubacar insisted during a press conference in Tunis that the closing of Choucha will give the 900+ refugees still living there a better life. Though many of the refugees have nowhere to go and are still waiting to be relocated, the closing of Choucha will force them to make arrangements to support themselves.

Choucha housed many North African refugees in a time of violent tumult, and in the cases of young men and women like Abdel, has even given them skills and resources that they can use to generate some sort of revenue or self-worth. UNHCR and the Danish Refugee Council have put together a program that will help refugees and Tunisians alike get on their feet and build futures for themselves that, if all goes well, don’t reflect their pasts.

– Lindsey Rubinstein

Sources: Libya Herald, UNHCR
Photo: Demotix

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The Voluntary Relocation of Tibetans

The program is known as the New Socialist Countryside, and has provided up to 2.1 million Tibetans with running water, electricity, and access to improved healthcare and education in the past 7 years. Run by planners in Beijing, the program is ostensibly aimed at raising living standards and improving the economy of Tibet, one of the poorest regions within China.

However, a recent report by Human Rights Watch suggests that the program has had a severe effect on the traditional Tibetan way of life. Says Sophie Richardson, China Director for Human Rights Watch, “…while it may be true that some Tibetans have benefitted, the majority have simply been forced to trade poor but stable livelihoods for the uncertainties of a cash economy in which they are often the weakest actors.”

Having observed the income disparity between rural and urban dwellers, the Chinese government has relocated nearly three-quarters of Tibetans to urban areas. However, upon arriving in cities, rural Tibetans can’t compete with immigrants from other regions of China, nor with educated locals who speak Mandarin. As such, large portions of the population are being moved, supposedly voluntarily, but not being given a support structure once resettled that would allow them to survive in a setting wholly foreign to their previous nomadic lifestyle.

There are many claims for the motives of the government, including protecting the ecologically fragile grasslands of the Tibetan plateau, and facilitating improved utility distribution for the population, but at the same time the thought lingers that the relocations have more to do with control of the population and improving rural incomes to avoid unrest.

120 self-immolations have taken place in Tibet in the past five years. Sadly, civil unrest is an ongoing theme in Tibet, and with governmental policies such as New Socialist Countryside, improvement is a double-edged sword.

– David Wilson

Sources: NY Times, Huffington Post