Archive for category: Refugees

Child Refugees in Uganda: Solutions to a Crisis

Child Refugees in Uganda
With a mass exodus from South Sudan, Uganda has become the largest refugee-host nation in Africa. Both 2017 and 2018 saw a significant influx of refugees into the country. Experts believe the number of refugees is only going to increase in the upcoming period.

As more and more refugees enter Uganda, its basic services and resources are continuously put under increased stress. Child refugees in Uganda have become a very significant issue facing the Ugandan government and international organizations. However, government and different organizations teamed up to initiate a long-term plan to help refugee and native-born children alike.

The Problem in Numbers

As of early 2018, there were over one million refugees from South Sudan and 300,000 from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other closely neighboring countries in Uganda. Out of these 1.3. million, its estimated that 61 percent are children.

Due to a shortage of aid workers, funding and supplies refugee children face severe consequences such as virus and disease outbreaks. The Ugandan Ministry of Health alongside the U.N. International Children’s Emergency Funds (UNICEF) were able to successfully stop a Marburg virus outbreak in refugee camps. Despite this achievement, there are growing concerns about measles, malaria and cholera.

Many child refugees in Uganda face little access to education. Only 35 percent of 5-year-olds entering primary schooling were enrolled in any sort of educational programs provided by nonprofit organizations or by the Ugandan government.

Extremely high acute malnutrition rates ranged from 14.9 percent to 21.5 percent among new arrivals, with some areas experiencing a 2 percent growth in malnutrition rates in 2018.

There is a high number of unaccompanied children that are often the most vulnerable with little to no support from adult-aged persons. These children can be easily forced into armed groups or sex slavery.

The Northern Region of Uganda is responsible for most of the refugees and has also experienced challenges for the local children. For instance, 24 percent of females older than 15 are illiterate, 17 percent of school-aged children are out of school, 53 out of 1000 children die before their fifth birthday and 21 percent of Ugandans live in poverty.

Nongovernmental Organizations Efforts

While the refugee crisis has proven to be a great challenge for Uganda, the country has chosen to commit its resources in order to protect and provide for the vulnerable population living alongside the local population. Three international organizations have begun long-term projects in order for the Ugandan government to reform the country and better care for refugees and native populations alike.

Save the Children

Save the Children is the largest global charity for children started in the United States. The nonprofit has worked alongside the U.N. in implementing their programs throughout Northern Uganda. As of 2017, Save the Children oversaw six refugee sites, an emergency health unit teamed up the Ugandan Ministry of Health and 30 child-friendly spaces and educational facilities. Moreover, additional programs extended beyond refugee camps to encompass local communities with the goal of increasing child protection, education and food and economic security.

According to their 2017 report, 66,114 children were given shelter, 89,790 were cared for in crisis situations, 312,790 were provided with medical and sanitation supplies, 20,169 were raised from malnutrition and 3,154 parents were supported to meet the basic needs of their children.

UNHCR

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has primarily focused its attention on identifying refugee populations and supporting unaccompanied children. Working in close collaboration with the Ugandan government, the agency’s largest biometric data in history was launched in 2017. The point of recording refugees and providing identification for them is to better plan and situate resources and responses. If aid groups know exactly where vulnerable populations are and what are their circumstances, then professionals will respond more effectively and efficiently. To this date, over one million refugees have been identified.

As children spill across the border without adult supervision, extra resources are needed for their protection. The UNHCR has created and built settlements where older children are the heads of the household and they are provided with shelter, protection, education and basic services. However, staff shortages have proven difficult to monitoring these children at all times.

UNICEF

UNICEF has taken a lead role in helping child refugees in Uganda by directing programs between the Ugandan government and active nonprofits. Unfortunately, the agency only received 30 percent of requested funding in 2017. Despite these shortages, 61 percent of total targets were still met in nutrition (741,436 children aided), health (667,050), sanitation (463,480), protection (13,821), education (119,059) and HIV & AIDS (4,630).

With these results in mind, UNICEF has ambitious goals going forward. In 2018, the organization is expecting a final requested funding of more than $66 million. This funding will be focused on education, health, water and sanitation, nutrition, protection and HIV/AIDS.

Furthermore, the agency is beginning the planning of a long-term and collaborative program between nonprofits, the Ugandan government and international agencies. The basic provisions of the program include the dispersion of technological supplies and know-how, national educational and health strategies linked with refugees and the strengthening of emergency response teams. For example, m–Tac, a mobile app recently introduced to Uganda, allows agencies to send vital information to field teams during crises.

Humanitarian groups and the Ugandan government are launching some of the world’s largest refugee programs. The question of receiving refugees has long been about how to best protect them from harm and danger. The child refugees in Uganda certainly have a long path ahead of them, but they won’t have to walk on alone.

– Tanner Helem
Photo: Flickr

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How Sea Changes Hurt the World’s Poorest

Florence
It’s no coincidence that there is a new natural disaster in the news every day around the world — the earthquake and tsunami that just hit Indonesia; Typhoon Mangkhut in East Asia; Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas; monsoon flooding in Bangladesh; and Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle are just a few of the storms that saturate our daily media sources.

Scientists agree that rising sea levels and sea temperatures as a result of climate change are increasing the frequency and intensity of such disasters. Research shows that climate-change-related natural disasters will disproportionately affect the world’s poorest countries and citizens. These environmental events are just one example of the many ways that sea changes are hurting the world’s poor.

Rising Sea Levels Hurt Agriculture

According to a 2015 World Bank report, “agriculture is one of the most important economic sectors in many poor countries. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most sensitive to climate change, given its dependence on weather conditions: from temperature, sun and rain, through climate-dependent stressors (pests, epidemics, and sea level rise).” This effect is felt by farmers — usually the poorer citizens of poor countries — who find their livelihoods threatened by natural disasters and the heavy flooding that wipes out their crops.

When agriculture suffers, the price of food skyrockets. This change then leaves families who already struggle to acquire adequate nutrition in an even more dire situation. Statistics show that poor families already spend a huge percentage of their income on food, and the World Bank predicts there may be 73 million people pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 from the rising costs of food alone.

Rising Sea Temperatures Breed Disease

The World Bank report says a small rise in sea temperatures “could increase the number of people at risk for malaria by up to 5 percent, or more than 150 million more people affected. Diarrhea would be more prevalent, and increased water scarcity would have an effect on water quality and hygiene.”

People who don’t have access to clean water, generally people living in poverty, would be at the greatest risk of developing diseases and they often lack the resources to treat infectious or bug-borne diseases once a family member is infected. The report, which called for climate-informed development, concludes by saying that poverty reduction and climate change can’t be treated separately, as the two go hand-in-hand.

Refugees

There are over 1600 confirmed deaths in Indonesia after an earthquake and tsunami hit the island of Sulawesi on October 5th, 2018. In fact, the U.N. stated that over 190,000 people are in need of urgent help — aftershocks have caused the destruction of 2,000 homes due to mudslides and makeshift refugee camps are being set up. At the most basic level, these events are pushing already poor people into extreme poverty through the destruction of their homes, forcing them to resettle elsewhere.

A 2017 Cornell study found that rising seas could cause 2 billion refugees by the year 2100 (these are truly climate change refugees).  This means that around one-fifth of the world’s population will be made homeless by climate change. The effects will be felt most strongly by people living on coastlines, and those in the world’s poorest countries will suffer the most.

As the seas warm and rise, research shows that the frequency and intensity of these disasters will rise as well, forcing more and more people to abandon their homes.

Sea Changes and the Poor

Rising sea temperatures are a result of global warming’s effects on ocean habitats and the human communities that depend on them.

The authors of an article about how poor countries and fisheries are the most negatively impacted by warming seas found that, “despite having some of the world’s smallest carbon footprints, small island developing states and the world’s least-developed countries will be among the places most vulnerable to climate change’s impacts on marine life.”

Actions for the Future

Andrew King, a climate researcher at the University of Melbourne in Australia and the author of a study from the AGU on global warming, argues that: “The results are a stark example of the inequalities that come with global warming…the richest countries that produced the most emissions are the least affected by heat when average temperatures climb to just 2 degrees Celsius [3.6 degrees Fahrenheit] while poorer nations bear the brunt of changing local climates and the consequences that come with them.”

There are ideas for how to better protect these places in the future to be prepared for these sea changes. Long term, the solution will be tackling climate change head-on.

-Evann Orleck-Jetter

Photo: Flickr

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Top 10 Facts about Child Soldiers in Syria

Top 10 Facts about Child Soldiers in Syria
During the Syrian conflict, children, even younger than 10, have been recruited into armed groups. These children are inadequately protected by the government and many are recruited into government and terrorist organizations. The majority of them are untrained but are placed in combat situations. Years of violence and despair have plagued the lives of these children. In the text below, the top 10 facts about child soldiers in Syria are presented.

 Top 10 Facts about Child Soldiers in Syria

  1. In a survey conducted by Save the Children, 59 percent of adults interviewed in Syria claimed to know children or young adults in Syria that had been recruited into armed groups. As of 2017, 910 children have been killed and 361 have been maimed during the Syrian conflict. Child soldiers in Syria have been used as human shields, suicide bombers, front-line soldiers and as guards at checkpoints.
  2. Between 2015 and 2016, the number of armed children in the Syrian civil war verified by the U.N. was 851, more than double from the year before. The incentives used to encourage children into the army are salaries, ideologies and family or community influence. Even girls join these armed groups and seek to escape either abuse or arranged marriages.
  3. Child soldiers are encouraged to join armed groups due to poverty or being consistently targeted by specific groups. Some child soldiers in Syria have been reported to receive salaries of up to $400 a month. The families targeted by recruiters are typically poor and recruiters have been known to promise to pay and clothe children for their enlistment.
  4. In Syria, ISIS had kidnapped 463 children in 2015. ISIS usually targets ethnic minority groups and women and children in their abductions. In 2015, it was believed that this organization has 3,500 slaves that were made up mostly of women and children.
  5. The U.N. verified 29 child soldiers in Syria associated with government forces. Although the government is not supposed to conscript child soldiers, they do sit anyway. The children in Syria have little protection from the government against armed groups recruitment.
  6. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have recently issued an order that no one under the age of 18 is allowed to be enlisted into the army. This order requires commanders to verify the ages of soldiers and then take those under the age limit to authorities to end their enlistment. It also calls for punishments for commanders who refuse to comply with this order.
  7. Around 60 percent of the United Nation’s verified cases of child soldiers in Syria were associated with the Free Syrian Army. The Free Syrian Army is a rebel group formed by army deserters in Turkey. Several other armed groups across Syria have adopted their banner. A child interviewed by the Human Rights Watch stated that he joined the Free Syrian Army after he was previously tortured by the government forces.
  8. Children are actively being detained in Syria due to their perceived alliance with a specific group or organization. The U.N. verified that government forces had arrested 12 boys in 2016. Anti-government forces imprison children that are believed to support the government.
  9. There are 292,000 children trapped in besieged areas. The affected areas include Damascus, Idlib, Deir Az Zor and Homs. These areas have been besieged by both rebel and pro-government forces.
  10. Recently, the United Nations appealed to the U.S. for $8 billion of aid for Syria. The first part of the proposal aims to help refugees and the second part aims to provide humanitarian aid and protection for the 13.5 million people inside Syria.

These top 10 facts about child soldiers in Syria demonstrate the desperate crisis children in this country face every day. These are children who desperately need support in a fractured world, especially child soldiers that are affected most by the violence.

Investing in the future of this region and its children could have a large impact. Rehabilitation programs for child soldiers could help them reintegrate into society and into a normal life. These children could be placed into care centers or mandatory rehab programs to deal with the psychological and physical damage they have suffered.

Programs like these have worked in other conflicts and war situations and could help Syrian child soldiers find a way out of the violence they face every day and help them re-establish relationships with their families and communities as well.

– Olivia Halliburton

Photo: Flickr

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Movement in Progress: 10 Facts on Forced Migration

10 Facts on Forced Migration
Forced migration is ever-present in society due to various coercive factors. From cases in the United States to Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the practice can be seen on almost every continent. The International Organization for Migration defines forced migration as the “movement of people caused by threats to their livelihoods.” This article will discuss 10 facts on forced migration that are the most critical in the world right now.

10 Facts on Forced Migration

  1. Columbia University gives categories to displaced persons: conflict-induced and disaster-induced. Those who are displaced by conflict are those who fled their homes due to violence — this circumstance accounts for about 12 million people. Disaster-induced displaced persons are those who undergo and escape natural disaster or human-made disasters such as floods, earthquakes, monsoons, deforestation or industrial accidents; this type of situation displaced about 19 million people in 2017.

  2. The most common distinctions between displaced persons are refugees, asylum seekers and Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs).  As defined by the UNHCR, refugees are people who live outside of their home country due to the fear of persecution. Gaining refugee status is a legal process in which a person must be determined a refugee by international, national or local law. This process can be carried out by a country or by the UNHCR, and this process differs everywhere. Asylum seekers are those who have crossed borders to flee violence, but whose refugee status is undetermined.  In contrast, IDPs are those who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict or disaster but have yet to cross an international border.

  3. Approximately 68.5 million people — mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, and South Sudan — have been forcibly displaced from their homes, which is the highest level of displacement in history. In 2017 alone, there were 30.6 million people displaced from their homes, approximately 11.8 million due to violent conflict or war, and 18.8 million due to natural disasters.

  4. Forced migration impacts the most vulnerable of people. According to the UNHCR, 52 percent of refugees were under the age of 18, and there were approximately 174,000 unaccompanied or separated children. Children may experience obstacles to education as forced migrants, and experience many social and cultural challenges in a place away from their home country. Unaccompanied children experience different challenges as they often lack the same protections and support as children with adult care, and many may suffer or be taken advantage of in a new environment.

  5. Sixty-eight percent of refugees came from Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia in 2017. In fact, 6.3 million refugees came from Syria, 2.6 million from Afghanistan, and 2.4 million from South Sudan. Out of the 25.4 million refugees reported in the world, these three countries, in particular, make up more than half of the refugee population. These refugees come from conflict and war-torn regions where choosing to stay could mean risking their lives.

  6. One reason for the current peak refugee crisis is that only about 103,000 refugees were resettled in 2017. Resettlement is the relocation and integration of people (forced migrants in this case) into another country. The UNHCR lists resettlement as one of the three durable solutions to the refugee crisis as it is a long-term solution for those who cannot go back to their home country. Approximately 44,400 people are being displaced a day, and unfortunately, this resettlement number does not make up the difference. Resettlement numbers are so low because many developed countries are not resettling as many people as they usually do. This decrease could be due to the highly dependent nature of resettlement on political climates as well as the current administrations in charge.

  7. The countries hosting the most refugees are Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Uganda and Turkey. Relative to the national population, Lebanon hosted the most refugees of these countries with 1 out of 6 inhabitants being refugees. Jordan is next with 1 out of 14, followed by 1 out 23 in Turkey. Eighty-five percent of refugees in the world are going to other developing countries, and large amounts of displaced peoples can have severe effects on the global economy. There may be serious problems for national economies that lack enough jobs for displaced peoples who seek work, pressure can be put on already fragile infrastructure.

  8. Refugees can benefit economies. In fact, many refugees in the United States pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits. In places that aided refugees in finding work, most were employed within 6 years of their settlement.

  9. Forcible displacement is an issue receiving more attention in the media and one that people are becoming increasingly passionate about. The UNHCR is dedicated to helping those who are displaced in 128 countries, including those in Syria. The UNCHR not only aids refugees that live in Syria but also Syrian Internally Displaced Peoples. The UNHCR provides economic and legal assistance, as well as shelters, health services and violence protection.

  10. Many local cities around the globe have resettlement agencies that aid refugees and other displaced peoples through their resettlement process. Many cities across the United States have an Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), a non-profit responsible for resettling refugees into their communities. The ECDC’s work also involves community integration and education initiatives which shows their commitment to ensuring a happy and healthy future for their clients.

Work to Do

These 10 facts on forced migration help to show that there does not exist a simple solution to combat the forced migration crisis. Vulnerable people are still being forced from their homes and their livelihoods, and there is plenty of work that needs to be done. This work, however, has a dedicated workforce of people working hard for those who need it the most.

– Isabella Niemeyer

Photo: Flickr

A Brief History of Border Walls

Border wallsBorder walls are hardly new concepts since the history of border walls stems back to the Great Wall of China and beyond. Yet, in recent years, the number of border walls has skyrocketed. Since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall, over 60 border walls have either been completed or are under construction. The number has actually jumped from 15 to at least 77. That’s more than five times as many border walls today as there were 30 years ago. In understanding the border wall it is important to understand the historical context of these walls’ creations.

Berlin Wall

The ideology and causes of the Berlin Wall are fairly well known. The wall was meant to separate East from West Germany and thus became the symbol of two competing political and economic ideologies. The conflict between the Eastern Bloc countries and the USSR on one side, and capitalist Western Europe and the United States on the other became physically manifested in 155 kilometers of concrete. Yet, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The conflict between the USSR and the United States, as well as their political and economic ideologies, has thus subsided. Moreover, the notion of a post-Cold War, globalizing society should foster the idea that borders ought to hold less importance.

Yet, in the history of border walls, the opposite has occurred. With the Cold War over and globalization already the reality in many countries, the creation of border walls and border protection has, paradoxically, increased. This increase has been linked to new waves of migrants, particularly refugees. They are often constructed as a mean of a country’s security but ultimately serve as barriers for refugees, forcing them to travel through increasingly dangerous situations to gain access to a certain country.

The Wall Between Africa and Europe

The notion that, in the history of border walls, these barriers are meant to deter refugee migration becomes more explicit considering the location of many of these border walls.

Around the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, one of the only slivers of Europe on the continent of Africa, is a border fence between Spain and Morocco. As the last stop on the way to Europe from Africa, the border has become a major destination for refugees and asylum-seekers from war-torn and impoverished countries in Africa. The Moroccan people and government were initially unsupportive of the wall since they view the city of Ceuta and its land as rightfully Morocco’s. Yet, recently, Spain has cooperated with Morocco economically in exchange for Morocco’s police to monitor the border. This has led to numerous human rights abuses and violence, with the Moroccan police frequently raiding refugee camps and destroying the inhabitants’ belongings.

The fact that the barrier exists in Africa, on the southern border between Spain and Morocco, also serves to create the notion of a “Fortress Europe”. Europe can contradictorily want to build bridges yet creates the image of impenetrability with all of the ethnic, economic and racial factors there to unpack.

Thus, the history of border walls shows their existence often creates the veneer of security or inaccessibility but they ultimately do little to actually enhance a country’s safety or prevent illegal immigration. Moreover, while border walls serve as deterrents for refugees, migrants will continue to try and find other means of access to a country. In Ceuta, for example, refugees continue to try and climb over the fence or storm the barrier. And, in March 2014, 1,000 of those people were successful: Fortress Europe was breached.

The Wrong Message of Walls

The cost of building and maintaining border walls are very high but they are often unsuccessful in fulfilling their purpose and yield very little results.

The border wall does communicate the idea of unwelcomeness—refugees or migrants willing to risk their lives to cross into a country with a border will not feel at ease in their new home. With deportation likely being a risk for many of these people, these people tend to keep to themselves and their communities, which hampers refugee integration and creates social stratification.

Ultimately, this brief history of border walls shows that the trend of creating border walls is very ineffective mean of fostering security, mired by xenophobia and fear of refugees. Yet, the fact is that there is an ongoing refugee crisis. The solution, however, isn’t to create massive walls to tell these people that they are unwanted but to increase humanitarian aid abroad, in order to address the issues creating these refugees, while working to welcome the refugees at home.

The average cost of resettling a refugee is around $15,000. The average amount returned by refugees through taxes for a couple decades exceeds $20,000, not to mention the benefits to the market economy, the economic incentive, particularly compared to costly border walls. This suggests countries should take in, not turn away, more refugees.

– William Wilcox
Photo: Flickr

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The Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement: The World’s Largest

Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement The Bidi Bidi refugee settlement is one of several located in Northern Uganda and covers an area mass of 250 square kilometers. It is the biggest refugee camp in the world and houses over 270,000 refugees. Most of the refugees come from South Sudan, a country that gained independence in 2013 but witnessed a new wave of instability and famine in 2016, forcing over 1.6 million South Sudanese to flee their homes. Out of the 1.6 million, 800,000 fled to Uganda. Uganda has one of the most compassionate refugee policies, allowing people to set up their own homes, and refugees are given the right to work and travel, which is uncommon. Uganda has, therefore, become a hot spot for refugees, which has brought an economic strain on the nation, forcing it to rely on humanitarian assistance to sustain millions of refugees.

Who Are the Bidi Bidi

The Bidi Bidi refugee settlement is home to a mostly South Sudanese population. Many of the inhabitants of Bidi Bidi fled because of the threat of murder or imprisonment from rebels or government soldiers. Having left their homes, often walking for days at a time, they arrive at the settlement center with nothing more than the clothes on their back. The process of becoming a refugee is often slow and hectic, but basic needs are met in a timely manner thanks to the NGOs and volunteers’ tremendous effort and funds that have been dedicated to making this refugee camp more livable.

Insecurities

Many of the inhabitants are affected by disease, predominantly malaria and HIV/AIDS. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes breed in wet environments, and due to the rains in Uganda, no one is safe from malaria. Therefore, it is imperative that these settlements have proper access to medical aid and resources to ensure the well-being of refugees. In addition to a lack of medical resources, malnutrition affects most of the population of Bidi Bidi and the rest of Uganda. The Ugandan government has been under pressure to provide food for those malnourished, but it is almost impossible without humanitarian aid and support.

Opportunities in Bidi Bidi

Each organization working within the Ugandan settlement camps and Bidi Bidi offers different and varied opportunities for refugees to support themselves and regain a sense of normalcy. Caritas is an organization aimed at promoting justice and helping the poor, and they have mobilized efforts to give aid to the people of Bidi Bidi. Depending on which zone of the camp refugees live in, some receive a plot of land, agricultural tools and seeds to begin to sustain themselves and create opportunities for businesses.

Many women in Bidi Bidi have access to psycho-social support and empowerment resources that have been set up within the camp. The U.N. has created a system of revolving funds, meaning that funds are replenished when used, which allows women to learn vocational skills such as hairdressing and helping women build their own businesses. This leads to empowerment and creates a sense of stability in an unstable world.

The Future of the Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement

The Bidi Bidi refugee settlement is the largest of its kind in the world, it uses what it can to create and offer opportunities and resources to refugees, so they may live more independently. It focuses on rehabilitation and independence and creates a sense of hope for the future of the inhabitants of Bidi Bidi. The unrest and violence in South Sudan still create thousands of refugees on a daily basis. The long-term solution is to achieve peace in South Sudan, so people can return home. However, in the short-term, it is imperative that Uganda receives humanitarian aid to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its inhabitants.

– Trelawny Robinson 
Photo: Flickr

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Crisis Zone: 10 Facts about Living Conditions in Venezuela

Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions in Venezuela
The situation in Venezuela, sparked by political turmoil and hyperinflation, has denigrated into a dire case of global poverty. Despite its former status as one of the richest countries in South America and its access to the largest oil rig in the world, Venezuela’s economy has sparked both a humanitarian crisis and a refugee crisis within South America. Here are the top 10 facts about living conditions in Venezuela:

Food Scarcity & Weight loss

According to a study by three universities in Venezuela, 74.3 percent of the population lost an average of 19 pounds of weight in 2015, and around 9.6 million Venezuelans ate two or fewer meals a day.

Due to past government subsidies of oil production, the people of Venezuela have historically relied heavily on imports of even basic necessities rather than domestic production.

Now that Venezuela’s borders have been closed and its currency devalued, imported resources within Venezuela have become increasingly scarce, making food prices rise significantly.

Population and Inflation

Approximately 81 percent of Venezuela’s 31.5 million people are now considered to be living in income poverty, while over 50 percent are estimated to be living in extreme poverty.

Additionally, the IMF predicts that inflation will reach 13,000 percent in the coming year, making it the biggest recession in the history of the Western Hemisphere — twice as large as the Great Depression.

Education Decline

For a country that once boasted free education for all students under Hugo Chavez’s socialist regime, the education structure in Venezuela is crumbling under the current economic crisis. Many schools in Venezuela have closed or are operating at limited capacity.

Such conditions are due to insufficient salaries for school teachers who are working for just over a dollar a month, as well as lack of school lunches as the government has run out of funds for the state-run program that provided children with free lunch. An increasing number of children have stopped going to school because, without food, they may faint in class.

Of 8 million school children, approximately 3 million students have stopped attending some or all classes. Education professionals within Venezuela fear for a future of uneducated and unskilled workers if this trend continues too long.

Lack of Hygiene

As most families have been scraping by just to put food on the table, those receiving the minimum wage face a choice every time they receive their paycheck: food or hygiene? According to Jonathan Marquez, a security guard and now also a taxi driver, he always picks food, adding water to the little bit of shampoo that he has left to make soap.

Additionally, one reporter from Venezuela spent 86 percent of the monthly minimum wage on eight rolls of toilet paper, after failing to find it in any stores for a whole week.

Businesses Cannot Operate

Number five of the top 10 facts about living conditions in Venezuela is that lack of resources for the individual means lack of resources for small businesses as well. The economic emergency in Venezuela has led to declining business within Venezuela, resulting in layoffs and even many business shut-downs.

Hairdressers only have running water two days a week and hair products are scarce to find; bakers have no flour to make bread; restaurant owners have no customers to cook for and very little pasta to cook.

Lack of Medicine

The medical profession is suffering as well. While doctors can still prescribe medicine, there is hardly any medicine to supply to their patients as the country endures an estimated 85 percent shortage of medicine, according to the Pharmaceutical Federation of Venezuela. Chronic diseases like kidney disease or diabetes are not being treated due to this limited supply of medicine, which leads to serious health risks.

A box of ten pills for high blood pressure can be more than a retiree’s monthly pension. Even highly preventable and curable diseases can now develop into life-threatening illnesses from the lack of antibiotics and proper treatment.

Water and Electricity Shortages

Drought from the Guri Dam has sparked a country-wide rationing of water and electricity. The hydroelectric plants in the reservoir contribute to 70 percent of the nation’s electricity supply.

While a standardized 4 hour outage was enacted daily, residents have noted that some days there is no electricity for up to 14 hours. In efforts to conserve electricity, Maduro has cut public sector work weeks to two days per week.

Concerning water rationing, faucets only run once or twice a week for most people; however, in harder-to-reach places like Margarita Island, water is only supplied once every 21 days.

Violence and Protests

Street protests and looting have become almost commonplace in Venezuela as people continue to lose faith in their government. In three months, 111 protests were recorded in Sucre — one of Venezuela’s 23 states — as reported by Indice, a human rights group monitoring the protests.

Reporters have noted 5 or 6 protests per week, all demanding basic necessities and fighting through tear gas and rubber bullets to get it.

The South American Refugee Crisis

To escape the turmoil within Venezuela, there has been a mass exodus into neighboring countries, particularly Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. The UNHCR estimates that nearly 5000 people escape from Venezuela each day, totaling 2.3 million migrants from Venezuela since 2015.

While South American border policies have eased the refugee migration process for many Venezuelan people, neighboring countries are not equipped with the facilities and resources to host refugees in the capacity at which they’re arriving.

Aid and Access

Government restrictions under President Maduro have rejected humanitarian aid by obstructing shipments, particularly targeting medicine, but that does not mean that there is nothing that can be done. Church groups and non-profit organizations like Sanando and the Cuatro Por Venezuela Foundation are doing their best to provide aid to the people of Venezuela.

Cuatro Por Venezuela began in 2016 when four Venezuelan women living in the U.S. decided to deliver relief to their country. They have since provided over 50,000 food servings per year and attended to over 17,000 medical patients. Neighboring countries, such as Colombia, have also been immensely helpful to Venezuelan refugees by providing food and shelter for hundreds of thousands of people.

While the U.S. is still pressing sanctions on President Maduro, Mike Pence has promised $48 million to support regional partners that are taking on the brunt of this crisis.

Giving Hand, Willing Heart

The humanitarian readiness to help is inspiring; however, the onus remains on Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan government to open its borders to aid and imports to ensure the safety and health of their people.

The U.S. government and the world is ready to help alleviate the situation in Venezuela. The hope is that these top 10 facts about living conditions in Venezuela will have significantly changed by next year.

– Sara Andresen
Photo: Flickr

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Equal Humanitarian Assistance for Elderly Refugees

Humanitarian Assistance for Elderly Refugees
Despite UNHCR regulations that call for adequate humanitarian assistance for elderly refugees, older people are often not the focus of aid programs. Organizations such as HelpAge International, however, along with UNHCR, are working to improve services and care for elderly refugees by developing a more comprehensive understanding of their struggles and needs.

Lack of Humanitarian Assistance for Elderly Refugees

Older persons, defined by the UN as people over 60 years of age, are particularly vulnerable when displaced from their homes. Lack of mobility, chronic illness or weakened vision can hinder their ability to flee. They may also be reluctant to leave, concerned about becoming socially isolated or physically separated from their families. A study of eastern Ukraine found that approximately half of all the older people remained home when the conflict began and that many were left behind due to their reduced mobility.

Even after older people manage to leave, humanitarian assistance to elderly refugees may not fully address their needs. An Overseas Development Institute report explains that “while humanitarian principles require that aid is delivered in an impartial manner, based on needs alone, in emergencies humanitarian organizations tend to implement blanket, one-size-fits-all programmes that fail to adequately address the specific vulnerabilities of older people.”

One of the primary reasons for this is that elderly refugees make up a small percentage of refugee populations, approximately 8.5 percent. This leads them being deprioritized in favor of larger demographic groups, including women and children. It is estimated, however, that by 2050 there will be more people over the age of 60 than under the age of 12.

Needs of Older Refugees Neglected

Areas in which the needs of elderly refugees are not always properly addressed include safety, protection, nutrition, medical services and mental health. Elderly refugees have a greater risk of experiencing violence, including sexual and domestic abuse. They are also likely to be exploited by family members. These risks are greater for women, those with disabilities and LGBT individuals.

Additionally, older people need food that is easy to eat and digest, and may become malnourished due to their inability to consume regular food. UNHCR reported in 2016 that humanitarian assistance for elderly refugees generally does not meet the food requirements of older people.

Two-thirds of elderly refugees have been found to suffer from poor physical health. In a study about older Syrian refugees in Lebanon, it was found that most of them had at least one non-communicable disease: 60 percent had hypertension, 47 percent had diabetes and 30 percent had some form of heart disease, indicating a need for more comprehensive health services.

Mental health is also a significant area of concern. Older people, who often have a great deal of prestige and important societal roles, find that they lose much of their influence, power and resources when they become refugees. This is partly due to the fact that one of their main resources, life experience, is less relevant in new, unknown settings. Western values and education serve to give more prominent roles to younger people.

The loss of their traditional roles in addition to the trauma resulting from conflict and fleeing was found to have caused depression and mental illness among older South Sudanese refugees in a study published by the Overseas Development Institute. Respondents indicated that they felt isolated from their community and families, sensing that younger generations no longer respected them. They were also concerned that their families would grow tired of having to care for them.  

Uncertainty about being able to return to their homes can also cause psychological stress in elderly refugees. The family of Dagha, a 101-year-old Syrian refugee, stated that she often cries in her sleep and that her greatest fear is that she will die in Lebanon. Dagha reportedly asked her family to promise that they will bury her in Syria.

Providing Humanitarian Assistance

Improving humanitarian assistance for elderly refugees is an attainable goal. Aid organizations have the funding needed to make older refugees a greater priority, and an article in The Guardian explains that “mindset is the main barrier to inclusive humanitarian assistance, not money.”

UNHCR has a renewed commitment to focusing on elderly refugees and has outlined several practices ensuring aid is used to meet their needs. First, it is important to communicate with older people, both about their specific needs and concerns, and the services available to them. Important messages need to be in a format that elderly refugees can access. Working with older people to determine what works best for them is vital.

Older people should also be prioritized in reunification efforts and moving forward they should not be separated from family members. Additionally, the needs of elderly refugees should be considered when designing shelters and settlements.

In response to mental health concerns, aid workers need to improve their understanding of what elderly refugees want out of their lives in new and unfamiliar locations. Many South Sudanese informants stated that they wished to regain the societal and familial roles they had held before leaving.

With the help of organizations such as HelpAge International and UNHCR, humanitarian assistance for elderly refugees will hopefully begin to improve, moving toward fully addressing their needs and concerns. Life for elderly refugees will likely continue to be difficult, but better aid can lessen their struggles and improve their general livelihoods.  

– Sara Olk
Photo: Flickr

Difficulties Faced by Syrian Refugees in Germany

Syrian refugees in Germany
Between 2015 and 2016, Germany accepted over one million refugees, many of whom came from Syria. Some Syrian refugees in Germany, however, have found themselves unsatisfied with their lives in the European nation. The main reasons for this are:

  • Social isolation and discrimination
  • Lack of education and employment opportunities
  • Policies in regard to how long asylum seekers are approved to stay and where they can live
  • Germany’s Family Reunification Policy, which has left many Syrian families unable to reunite.

These conditions have prompted some refugees to risk the illegal and dangerous journey back to Turkey in the hopes of reuniting with their loved ones.

In the text below four above mentioned reasons for the dissatisfaction of refugees will be discussed.

Social Isolation and Discrimination

Syrian refugees sometimes arrive in Germany after an arduous journey only to find that the opportunities for them are severely limited by discrimination. Germany’s decision to allow such a large number of refugees enter the nation has been met with disapproval and resistance, as some Germans do not want refugees in the nation. One German volunteer who worked with refugee families stated that many people were not nice to the refugees she worked with and that they treated her with contempt for helping them.

This discrimination causes a lack of social connections, which exacerbates the poor mental health of refugees, many of whom suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Suicides among refugee youth in Germany have increased due to their failure to create new social ties.

Lack of Opportunities

Syrian refugees in Germany often have difficulties to find employment and to access educational opportunities, as a result of prejudices. In the Atlantic Council article, Yassir, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Germany in 2015, explained that he has been unable to find work for over two years. He learned to speak German quickly after his arrival, but, according to him temp agencies, restaurants, cafes, workshops, all “shut their doors in his face”. According to the Federal Labor Agency, only 17 percent of refugees in Germany are employed.

Education is also an issue, with only 45 percent of Syrian refugees in Germany possessing a school certificate. Shortly after coming to Germany, 20-year-old Mahmoud realized that his educational endeavors could not be achieved in the European nation due to “systematic hurdles imposed by the authorities”, according to The Atlantic Council. He made the decision to resettle in Turkey, where he was able to receive an academic scholarship from the engineering department of Aydin University in Istanbul.

Policies on Refugee Status and the Integration Law

German practices in regards to who is granted full refugee status have also been stressful for many refugees. Initially, almost all Syrian refugees taken in by Germany were granted full refugee status, however, beginning in March 2016, Germany began granting more and more Syrian refugees subsidiary protection instead, which needs to be renewed annually. In 2016, 41 percent of Syrian refugees were given subsidiary protection, and in 2017 this number increased to 55 percent. Syrians with subsidiary protection, many of whom may be happy living in Germany, live in fear of not being accepted when they apply for renewal.

Additionally, German policies on choosing where refugees are placed in the nation cause instability and uncertainty for many refugee families. Germany’s 2016 Integration Law forces refugees to live in states assigned by the government, often without consideration of where the rest of their family is located.

According to U.N. Discussion paper, Zein lived in Germany from 2014, and though her husband arrived in the country in 2015, it was six months before he was granted permission to settle in the same location as her. Similarly, Siwar came to Germany a year and a half after her husband and was sent to a shelter located 100 kilometers away from where he lived, rather than with him.

Germany’s Family Reunification Policy

Arguably the most significant problem for Syrian refugees in Germany, as well as the main reason some have made the decision to illegally return to Turkey, is Germany’s Family Reunification Policy. In March 2016, Germany stopped allowing refugees with subsidiary protection to apply for family reunification. Originally they stated that this would be in effect until March 2018, but then further extended it to July 2018.

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, as of April 2018, approximately 4,000 Syrian refugees had been reported missing, many of whom could have traveled to Turkey. It is likely that this number is significantly higher. Many Syrians in Germany have family members stuck in Turkey and are willing to risk the dangerous and illegal journey back to Turkey in order to be reunited with them. According to Deutsche Welle, refugees have stated that they would “rather die together than live apart”.

Although family reunification applications are being accepted as of July 2018, a 1,000 person limit on entries per month has been added to prevent an extreme influx of refugees. As of early August, 34,000 family reunification requests had already been submitted, with hundreds of thousands expected.

The future of Syrian refugees in Germany, as well as in other parts of the world, is still undetermined. Countries, including Germany, have made an incredible impact by accepting such a large number of refugees over the past few years. Germany’s reinstatement of family reunification, even with the monthly limit, will begin to bring Syrian families back together and hopefully improve the status of refugees in the nation.

– Sara Olk
Photo: Flickr

Boldness and Books: Prioritizing Education for Refugees in Uganda

Refugees in Uganda
Refugees from almost all of the countries that border Uganda — such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya and South Sudan — chose to seek safety in Uganda over the last 20 years due to conflict.

Nakivale is a refugee settlement in Uganda that offers access to education and gives refugee children the opportunity to grow into leaders — a skillset that helps protect them from child labor and child marriage. Education in an impoverished area like Uganda can result in many positive benefits.

Educational Resources in Nakivale

Uganda encourages refugees to prosper, especially when it comes to education. Nakivale hosts more than 100,000 refugees, and provides them with numerous resources.

These resources include land, materials needed to build a home or a building where education can be present, and the opportunity to create one’s own work including through the avenue of education.

Working to Improve Educational Opportunities for Refugees

The chance to grow and build a community is embraced for refugees in Uganda. While there are indeed resources for educational opportunities, access to an established education system for children is limited in Nakivale.

However, there are initiatives for helping improve the lack of education. Since the government and the people of Nakivale are supportive of allowing refugees coming into their country, they are also willing to provide tools to promote education.  

One way that education is being improved in Nakivale is through the creation of a university. A group of young men in Nakivale created a university in the camp because they wanted to ensure that children had access to safe and adequate education.

Bridging the Gap

In 2016, 3.5 million refugee children did not have access to education. Knowledge is crucial to the impoverished because it can help them become leaders, build up their communities and keep them away from child labor and child marriage.

Refugees in Uganda have the tools and support they need to have an education. Education in an impoverished area not only benefits the people but also helps get rid of global poverty. Being educated, especially when dealing with global poverty, can help create a positive result for all impoverished populations.

– Kelly Kipfer
Photo: Flickr