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Syrian Refugee Camps in Demand

Overfull and varying widely in accommodation, Syrian refugee camps have become an international crisis. The United Nations has made the largest humanitarian appeal for aid ever at $5 billion to relieve the situation but has received less than $2 billion to date. Some 2.2 million refugees are currently scattered across Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt while more Syrians are fleeing war at an alarming pace. Estimates say more than 3 million refugees will be in those areas by January.

Such numbers are startling given the Syrian population before the onset of war was only  22.5 million. Lebanon, for example, has no official camps despite having more than a million refugees in its borders and does not allow the building of permanent refugee structures. Those who can afford it rent apartments or rooms in the cities at an exorbitant rate while others share the homes of sympathetic civilians or even inhabit abandoned buildings in depressed areas. In the northeast region, an average of 17 people per household are packed together according to a study conducted by Doctors Without Borders last year.

Water, food and healthcare are rationed out slowly and insufficiently, with less to go around as numbers rise. Employment for refugees was around 20% last year in Lebanon, and the economies of Iraq, Turkey and Jordan are in little better position to provide opportunities for such a rapid influx of labor.

Dependency on humanitarian aid is heightened and the desperation of the situation has many refugees working for extremely low wages in poor conditions and engaging in child labor. Economic and physical insecurity in Jordan’s Zataari camp has led parents to arrange hurried marriages for their teenage daughters as young as 14. Matchmakers recruit young girls for Saudi husbands but often end up as prostitutes or victims of “pleasure marriages” where the suitor divorces them after consummation.

Though some of Syria’s displaced persons find bourgeois  housing in Cairo or end up in one of Turkey’s refugee camps that consist of metal trailers with access to satellite T.V. and air conditioning, most see basic necessities and sanitation as luxuries. The Domiz camp in Iraq is made up primarily of tents and has 45,000 residents despite being designed for just 30,000. In just two weeks between August and September, more than 1,500 people were treated for upper respiratory infections there by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Security is also an issue in these camps with reports of rape, theft, kidnapping and murder being common. In the Zataari camp, Jordan security forces restrict entry but lack the manpower to adequately police the camp’s 120,000 residents. Other camps in Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey reportedly funnel arms and recruits back into Syria. In Lebanon, crime has increased by 30% and increased tensions between Hezbollah and Sunni refugees may be behind the recent bombing of the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

Syria’s bordering nations are gradually increasing restrictions for entering refugees. Lebanon and Turkey are both planning to relocate some people to camps they wish to build within Syria’s insecure borders. Only about 25% of Syria’s refugees are actually in camps now, the rest are trying to survive by their own means. There are also an additional 3.8 million who are internally displaced.

Despite their faults, the refugee camps provide essential support and the need for more camps is evident, but where they can be built and how they will be funded is not so clear.

– Tyson Watkins

Sources: Medecins Sans Frontieres, World Health Organization, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Syrian Arab Republic,
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Moving Refugees, The Guardian, Integrated Regional Information Networks, BBC, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Syrian Regional Response Plan, Aljazeera, The Daily Star United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Stories from Syrian Refugees, The New York Review of Books
Photo: NPR

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Kenya Plans To Close All Refugee Camps

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Kenya in recent decades has become a place of refuge for people from all countries in Africa. Nonetheless, this past week, Asman Kamama, the Chairman of the Kenyan Administration and National Security Committee, stated that Kenya would attempt to close all its refugee camps within the next two years. This goal, however, depends upon the stability and improvements made within the countries where the refugees are coming from, particularly Somalia. Of Kenya’s 592, 219 refugees, 476,635 (80%) of these refugees are Somalis.

Groups from Ethiopia, Sudan, Congo, Rwanda, Eritrea, Burundi, South Sudan and Uganda also compromise the population of Kenyan refugee camps. As a result of the mass amount of refugees, the populations in refugee camps have swollen and strained the resources available. For example, Dadaab refugee camp, located in Kenya, is ranked the largest refugee camp in the world.

However, the United Nations has denied that an effort has been made to close the Somali refugee camps in Kenya. Kitty McKinsey, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Refugee Agency, stated that the United Nations does not believe “that there is any order for the refugee camps in Kenya to be closed.” McKinsey added, “The Kenyan government and the Kenyan people have been very generous to the refugees over the years, and we certainly have every reason to expect that will continue to be the case.”

The fate of refugees in Kenya is yet to be seen. If Kenya does close the refugee camps, Kamama explained that the return of these refugees will be peaceful and smooth.

– Lienna Feleke-Eshete

Sources: VOA News, All Africa

Photo: Womens News Network

Ivorian Refugees in Liberia

An election crisis, a civil war and numerous human rights violations have sent thousands of Ivorians fleeing into Liberia. Since 2010, thousands of refugees have left the embattled Ivory Coast for other countries to escape political violence and abuse. These refugees have found reception in Liberia since they were displaced by the political crisis and those still displaced are eager to return home and begin reconciliation and the rebuilding of lives.

The Ivorian crisis began at the end of 2010 following the contested presidential election which was supposed to occur in 2005, but had been postponed for nearly five years. The election caused months of instability, abuse and outbreaks of violence in the country. The chaos that emerged from the election meltdown left hundreds dead and thousands displaced from their homes.

By the end of July 2011, the numbers of refugees fleeing the Ivory Coast exceeded more than 400,000 people who remained displaced from their home. This figure accounts for those displaced either within the Ivory Coast or within neighboring countries. Most who fled went to Liberia where about 171,000 refugees were housed within hosting communities and in camps. As of November, the Republic of Liberia had 57,724 registered refugees coupled with a national statistic of 19,964 households for perspective.

As of July, more than 10,000 Ivorians have returned home from Liberia with help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); this figure is almost double the figure for the whole of 2012. The limited resources of the Liberian government and the needs of Liberian citizens only one reason is why remaining a refugee in Liberia is unsustainable. Those who are displaced deserve the right to return home and return to their lives.

The road home for many Ivorian refugees had begun with the assistance of the United Nations.

The U.N. refugee agency working in collaboration with the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission and other partners, has been organizing road convoys for those seeking to return home. More than two years after fleeing post-election violence in Côte d’Ivoire means much has changed and much has been lost. The progression out of war into peace begins with a redress of rights and the return of those displaced.

This year has seen success in repatriation of Ivorian refugees. “Last year, we facilitated the repatriation of more than 6,000 refugees. For this year, our planning figure is to facilitate the repatriation of 16,000 refugees,” said UNHCR Officer-in-Charge Andrew Mbogori while thanking donors for their support of the  repatriation efforts.

“With 10,000 refugees repatriated over the past seven months, notwithstanding border security concerns a few months ago, we are definitely on track to attain our target,” he added.

The repatriation process has been interrupted by violent attacks on villages on the Ivorian side of the border. Border security has been a high U.N. concern as physically crossing borders safely back home is the goal of repatriation. Improvements in security have encouraged more people to return home and more security is still needed.

Besides the physical barriers of dangerous border crossings, refugees are also at the whim of nature and seasonal rains. These challenges have brought together aid agencies to enact road rehabilitation services which can guarantee passage and be maintained by security forces.

Once they have successfully returned to Côte d’Ivoire, former refugees will receive a cash grant, food and essential non-food items.

There are still remaining refugees waiting to return. There is still much to be done, and further security required providing the necessary platform for successful peace building endeavors. Security can only truly be reached when all parties participate and when aid organizations are able to freely operate within the application of restorative justice.

– Nina Verfaillie
Feature Writer

Sources: Oxfam International, UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency
Photo: National Geographic

 

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Educating Syrian Refugee Children

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The crisis in Syria has garnered international attention, but arguably little intervening military action; the majority of concerned nations are opting for relief aid for innocent people. Refugees have been tended to by neighboring countries and various international aid givers. In September 2013, the UN set aside $50 million in support of aid groups operating on the ground in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

TheHuffington Post reports that the dollar amount is the most the UN has ever allocated for one crisis. Now, UK teachers are partnering with those in Syria and neighboring countries to address the many displaced children to help ensure the crisis doesn’t rob them of an education.

The official numbers of those displaced by the Syrian civil war are somewhat skewed. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) places the number at 600,000, arguably a conservative estimate. Inside Syria, that number may be 5 million, according to Paris-based Syrian political observer Salam Kawakibi.

Child refugees are especially vulnerable and at risk for, “…exploitation including early marriage, domestic violence and child labor, despite efforts to keep them in school, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said…” A Voice of Americareport says that 2.1 million children have crossed borders into surrounding nations, many lacking key family connections. Living in host communities outside Syria, children are very at risk for exploitation and are even joining Syrian rebels to fight; they also have less access to education.

In Jordan alone, only 80,000 of 200,000 refugee children consistently go to school.  UNICEF is giving $45 to refugee families in Jordan to keep children in school. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the European Union (EU) have also combined forces for a 4.3 million Euro effort to help Jordanian schools and teachers deal with the Syrian influx, helping make education possible for locals and refugees.

The UK has just announced direct educational aid through school partnerships with Jordanian and Lebanese schools serving Syrian refugees with the Connecting Classrooms program. UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the goal was to prevent a lost generation of Syrian children.

Director Education and Society at the British Council Dr. Jo Beall says the partnerships will give British citizens a role in assuaging the crisis for kids and teachers by offering them a better understanding of the issues and the opportunity to connect with Syrian students. An Evening Express report claims that Skype and exchanging letters will help make those connections.

The UK announcement comes on the heels of the urging of Malala Yousafzai for world leaders to educate Syrian child refugees. Malala and UN education envoy Gordon Brown received $1 million from Avaaz in September 2013 to draw more international attention to this specific issue. Brown, a former British Prime Minister, echoes the sentiment of Secretary Greening in not wanting Syrian refugee children to become lost in the face of civil war.

– David Smith

Sources: Huffington Post, Syrian Refugees, Voice of America, UNESCO, UK Government, Evening Express, Reuters, NPR

IKEA DIY Refugee Shelters

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The Swedish “do-it-yourself” furniture giant, IKEA, has teamed up with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to develop a flatpack shelter that can being used for refugee housing. Currently, there are over 45 million people displaced across the world because of conflict or natural disaster. IKEA is working to return dignity, security, and a life to these people.

IKEA’s flatpack shelters are chock full of innovative technology developed solely for these structures. The shelters are made from a lightweight polymer plastic, which is mounted on a steel skeleton. Refugee Housing Unit designed this polymer plastic to be strong enough to withstand the harsh climates of refugee camps, light enough to be transported cost-effectively, and to create privacy. Each shelter also has a metallic fabric shading cover that reflects the sun during the day and retains heat at night. Solar panels on top of the shade net generate electricity for a built-in light and a USB port inside the shelter.

The shelters require no additional tools for construction and can be built in around four hours. Each one can comfortably house five people for around three years. These features make IKEA’s flatpack shelters a vast improvement over the housing options that are currently available to refugees. Unlike this new innovation, traditional canvas ridge tents are usually not insulated, are half the size, and have a lifespan of around six months, which combined severely limit quality of life.

IKEA’s current flatpack model is two years in the making, but still in the prototype phase. Refugee camps in Iraq, Lebanon, and Ethiopia are testing around 50 of these prototypes. In the future, the design team hopes to increase the shelter’s solar electricity capacity, as well as its water harvesting and purification capabilities. Lockable doors and windows are also in the works.

Thus far, IKEA’s philanthropic branch, IKEA Foundation, has invested $4.8 million into developing the shelters. Each unit reportedly costs around $7,500 to create, but designers are hopeful that they can settle on a cost of $1,000 each, once in mass production. This price is double the cost of current tents, but with a vast amount of additional features most important to refugees.

Though IKEA’s do-it-yourself model can sometimes pose a construction challenge to its average customer, this model excels within the constraints of refugee housing. IKEA has used its fortune to bring innovative, improved shelter to those truly in need of it.

– Tara Young

Sources: NPR, Wired, The Guardian
Photo: Inhabitat

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Refugees in Ethiopia Receive Monetary Relief

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Somali refugees continue to arrive in Ethiopia in large droves due to poor growing conditions, food shortages, and continued conflict. While the situation is slowly improving, John Ging, Director of Operations in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, urges continued attention to the crisis and says, “I call on the international community to invest now to build the resilience of Somalis and stop the cycle of crisis they have endured far too long.”

To that end, The United Nations World Food Program, UNHCR, European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, and the government of Ethiopia have partnered to launch an aid project that provides Somali refugees with monthly cash installments in addition to food aid. Currently, 12,000 refugees are receiving monetary relief and the project plans to extend cash aid to 13,000 more by October.

Monetary relief allows Somali refugees to round out their diet with fresh produce, proteins, and dairy from the local market, providing an important supplement to the basic grains and non-perishables received from aid agencies. It also gives the refugees an opportunity to inject money into the local economy. This economic boost is helpful to the communities supporting the large number of refugee settlements.

Currently the refugees who are part of the pilot cash program receive 100 Ethiopian Birr per month, or about $5.00. The organizations backing this program are optimistic that these cash transfers will greatly alleviate the most acute suffering and make the refugee situation less of a burden. Between Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen, there are over 1 million Somali refugees. The cash relief program gives refugees an opportunity to regain a little agency and make decisions about what groceries to purchase while also offering much needed hunger relief.

– Zoe Meroney

Sources: World Food Program, United Nations, All Africa
Photo: UNHCR

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Refugees and World Refugee Day 101

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Every year on June 20, refugees around the world are recognized for the bravery and strength of fleeing their homelands in search of a new peaceful life. Established in 2000 by the UN General Assembly, World Refugee Day not only celebrates the achievements of displaced peoples but also raises awareness on global issues pertaining to those who are driven out of their countries of origin due to war, threats of violence, and persecution.

Worldwide, there are 43.7 million displaced individuals, among whom nearly half are children. While they may choose to resettle in their motherland, many refugees choose to stay in the country from which they seek asylum. Even in countries such as the United States, however, refugees are vulnerable to a host of problems.

Due to the violence or trauma they may have experienced, refugees are prone to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among a number of other psychiatric disorders. The highest occurrence rates recorded for PTSD and depression are 86 percent and 31 percent, respectively. Refugees may also experience culture shock in attempting to adjust to their new environment. Conversely, instances of discrimination from host nation members are not uncommon.

Despite their employment rights being clearly stated in international law, refugees may still face employer bias and discrimination in the workplace. Thus, they often have no choice but to turn to less than reputable means of earning an income whether that be prostitution, child labor, or criminal organizations.

What can be done to help? –Though a month has passed since World Refugee Day 2013, UNHCR works hard year-round to provide refugees with basic healthcare services, food, clean water, access to employment and education, and reunions among the families that have been divided by conflict. Beyond the UN, multiple civic organizations, including the International Rescue Committee and the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, aim to protect standards for refugees’ rights. Volunteer opportunities and donations are always welcome and have the potential to create an indelible impact on millions of lives.

– Melrose Huang
Sources: UNHCR, Yemen Times, US Department of Veterans Affairs, International Rescue Committee
Photo: David Mixner

Unrest in the D.R. Congo Displace Thousands

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Thousands of refugees flee from the DR Congo to Uganda after Congolese Government forces (FARDC) and the M23 Islamic rebellion movement, collide in dispute. More than 100 armed men wearing women’s clothing entered the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Rwanda, launching an attack close to the provincial capital of Goma.

In addition to this conflict, elsewhere fighting has displaced thousands more after the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group, launched a surprise attack on the Congolese town of Kamango. Authorities report that Congolese troops have retaken the town, but they worry that a mass movement of people will allow rebels to further infiltrate nearby areas and worsen the conflict.

According to aid agencies, an estimate 66,000 refugees poured into Uganda following these attacks. Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UNHCR, said that “people literally fled for their lives,” bringing nothing with them as they tried to reach the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Refugees fleeing from Kamango and nearby areas entered Uganda through the district of Bundibugyo, where they had to take shelter under shop verandas or on school grounds. The Red Cross estimates that 2,000 of the refugees are pregnant women, and at least five of them gave birth while on the run.

The agency is working with Ugandan police to transport hundreds of people from six reception centers to a transit camp where they can register and receive necessary services. Many of the refugees are in immediate need of emergency aid in the form of food, shelter or medicine. The facility is already being overburdened as the Red Cross works to accommodate increasing numbers of Congolese citizens.

International assistance remains of the utmost importance as fighting rages on between government forces and ADF rebels in Kamango and the Congolese army and M23 rebels in Goma. In addition to the UNHCR and the Red Cross, other agencies working to relieve the humanitarian crisis include the World Food Programme, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and the Lutheran World Foundation.

– Katie Bandera

Sources: UN, The Guardian, VOA News
Photo: Africana Connections

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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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