The newsletter for Australians supporting the UN Refugee Agency | 2015 Issue 2
REFUGEE CRISIS IN EUROPE
INSIDE Shelter and relief for Nigeria’s refugees Safe from the Start: Support for women in conflict
UNHCR / A McConnell
Courageous teacher wins 2015 Nansen Prize The Power of One: Meet the Australians raising funds for refugees
Without us, refugees can experience dangerous gaps in vital aid. With us, they can get the all-round, practical assistance and protection they so desperately need.
WELCOME Australia UNHCR Australia forfor UNHCR
To:
I was visiting UNHCR headquarters in Geneva in September, at what was a defining moment for Europe and for UNHCR. As European governments grappled with the mass migration of refugees from the Middle East and Africa, the whole world was suddenly talking about the Syrian refugee crisis and heeding UNHCR’s longstanding calls for concerted humanitarian action. The statistics are huge: up to 8,000 arrivals in Europe every day, more than half a million so far this year, nearly 3,000 lost at sea. In the end, however, it was the photograph of a single child – 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi lying drowned on a Turkish beach – that brought the full force of the Syrian tragedy home to people around the world. It prompted an outpouring of community compassion in Europe, with local people greeting the refugees with food and clothing. In Australia, the government announced a $20 million contribution
CONTENTS Cover image: Syrian children are wrapped in warm blankets provided by relief workers on the border of Austria and Hungary. Over half of the 470,000 people crossing into Europe this year have fled the war in Syria.
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towards UNHCR’s operations for Syria and a very welcome increased intake of 12,000 Syrian refugees. But, as in Europe, the initial humanitarian response came primarily from individuals and the private sector. Over one extraordinary weekend, thousands of Australia for UNHCR supporters spontaneously donated to our crisis appeal for Syrian refugees. James Wright, a father of two, used the Melbourne train strike to raise $41,000 for UNCHR’s relief operations in Europe. He was quickly joined by dozens of others around Australia, running street stalls, concerts and community events to support our emergency appeal (see page 14).
M r Joh n Denton, Chair of Australia for UNHCR
Dea r Joh n, Tha nk you for your mes sage and your ongoing sup por t. We are dee ply concer ned by the unprecede nte d and tra gic eve nts ongoing in Europe and the dra stic und erf und ing of UNHCR’ s global operations this year. However, I am also hea rte ned by the outpou ring of sup por t for refuge es we have see n fro m around the world in the past weeks. I would ask you to please con vey my dee pest gra titude to the tea m at Australia for UNHCR and to you r man y sup por ter s for their har d work and ded icatio n to raise awa reness and resources for our people of concer n. You rs sincerely, António Guterres, UN High Com missioner for Refuge es
The ‘power of one’ is a running theme in this issue of With You. From the achievements of our community fundraisers to those of remarkable women like Sister Angélique Namaika and Aqeela Asifi, winner of this year’s Nansen Refugee Award, we see the power of individuals to seize an opportunity and achieve real and positive change. As Sister Angélique told our donors during her recent visit to Australia, our donations help to amplify the capacity and impact of projects like hers.
for the world’s displaced people, not only in Europe and Syria but in South Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, DRC, Ukraine – the dozens of countries where UNHCR is protecting families fleeing the ravages of war. I join with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, in thanking the many Australia for UNHCR supporters who have rallied behind us at this time of acute crisis.
Naomi Steer, National Director
I hope we will continue to see this strong groundswell of support and compassion
Follow me on Twitter @NaomiCSteer
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06
10
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Nigeria Crisis Update: “Thank you for letting us stay”
Europe Crisis Appeal: Syria’s refugee crisis spreads across the sea
Women in Conflict: Australia welcomes Sister Angélique Namaika
Women in Conflict: Keeping refugee women safe from the start
Central Africa: Fleeing home alone
#IBelong – Addressing the problem of statelessness
12
Inspirational teacher wins the 2015 Nansen Award
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Community Fundraising: The Power of One – Australians raising funds for refugees
UNHCR/ H Caux
NIGERIA CRISIS UPDATE
“THANK YOU FOR LETTING US STAY” Nigerian refugees receive your help
A Nigerian woman and her granddaughter in the Minawao refugee camp in Cameroon
ALGERIA
MALI NIGER CHAD
BURKINA FASO BENIN GHANA
NIGERIA
TOGO
CAMEROON
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
UNHCR
have themselves come under attack in recent months. Nigerian families who were sheltering there are now choosing to relocate to UNHCR-run campsSUDAN like Minawao where they can receive protection, food, shelter and essential services. SOUTH ETHIOPIA “The insurgents call themselves Boko SUDAN Haram,” says Kulwa Tatu, who believes he was targeted by the group because SOMALIA UGANDA he was a teacher. “BokoKENYA means ’western education’ in the Hausa language,” he explains, “and Haram means forbidden in Arabic. When theyTANZANIA burned down my house, I cried. Some of my family and I ran up to the hills to escape, but even the hills could not save us. So we ran and ran and then we came down here to Minawao camp. Thank you for letting us stay.” DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
CONGO
As extremists continue their brutal attacks on towns in northern Nigeria, UNHCR emergency teams in three neighbouring countries are providing safe refuge for thousands of desperate families. The Minawao refugee camp is one of five sites to benefit from the funds raised by our Nigeria Crisis Appeal. The camp, the largest in the region, sits on an arid plain in the remote north of Cameroon, a relatively safe 70 kilometres from the Nigerian border. Built to shelter 30,000 refugees, Minawao is now home to more than 44,000 people and is growing every day. Most new arrivals are coming from areas just inside the Cameroon border which
RWANDA
Lifesaving Gifts With the help of your donations, families like Kulwa’s are now receiving the basics of survival: food, water, shelter, sanitation and essential services like health care. Supplying adequate water has been a real challenge in Minawao but the refugees are now receiving 18.5 litres per person per day, a huge improvement on the 7 litres they were receiving six months ago.
Thank you! Australia for UNHCR supporters have given $450,000 to this crisis operation so far. Your donations are still welcome and the needs remain huge, particularly for family shelters, trauma counselling and sustainable water infrastructure in refugee camps in Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
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UNHCR/ I Prickett
EUROPE CRISIS APPEAL
SYRIA’S REFUGEE CRISIS SPREADS ACROSS THE SEA “If there was hope the war would be over in two years, I would be patient and stay. I would go back to Syria, even if I had nothing. But nobody is being left alone to live. Everything in the country is being destroyed.” A young Syrian woman talks to UNHCR staff on arrival at a reception centre in Greece.
Tears of relief: A Syrian mother hugs her three children on the Greek island of Lesvos having survived a rough sea crossing from Turkey.
SEA ARRIVALS IN 2015 FRANCE
HUNGARY
ROMANIA
SERBIA BULGARIA
ITALY
137,500
SPAIN 2,797
GREECE
TURKEY
475,499
SYRIA
MALTA
MOROCCO
TUNISIA
99
UNHCR/ J Kohler
ALGERIA
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Sea arrivals
LIBYA
EGYPT
Main routes through the Mediterranean Source: UNHCR September 2015
So far this year, more than 470,000 people have made the perilous sea crossing by boat — with often tragic results as we have seen. Nearly 3,000 men, women and children have been drowned or lost at sea, and boats continue to capsize and sink every week. Meanwhile, thousands of displaced people are pouring down the roads and railway tracks of Europe, hungry and exhausted, sleeping in the open and walking for days with small children in tow. The vast majority of the new arrivals (85%) are from conflict-affected countries. Over half are from Syria, where a brutal civil war has been raging for over four years. Tiny islands in Greece and Italy have been utterly overwhelmed. From Turkey north to Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Croatia and Slovenia, local infrastructure and reception facilities are stretched beyond capacity, lacking adequate services, shelter and humanitarian supplies. As the UN refugee agency, UNHCR is working at every level of this crisis: • We are at the forefront of negotiations with EU leaders and governments, pushing for an unprecedented, coordinated response. • We have teams operational in Western Europe for the first time since World War II, responding to the immediate humanitarian and protection needs of the refugees. • We continue to lead the massive humanitarian operation in and around Syria, the epicentre of this crisis, where four million people are now displaced and growing increasingly desperate. “We have thousands of people coming every day,” says UNHCR’s Caroline van Buren, part of the team erecting tents on the border of Serbia and Hungary where thousands of exhausted refugees are
sleeping rough on the pavement and on railway platforms. “We have brought in tents. We give people water, something to eat, a bedroll and a blanket and then the local authorities take them to the registration centre.”
UNHCR / M. Henley
As the fighting in Syria intensifies, and neighbouring countries buckle under the strain of hosting four million Syrian refugees, thousands of families are making the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean Sea, risking their all to find help, hope and safety in Europe.
Fighting Intensifies Meanwhile, worsening conditions in Syria and surrounding countries are fuelling the refugee exodus. “The last few months have been brutal,” says UNHCR Chief Spokesperson, Melissa Fleming of the situation inside Syria. “Fighting has intensified in almost all governorates, with rocket and mortar attacks on Damascus increasing, rising vehicle explosions in major cities…and heavy bombardment and retaliations in Zabadani and rural Damascus driving thousands more people to flee.” Australian Andrew Harper is head of UNHCR’s relief operations for Syrian refugees in Jordan. He made an urgent plea for help last week as thousands of Syrians headed for Europe. “When you’re trying to protect four million people and you’re $500 million short of funds, you can’t provide basic shelter,” he said. “People can’t pay rent. They can’t pay for food. They can’t send their kids to school. They have no choice, they can’t survive here.”
“It’s really important that we get support to actually make a difference in the countries of origin, and also in the neighbouring countries – countries that are hosting millions of refugees. Because as much as we are concerned about the numbers (of refugees) coming into Hungary, it’s just a drop of water in the sea as compared to the ones who are now in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. A lot needs to be done here, but a lot more needs to be done there.” Montserrat Feixas Vihe, UNHCR’s Regional Representative, speaking from the border of Serbia and Hungary.
YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED URGENTLY. Please send an immediate donation to support UNHCR’s frontline emergency operations for Syrian refugees.
128
$
can provide warm sleeping bags for a family of five
316
$
can provide 20 people with synthetic mats to protect them from sleeping on the ground
812
$
can provide a sturdy tent to shelter a refugee family from the elements
To make a donation, visit
unrefugees.org.au/Europe or call 1300 361 288
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AUSTRALIA WELCOMES SISTER ANGÉLIQUE NAMAIKA
Her busy 12-day schedule included 15 speaking engagements in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, where she has addressed politicians, diplomats, academics and university students, women’s organisations, corporations and hundreds of Australia for UNHCR supporters. Sister Angélique, a Congolese nun, has been the recipient of UNHCR’s most prestigious human rights prize – the Nansen Refugee Award – for her groundbreaking work with Congolese women and girls who have suffered brutal abuse at the hands of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Based in the town of Dungu in the remote north of the DRC, her projects include a women’s refuge, a community bakery, sewing workshops, a collective farm, a paediatric clinic, an orphanage and a school. 6 With You | 2015 Issue 2
At special donor briefings in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, Sister Angélique described how she helps survivors of LRA violence, transforming them from terrified victims to empowered people in charge of their own destiny. Australia for UNHCR
Taking time out from her important work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sister Angélique Namaika visited Australia in August as the guest of Australia for UNHCR.
“The women we work with have been beaten and abused by the LRA,” she said. “The young girls have been abducted at the age of 10 or 12 and taken into the bush where they are forced into marriage and have children to the soldiers. When they escape, these women feel they have no worth to humanity at all. With UNHCR’s support, we run projects to help them recover from their trauma. They undertake training and activities so that they can talk to us and gradually reveal what is hidden inside.”
Australia for UNHCR
WOMEN IN CONFLICT
Sister Angélique with our Frontliners on the streets of Melbourne.
Addressing forums at the Australian Catholic University, the University of NSW and the Australian National University, Sister Angélique spoke about the situation facing women in the DRC, a country known as ‘the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman’. She discussed the protection needs of women in conflict zones and international responses to sexual and gender-based violence. Sister Angélique’s mission to Australia was an opportunity to thank Australia for UNHCR and its donors in person and to describe the impact UNHCR’s support has had on her projects in Dungu:
“I started in 2003 and for the first six years on my own, I was able to help about 2000 women,” she said. “In just one year – 2014 – with your help, the help of UNHCR – I have been able to help 2,299 women and children.”
Australia for UNHCR Australia for UNHCR
AUSTRALIAN SUPPORT FOR CONGOLESE WOMEN AND GIRLS
A happy reunion with UNHCR’s Céline Schmidt. Céline has worked with Sister Angélique in the DRC and accompanied her on the Canberra and Melbourne legs of the tour.
Australia for UNHCR
orphanage with 43 children, 27 of them babies. Another 143 children are enrolled in the primary school.”
“Thanks to your donations, we’ve been able to set up an industrial bakery where 240 women have worked. Now the children can eat bread in the morning every day, but before, they could not. Last year, 6,016 persons ate our bread!”
“Since we opened our paediatric centre on Christmas Day last year, we have taken care of 2,299 children. Thanks to God we haven’t had any instances of death in that centre in that time.” “The first orphan I looked after was a three-month-old baby whose mother was dying of AIDS. Now we have an
“We have another 80 women growing crops for their families and to sell. The fields last year produced 30 tonnes of crops which the women sell at the local market. We dropped the price of fresh produce on the local market by half, making it more affordable not just for the women, but everyone in the community.”
“I thank very warmly all the Australian people for supporting women and children they do not know – will never know – but still you want to help them. I will never feel alone again, knowing that there are so many Australians here on the other side of the world, thinking of the women and children I work with.” Sister Angélique Namaika speaking to Australia for UNHCR supporters in Sydney.
Australia for UNHCR is well on the way to fulfilling our three year commitment to raise $2.5 million for Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) programs in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu, Orientale and Katanga. The $1.75 million we have raised so far has already reached over 600,000 people, helping survivors receive treatment, counselling, legal assistance and livelihood support, and funding police training, SGBV reporting, community education and rape prevention programs.
To support this vital area of our work visit
unrefugees.org.au/DRC or call 1300 361 288
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WOMEN IN CONFLICT
KEEPING REFUGEE WOMEN SAFE FROM THE START A snapshot of life in the field Originally from Toowoomba QLD, Andrea Cullinan’s role as a humanitarian worker takes her to conflict zones all over the world. A UNHCR Senior Protection Officer in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), she is helping to implement Safe from the Start, a new global initiative to protect women and girls in conflict situations. Andrea has recently completed a seven-month mission in Ethiopia, working on the frontline of the South Sudanese refugee influx. Before heading to the field again, she shared photos and stories of her mission with Australia for UNHCR, providing a fascinating insight into her work and life in the field.
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I’ve just come back from the Gambella region of Ethiopia which is at the heart of the South Sudan refugee crisis. At the peak of the emergency last year, we were receiving between 1,000 and 1, 500 refugees a day, a massive influx. In the whole area, we had five refugee camps with 256,000 refugees.
This was International Women’s Day this year. In the camps we celebrate all the international days. We try to give women a big profile because they are so disempowered in these situations. These days give A Cullinan us the chance to redress that imbalance. SGBV prevention and response is a lifesaving activity as much as food and shelter. If you are not keeping people safe and protecting their rights, you are not saving their lives.
A Cullinan
Here we were distributing ‘dignity kits’- women’s underwear and sanitary pads. Everyone’s very happy here, all sitting down waiting for the truck to come. Sanitary items are something we are trying to promote as a core emergency relief item. For the first four months we had none in these camps at all. This has an incredible knock-on effect. It keeps girls out of school; it keeps women confined at that time of the month, unable to leave their shelters. It has a big impact on their lives.
We were getting a lot of donor visits at this time, including VIPs like ‘our’ Princess Mary. She has a particular interest in maternal and reproductive health and was very knowledgeable. The refugees loved her. When she asked me where I was from, I said UNHCR and then realised she meant where in Australia.
A Cullinan
This was a wonderful day. I stayed back at the end for a women’s committee meeting. Everyone was happy and singing together. I thought to myself — this is where I want to be. I can think of nowhere better than being here right now with you women, singing this song under the African sky.
These women are performing a community awareness skit on domestic violence. They’re part of a women’s forum that comes up with ideas about how to combat sexual violence in the camp. Rape is very, very common, particularly among young girls, as well as other forms of abuse such as denying food. So we have to deal with these things – it’s a constant struggle. The root cause of SGBV is gender inequality. If women don’t have a voice, if they are not equally represented on committees and men dominate, it perpetuates all these issues. A Cullinan
A Cullinan
A Cullinan
A moment of down time inside our quarters in the UNHCR compound. Last year we were working seven days but this year, we started having Sundays off. This is a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Grass is strewn on the ground for ceremonial purposes and popcorn is served.
This was one of my last days in Ethiopia. The children were always wanting to touch my skin, my hair – they’ve never felt hair like this. So on this day I said – okay kids, go for it! I was laughing so hard. I had a moment of pure happiness and joy to be there. 2015 Issue 2 | With You 9
CENTRAL AFRICA
Together again: Ramatou and her son Moussa are reunited in Cameroon. He and his brother were separated from their mother for four months when their village was attacked in Central African Republic.
UNHCR / F Noy
FLEEING HOME ALONE The crisis of unaccompanied children in CAR and South Sudan
The ‘twin emergencies’ in Central African Republic (CAR) and neighbouring South Sudan share one striking characteristic: in the chaos of flight, an exceptional number of children have become separated from their families. UNHCR staff working in refugee camps in the region have reported large numbers of unaccompanied minors – 35,000 in the past year from South Sudan alone. In some cases, the children’s parents have been killed. More often, however, family members have simply become separated in the desperate scramble to escape from the sudden and chaotic violence. UNHCR is constantly on the lookout for children travelling alone. We work closely with our partners, sharing information between refugee sites and border crossing points to locate and reunite family members as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, our protection officers ensure that the children are cared for. They may be temporarily placed with another family or given special shelter assistance and protection. Family Reunion Ramatou, 45, struggled to keep track of her eleven offspring when their village in CAR was suddenly attacked. She
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and eight of the children ran in one direction, eventually reaching a refugee camp in Cameroon. For four months, however, she heard nothing of her husband and three sons. The two youngest boys, Moussa and Ibrahim, were eventually located in CAR. UNHCR arranged for them to travel to Cameroon by minibus where they were reunited with their mother. “I can’t stop smiling,” Ramatou told UNHCR staff later that day, watching the boys tucking into dinner with their siblings. “I will sleep well for the first time in four months.” Young Lives at Risk All unaccompanied children are highly vulnerable, but none more so than those caught inside the conflict zone. In CAR, thousands of internally displaced people have become trapped in enclaves that are difficult for relief agencies to access.
UNHCR recently identified 17 separated children in the small town of Yaloke which has become a virtual prison for 400 displaced people. Among them were 11-year-old Youssoufa and his sisters, accidentally left behind as their family scrambled onto a truck headed for Cameroon. As the months passed, Youssoufa became increasingly depressed and desperate. By the time UNHCR staff gained access to the Yaloke enclave, he was severely malnourished having lost his desire and ability to eat. In February, UNHCR managed to locate the children’s parents in Cameroon but it was too late. Youssafa died just days later, before they could be reunited. His tragic story highlights the extreme vulnerability of these children and the urgency of tracing family members.
951,000
70%
Total refugees (both countries)
of refugees in these emergencies are children
1.95
35,000
million
Total IDPs (both countries)
unaccompanied minors identified in South Sudan alone. (Figures not available for CAR).
STATELESSNESS
Last year, UNHCR launched IBELONG, a global campaign to end statelessness in the next decade. The campaign has already had some success, with Belize signing the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, setting a strong example for the Americas. Other large stateless populations include the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rhakine State, people affected by the dissolution of countries like the Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia and historical migrant populations in West Africa and South-east Asia.
Railya, an ethnic Tatar born in Kazakhstan, was one of the tens of thousands of people who fell through the cracks of their country’s nationality laws when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. Although a Soviet citizen, she found herself living in Russia on a temporary residency permit while studying at university. When her application for naturalisation in Uzbekistan was unsuccessful, Railya spent years as a stateless person in France. With UNHCR’s help, she has just been granted French citizenship.
JIWAN
UNHCR/ A Sen
Most stateless people are in this situation through no fault of their own. Statelessness can arise as the result of discrimination against certain racial groups or the redrawing of national borders. It can result from gaps or anomalies in nationality laws that prevent people registering the birth of their babies or passing on their status to their children.
RAILYA
UNHCR/ S Hoppper
Having citizenship is something that comes so naturally to most Australians, many of us cannot imagine what life would be like without it. For the world’s 10 million stateless people, however, the simplest things can become impossible: they may not be allowed to go to school, see a doctor, get a job, open a bank account, buy a house or even get married.
Jiwan is a “maktoumeen”, a stateless refugee from Iraqi Kurdistan. His only ID is this card issued in Syria which confers no rights or status. Neither he nor his wife could register their marriage in Syria even though she is registered as Syrian. Their children have now inherited Jiwan’s stateless condition as Syrian law does not permit women to pass on nationality. A 2013 survey in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq found that some 10 per cent of Syrian Kurdish refugees are stateless.
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2015 NANSEN PRIZE
Inspirational teacher wins the 2015 Nansen Award
A refugee herself, Asifi and her family fled Afghanistan in 1992 during the Mujahedeen siege of Kabul. They settled in Kot Chandana, a refugee village in the Punjab province of Pakistan. As a former teacher, Asifi was struck by the lack of schooling for girls – a consequence of the conservative culture in Kot Chandana. Winning the backing of the village elders, she bravely went doorto-door to convince reluctant parents to let her tutor their children. She began by teaching a handful of students in a tent, writing their worksheets by hand. Her tiny school blossomed over the next two years and attracted funding from the Pakistani government. This allowed Asifi to expand to six tents and extend enrolments to the local Pakistani girls.
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Aqueela Asifi has won UNCHR’s 2015 Nansen Refugee Award for her achievements in girls’ education
Twenty-three years later, Asifi’s school has a permanent building. She has transformed the lives of more than 1,000 girl students who have reached eighth grade and received a nationallyendorsed certificate, and inspired the establishment of six other schools. Khaled Hosseini
“Like millions around the world, I have been moved by the recent public outcry and spontaneous acts of solidarity towards refugees in Europe. It has been riveting to watch, as well as greatly encouraging. As an Ambassador for UNHCR, I have been overwhelmed by the support for the organisation’s efforts in Europe, where UNHCR has delivered tents, blankets, food and other essential items that refugee families so desperately need in this period of emergency.
But what next? What happens when the dramatic images fade from our TV screens? UNHCR/ B Sokol
Aqeela Asifi is this year’s winner of UNHCR’s prestigious Nansen Refugee Award, recognised for her tireless efforts to provide education to hundreds of refugee girls.
UNHCR/ S.Rich
“IF YOU EDUCATE GIRLS, YOU EDUCATE GENERATIONS.”
The Afghan-born American author Khaled Hosseini reflects on the importance of refugee education and Asisfi Aqeela’s life-enriching legacy.
This is when the hard work truly begins. The average length of time a refugee lives in exile is over 15 years, be it in a camp in Jordan, an informal settlement in Thailand or resettled elsewhere. Far too often, refugees are viewed as burdens. In reality, they often become dynamic members of society. It is well known that Einstein was a refugee, as was Madeleine Albright, George Soros and
UNHCR/ S Rich
More than one thousand girls have now attended Asifi’s school in a refugee village in Pakistan.
Aqeela Asifi, winner of this year’s Nansen Refugee Award, is one such name. When she and her family first fled Afghanistan in 1992, she thought it would be a matter of months before they were home once more. But Asifi soon realised what all refugees know: in the midst of the chaos and trauma of fleeing your country, you focus on the immediate. You want to protect your children. You want to simply survive. It takes time to process fully that going home anytime soon is an improbable dream; that your life has been re-set at zero; that you have to build it back up from nothing. Asifi’s children had seen their education interrupted by war and displacement. As a former teacher, she could not watch them languish in a state of arrested development. She was struck by the lack of schools in her refugee village
and a total absence of learning opportunities for girls. With fierce determination, she started her extraordinary school. As a writer, I believe more in the power of words than numbers. But there are numbers scrawled in the margin of Asifi’s tale that we should not ignore. Education helps protect refugee children from abuse and exploitation, forced marriage and recruitment to armed groups. Education offers refugees a pathway out of poverty. It gives them the skills to build a stable, secure, and prosperous future for themselves and their country when they return home.
When the media spotlight inevitably moves away from the current crisis in Europe, I hope that the public goodwill towards refugees remains strong; that we remember that refugees need more than just emergency support. They need the hope of a future, as we all do. In our increasingly inter-connected world, an investment in their future is an investment in ours too.”
UNHCR/ S Rich
Sigmund Freud to name just a few. But there are millions of other names, less celebrated but no less heroic refugees, working quietly, anonymously, often under difficult and dangerous circumstances.
Globally over 50% of refugees are children. Yet only one in every two refugee children attends primary school. Only one in four refugee adolescents receives secondary school education.
Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novels include The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And The Mountains Echoed. He was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 2013, in recognition of his tireless work on behalf of refugees.
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COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING
THE POWER OF ONE Moved by recent refugee crises and disasters, people around Australia are getting into community fundraising to support UNHCR’s vital work in refugee relief.
J Wright
JAMES WRIGHT A Melbourne father of two, James raised over $40,000 on the back of the city’s train strike to support UNHCR’s emergency relief operations in Europe. “Today we saw one of the most confronting images ever seen,” he wrote to his fellow Melbournians on September 3. “The picture of a toddler not much older than my youngest daughter, washed ashore after drowning trying to escape Syria.” Seizing his chance to make a difference, James quickly set up a fundraising page on Everydayhero, urging the people of Melbourne to donate their train fares during the transport strike the following day to Australia for UNHCR’ s Europe Crisis Appeal. “Please help this go viral” he tweeted to his friends and colleagues. “We have 24 hours. Go Melbourne!!” By peak hour the following morning, James had smashed his initial fundraising target of $2,500. By midnight he had attracted national media attention and raised $27,000. Donations continued to pour in from around Australia, eventually exceeding $41,000.
“I do not know what the solution is …I just know that I want my 1 and 4 year old daughters to be growing up in a better world,” said James. “Amazingly, the hearts and minds of Australia have collectively helped to make the world a slightly better place and the future a bit brighter for the families affected by this crisis.”
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L Doolabh
LALIT DOOLABH Lalit Doolabh and his Perth-based band ‘Sweet Melodies’ raised $15,000 for earthquake victims in Nepal.
“We play mostly Indian music — Bollywood and more traditional songs. At the time of the Nepalese earthquake, we were concerned for the people who had lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones. Our drummer, Shiv, came up with the idea of a concert to raise funds for them. It takes many people to make an event like this happen. It was the combined effort of our ten band members, our admin group and the generous people who attended, volunteered and sponsored us. We wanted to support a trusted organisation like the UNHCR which actively supports refugees around the world. The people at Australia for UNHCR were very supportive. I would strongly recommend anyone out there who wants to help refugees to visit their Facebook page and get on board.”
Australia for UNHCR V Willett
TOM AND ROSIE Tom and Rosie sold home-grown fruit and flowers at a stall outside their Sydney home and raised $4,000 to help Syrian refugees. “Mum told us about the refugee crisis going on in Syria and I felt very sad for them,” said Tom. “If there was a war in my country, I’d want people to help me. So on the weekend, we sold stuff out the front of our house. We picked oranges and flowers and Rosie made signs for the front of the table. We waved at everybody walking and driving past. People stopped to chat and we explained what we were doing. Some people came back again later to donate. Then other friends and family wanted to donate too, so mum set up an Everydayhero webpage where people can donate to Australia for UNHCR.”
“By Sunday night, we’d made $700,” said Rosie. “Then on Thursday we went on ABC Sydney radio and it was really exciting.” When their tree ran out of oranges, their local Coles donated more fruit for the children to sell and the donations and messages of support kept pouring in.
Australia for UNHCR
TEAM UNHCR Team UNHCR joined the City2Surf in August and raised $40,000 for refugee relief.
A clear winter’s day in Sydney provided the perfect conditions for our 60-strong team to race (or walk) from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach where they enjoyed free massages and refreshments at the Australia for UNHCR tent. Six-year-old Owen Kara was our youngest ever Team UNHCR runner. “Make sure you train a lot,” said Owen when asked if he had any training tips for others. “I did stretches before the run and push-ups and star jumps and sit ups and running on the spot. And I practised running on the way to school. During the race we ran for one kilometre then walked for one kilometre. Fourteen kilometres is a long way so I had to take lots of breaks with mum.”
To discuss your community fundraising idea, contact: Megs Hermann at mhermann@unrefugees.org.au or call her on (02) 9276 6843.
2015 WORLD REFUGEE DAY BREAKFAST Some of Australia’s favourite stars of the screen and sporting field came together at our 2015 World Refugee Day Breakfast. Hosted by Network Ten journalist Sandra Sully, the breakfast featured guest speaker Ian Chappell, Australia for UNHCR Special Representative and former Australian cricketer. He conducted an entertaining interview with the Adelaide United winger and former Sudanese refugee Awer Mabil who described the day he arrived in Adelaide as a child from Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Our newest Special Representative, the actor Marta Dusseldorp, explained how her friendship with Special Youth Representative Yarrie Bangura opened her eyes to the global refugee crisis. “As a refugee fleeing from war in Sierra Leone, she was in a camp in Guinea where UNHCR supplied her and her family with a tent, groundnut oil, corn and a blanket,” Ms Dusseldorp said. “Yet these objects of survival represented so much more: hands around her, a smile of recognition, humanity and care.” This year’s breakfast was our most successful yet, raising well over $150,000 for UNHCR’s Nigeria Crisis Appeal.
2015 Issue 2 | With You 15
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WHY I SUPPORT REFUGEES “If you can understand why children would run over a thousand miles from a small village in Sudan to Kenya, you might be more likely to support the cause.”
Mary Lou Byrne
THE TREK OF A LIFETIME A lifeline for refugees Join us on an amazing 13-day adventure in Peru, trekking the spectacular Lares Valley to Machu Picchu, the “Lost City of the Incas”. After acclimatising in Cusco, you will follow a well-defined path under the care of experienced guides. Over four days you’ll traverse high passes, marvel at mist-shrouded ruins and descend into verdant valleys. By night, you will camp under a blanket of stars, falling asleep to the nocturnal sounds of the Andes. As part of this incredible adventure, you will also explore other famous Inca ruins, including Pumamarca, Sacsayhuaman and Ollantaytambo.
Trek for Refugees: Peru October 18-30, 2016 Sign up today at www.UNrefugees.org.au/ Peru2016
SAVE THE DATE
As a librarian, Mary Lou Byrne has travelled the world, helping to catalogue collections from Kuwait to the Solomon Islands. A long-time supporter of Australia for UNHCR, she recently hosted a screening of the film The Good Lie at her local RSL club in Sydney. When did you first become interested in refugee issues? It was after the Tampa incident in the early 2000s. I wanted to know who these people were, and why they were in the middle of the ocean. I volunteered for a community service program and for the next five or six years, I met once a week with refugees in the Villawood Detention Centre. Their stories of fleeing Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan helped me understand their situation.
What was it about their experiences that moved you? It must be the most difficult decision to leave your home, to pack up everything and go. It’s difficult for us to understand. That’s why I screened The Good Lie, not only to fundraise, but to explain to my friends what is happening, and what it must be like to be that desperate. If you can understand why children would run over a thousand miles from a small village in Sudan to Kenya, you might be more likely to support the cause.
You’ve organised a number of community events to raise funds for Australia for UNHCR. What motivated you to get involved in this way? The National Director, Naomi Steer, spoke at my son’s school some years ago and a group of friends and I
decided to organise a trivia night, which Naomi attended. I figured it was easier to host an event than go around asking friends and family for donations. I have to say, a film night is much easier to organise than a trivia night!
How did you go about it? I saw The Good Lie at Australia for UNHCR’s Christmas event, so I knew it was a good film. I raised $5,500 through ticket sales and raffle prizes, some of which I got through my husband who works in the travel industry. To promote the event, I emailed friends and family and used social media – mostly Facebook.
What would you say to someone considering becoming an Australia for UNHCR supporter? UNHCR is known for responding to crises and they know what to do. They can respond quickly, saving lives. The crisis in Europe has opened a lot of people’s eyes to the situation across Africa and the Middle East. There are so many people in camps who need shelter and protection, and this is what UNHCR does.
Share your story! What motivated you to support Australia for UNHCR? Please call or email Greg Mills: 02 9276 6812 or gmills@unrefugees.org.au
Upcoming Team UNHCR fundraising events
1 Nov 2015 Great Barrier Reef Marathon, Queensland
18–30 Nov 2015 Hero for Humanity Cycle for Refugees, Vietnam and Cambodia
Published by Australia for UNHCR, PO Box Q428, Queen Victoria Building NSW 1230 Phone 1300 361 288 | Email info@unrefugees.org.au Twitter @unrefugees | Facebook Australia for UNHCR YouTube Aus4UNHCR | ABN 35 092 843 322 www.unrefugees.org.au