ICRC In Action, June 2015 by ICRC

T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L C O M M I T T E E O F T H E R E D C R O S S

in Action June 2015 / ISSUE 01

The difference we make together

• Meet the people facing the conflict in Ukraine • Interview with a tracing delegate based in Damascus, Syria • Your gifts for Syria and South Sudan in 2014

Contents 04

LETTERS

Behind the scenes

Your wishes for 2015 Contact us

Interview from the field Serena Tarabbia ICRC delegate in Damascus, Syria

The ICRC around the world

LOOK OUT FOR

Contact us Marieke and Beatriz will be happy to answer any questions you have. You can contact them by phone, post or email.

Upcoming events

Our work in Nigeria, west Africa and Colombia

Together we act

An eye on the world

Your gifts for Syria and South Sudan in 2014

Meet the people facing the conflict in Ukraine

The wheels in motion

THE NUMBERS

Bringing water close to home

Budget and operations for 2015

The ICRC in action Editor: Fanny Dardeau | Contributors to this issue: Natalie Barker, Alyona Synenko, Felicity Pointer, Beatriz Gonzalez Sousa, AnneLaure Pernee Kapoor, Dorothea Krimitsas, Elena Ajmone Sessera, Yahia Alibi, Elena Garagorri Atristain, Stuart Coe | Design: RAPP London | Layout: Simplecom | Print run: 50,000 copies (English, French, German, Italian) | International Committee of the Red Cross – 19, avenue de la Paix – CH-1202 Geneva – Postal account: 12-5527-6 02 | icrc.org | June 2015

International Committee of the Red Cross Supporter Care Services 19, avenue de la Paix CH-1202 Geneva T + 41 22 730 21 71 F + 41 22 730 28 99 E-mail: donation@icrc.org Postal account: 12–5527–6 Website: icrc.org/supportus Front cover: R.Daoud/ICRC

Nasser Najjar/ICRC Thierry Gassmann/ICRC

ow is the world faring? Not too well, it seems. In the past few years some new – and very deadly – conflicts have broken out, notably in the Middle East. Other countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Afghanistan, have been racked by violence for decades. The scale of the suffering is hard to take in. The sheer numbers of people we need to help have shot up, and the rise shows no sign of slowing. The International Committee of the Red Cross is more crucial than ever. What makes us so effective is that we can get to where we are needed most. Our core values of neutrality and impartiality mean people trust us when they’ll trust no one else. And while we may not always be able to cross front lines, we are very often the only ones who can – and do.

Editorial This magazine is for you In 2015 we’re boosting our field budget by a quarter to cope with the ever-growing number of people who need our help. We cannot do it without you. True, our work is mainly funded by governments, but your support is also vital. Fortunately,

“The sheer numbers of people we need to help have shot up, and the rise shows no sign of slowing.” more and more of you are refusing to abandon people whose lives have been turned upside down by war. Your support does matter. And it motivates us. To keep you informed about what your donations are enabling us to achieve, we’ve produced this

magazine, which you’ll receive twice a year. We hope to answer your questions and keep you abreast of what we’re doing and the challenges we face. And of course, we hope you enjoy it. If you have any comments or questions, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Many thanks again for your support.

Yves Daccord Director-General International Committee of the Red Cross

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LETTERS

Your WISHES FOR 2015 We were deeply moved by your new year’s wishes for our delegates in the field. Thank you very much! If you have any questions or comments about the ICRC or an article you’ve read in this magazine, please write to us. We will be delighted to reply in this column. International Committee of the Red Cross Donor Magazine 19, avenue de la Paix CH-1202 Geneva E-mail: donation@icrc.org

“Thank you for your daily stand up for people in need all over the world!”

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“ICRC Food Parcels probably saved my life. You do a fantastic job. I am grateful that you saved the lives of family and friends.”

icrc.org/yourmessages

“Keep up the good work. You do so much for so many. We are proud to support you.”

Marko Kokic/ICRC

Annibale Greco/ICRC

“Solidarity is the tenderness between the nations! And you are the real heroes of your time.”

ICRC

Behind the scenes

Interview from the field

Serena Tarabbia Tracing delegate in Damascus, Syria ICRC: How did you come to work for the ICRC? Serena: I graduated in International Relations, specializing in Middle Eastern studies and International Law. After working in the field for other organizations, I decided to apply for a job at the ICRC. I felt it was the best way for me to help people affected by armed conflict.

nothing from them in over 18 months. We met him during one of our detention visits and he gave us a message for them. He was especially anxious for news of his wife, who was pregnant when he was arrested. It turned out that his family had fled abroad. He almost cried when we gave him a picture of his small son and a letter from his family. It said they think of him every time they look at his son because he looks just like him.

ICRC: What do you do now?

ICRC: How is the ICRC helping people in Syria?

S: I’m a tracing delegate. I help people who’ve lost contact with their loved ones because of what’s happening in Syria. Every day we meet people looking for missing relatives. Often they’ve had no contact with them for a long time. We try to find them and put them back in touch with their families through messages, letters and phone calls. Whenever possible, we bring families physically back together. It can be very moving. For many people in Syria nowadays, the ICRC represents a door that’s always open, a place where someone is there for them and genuinely cares about what’s happened to their loved ones.

“Several people have come up to me to say: ‘Please, don’t forget about us.’”

S: Despite the danger and how difficult it is to get to parts of Syria, we’re working very hard to bring humanitarian aid to people affected by the conflict throughout the country. There are so many people who need our help that it is very, very hard to give everyone, everywhere as much help as we’d like. But it’s not just the physical aid that we bring that’s important. The contact we have with people and the stories they tell us really matter too. They show the emotional impact we have in war-affected countries. Several people have come up to me to say: “Please, don’t forget about us.”

ICRC: What is your message for ICRC donors? ICRC: What are the main difficulties you face as a delegate? S: Dealing with human suffering and yet keeping enough distance to help people as best as I can is definitely the toughest challenge.

S: It’s good to feel that people “back home” value our humanitarian work in the field. But we’re not heroes. The role of donors is just as important, as they can raise awareness in their own country of the terrible impact of armed conflict. People need to know how vital our humanitarian work truly is, and donors can do that.

Whenever I feel down, I think about when we put a detainee back in touch with his family after he’d heard

For more visit icrc.org/staffstories

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The ICRC around the world

NGABOHL/ICRC

Our work in Nigeria, West Africa and Colombia Humanitarian crisis in Nigeria spreads to entire Lake Chad region The armed conflict in north-eastern Nigeria has taken a heavy toll and driven hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Many have crossed the border into neighbouring countries – Chad, Niger and Cameroon – in search of safety. Having left everything behind, they are now reliant on the solidarity of host communities, who already find it difficult to make ends meet as it is, and rely on humanitarian aid.

Throughout the Lake Chad region, the ICRC is currently distributing food and basic household goods to displaced people and helping medical facilities cope with the influx of casualties. “The aid we provide will help improve living conditions, but hardly suffices. A lot more needs to be done,” says Karl Mattli, head of the ICRC delegation in Nigeria.

For more information visit icrc.org/nigeria

Hope for Colombia For over four decades, the ICRC has stood by the victims of the conflict and armed violence in Colombia. Today, hope is running high that the ongoing peace talks will put an end to more than half a century of hostility. But in the meantime, the ICRC continues to actively support the victims of the conflict. In 2014, over 230,000 people benefitted from our activities.

A day in the life of the ICRC in Colombia

8 a.m.

10 a.m.

12 noon

2 p.m.

4 p.m. 6 p.m.

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80 50 75 330 50 12

Farmers

take part in a livelihood programme

Disabled people benefit from physical rehabilitation services

People

have access to cleaner water

Detainees

are visited by ICRC delegates

People

learn how to avoid landmine accidents

Displaced people

return home with the ICRC’s help

LOOK OUT FOR

Geneva

2 June 2015 (6:30-8 p.m.)

Rencontres de l’Humanitaire (in French)

The head of the ICRC’s delegation in Iraq, Patrick Youssef, will be talking about the organization’s work in Iraq. To receive an invitation to this event, please send an email by 27 May to: philanthropy@icrc.org

Mémorial de Caen, France ICRC

From 9 March to 27 November 2015

Humanizing War?

Tonia. Ebola survivor and mother

Thomas Glass/ICRC

Ebola: The fight goes on West Africa has been convulsed by an epidemic of Ebola virus disease for over a year; more than 10,000 people have died so far. The epidemic is far from over. In two of the worst affected countries, Guinea and Sierra Leone, fresh cases continue to be reported, and people continue to die in Liberia. The ICRC is providing support for the National Red Cross Societies in these countries, which are at the forefront of the fight against the virus. We are also preparing the post-Ebola period, providing financial aid for the survivors and the families of those who succumbed to the disease, decontaminating medical facilities, and sharing our expertise in the treatment of highly infectious waste. “We’re at a turning point,” said Yves Daccord, ICRC director-general. “We have to encourage continued international solidarity and spotlight the heroism of the local volunteers and health workers in the field. This will enable us to attain the target of zero Ebola cases and allow stricken communities to recover.”

The exhibition retraces the ICRC’s 150-year history and the suffering of war, as well as the fragile, modest, human successes of humanitarian action.

icrchistory. tumblr.com Tumblr microblog on the history of the ICRC:

1,543 Ebola survivors

and victims’ relatives in Liberia have received ICRC financial assistance

Watch Tonia’s story, visit icrc.org/Tonia

Take a look into our history. View photos, documents and films from our archives, from the end of the 19th century to today, including material from the First and Second World Wars. Come and see for yourselves!

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Together we act

Your gifts 2014 Jacob Zocherman/ICRC

for Syria and South Sudan

South Sudan Fundraising appeal September 2014 South Sudan was plunged into an extremely violent conflict in December 2013. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, with many displaced or living as refugees in neighbouring countries. Food, water and medical care are scarce, and in the most remote areas, thousands face malnutrition. So, when the few passable roads in the country were flooded during the rainy season last year, the ICRC decided to air-drop food supplies. On the ground, our staff and volunteers from the South Sudan Red Cross

were on hand to make sure that supplies were given out fairly. Very few other organizations would be able to carry out this kind of operation. They are expensive and pose a real logistical challenge, especially on such a large scale. But thanks to your donations, we can. While food was being handed out, Mary, a woman displaced by the conflict, told us: “I hope that I will be able to go home soon, and that we will finally see peace in our country.” The rains will come again this year. It is likely that, once again, we will have to air-drop food. In 2015, we will maintain our help thanks to your support.

Thanks to your support, since the start of the crisis the ICRC has: distributed 946,000 one-month food rations and provided regular aid to 150,000 people; performed 4,000 surgical operations in 15 health centres; helped reunite 53 children and vulnerable people with their families, and registered 100 unaccompanied children looking for their parents; provided tools and seeds to enable over 500,000 people to start farming again.

08 | icrc.org | June 2015

For more information visit icrc.org/southsudan

“If food had not been dropped from the skies, we probably would have starved.” Mary Nyakala Theat. Mother of six, displaced by the conflict

TURKEY

SYRIA LEBANON IRAQ

JORDAN

Syrian crisis Fundraising appeal June 2014 In March 2014, the crisis in Syria entered its fifth year. Today, hardly any family has been untouched by this disaster. Working inside Syria is very difficult for aid workers. In 2014, however, the ICRC got easier access to victims in conflict areas, thanks to its neutral and impartial action among all the parties involved. Faced with the resulting increase in our activities, we appealed again to your generosity. This enabled us to provide food and other essential items to half a million people each month. The ICRC is helping victims of the conflict both in Syria and in neighbouring countries, where more than 4 million refugees have fled. The entire region has been destabilized by the scale of the crisis in Syria, and the host communities must also be helped.

Owais is a three-year-old Syrian refugee suffering from a congenital leg infirmity. As it was impossible to take care of him in Syria, he was treated at a limb-fitting and rehabilitation centre supported by the ICRC in Gaza. Owais is now walking again, and he dreams of learning to play soccer! ICRC

Shadow Pro/ICRC

Right now, 12 million men, women and children are in desperate need of humanitarian relief inside Syria. We remain committed to helping ever more people in the country and the region.

For more information visit www.icrc.org/syria

icrc.org | June 2015 | 09

Barchinai fixed the roof and windows of her

10 | icrc.org | June 2015

In Semenovka, in the region of Donetsk, over 300 houses were destroyed during the fighting and the local hospital was badly damaged.

Maxim Dondyuk/ICRC

house with materials provided by the ICRC. Now she, her husband and their three children are back home after months of moving from place to place.

An eye on the world

Meet people facing the conflict in Ukraine Donetsk after heavy shelling It has been a cruel winter for the people of Donetsk and Lugansk. Since the conflict first broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014, thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. During the worst of the fighting, the number of people who had fled their homes to seek safety elsewhere in the country soared to over 1.6 million. Things have improved somewhat since the Minsk agreements of 12 February, but the situation is still far from being back to normal.

Amnon Gutman/ICRC

The ICRC is working tirelessly to help those who have lost everything these last few months. In April, we launched an appeal to raise funds for the thousands of people who have been affected by this terrible conflict.

Capucine Granier-Deferre/ICRC

The ICRC is providing food and other essential items to people like this woman in Aleksandrovka. This 74-year-old widow lives in Aleksandrovka, 40 km away from Donetsk. Her life was turned upside down on 26 January 2015 when a shell landed on her house. Her husband has recently passed away and she lives alone. In tears she told us that it had taken them ten years to build their house and she does not understand why all this is happening. icrc.org | June 2015 | 11

An eye on the world

thousands of food rations, in partnership with the Ukrainian Red Cross.

Maxim Dondyuk/ICRC

Podolianiuk Vladialsav/ICRC

The ICRC is handing out

An ICRC employee

Maxim Dondyuk/ICRC

consoling a school nurse whose house was destroyed. The nurse is living in a hotel and receives food aid from the ICRC.

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For more information visit icrc.org/ukraine

LEGACY

Let your humanitarian values live on ICRC

“It is amazing to see how one person’s legacy can really change the life of thousands of people.”

“In 2012 and 2013, two extremely powerful typhoons swept through entire villages in the centre and south of the Philippines. With 8,000 dead or missing, houses and infrastructure destroyed, crops lost, and families

Tax exemption

separated, these two typhoons had an absolutely terrible impact. Because of the extent of the damage, the ICRC and the Philippines Red Cross immediately provided food and drinking water, essential items and medical aid to thousands of survivors to enable them to go on. New houses were built for those who had lost everything. It is amazing to see how one person’s legacy can really change the life of thousands of victims.”

We would like to thank everyone who has decided or is thinking about making this priceless gesture in favour of families who have lost everything.

Sébastien Sujobert Brecht Goris/ICRC

A legacy received at the beginning of 2013 has made it possible to finance a huge emergency and reconstruction operation in the centre and south of the Philippines, which was devastated by two deadly typhoons. Here is a report from Sébastien Sujobert, ICRC representative in the Philippines.

This vast emergency and reconstruction operation in the Philippines is an example of how much legacies can do to rescue and rebuild the life of victims of conflict and other violent situations.

The ICRC enjoys full tax exemption on all inheritances in the great majority of Swiss cantons. The same applies to Germany, France and the United States.

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LEGACY

A LEGACY TO THE ICRC? WE’RE HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS What can be bequeathed to the ICRC?

Patricia Santos/ICRC

•A sum of money: this is the solution chosen by the majority of testators.

If you have any other questions or would like personal advice, please contact:

•A ssets in kind: property, jewellery, works of art, furniture, collections. •F inancial assets: shares, bonds, securities or other financial products. •O ther assets: holdings in a company, patents, copyrights. What types of legacy are possible? There are 3 main types of legacy to choose from:

ICRC

•S pecific legacy: you bequeath one or more specific assets. It’s important to state exactly which asset is being bequeathed to the ICRC.

Marie-Jo Girod Legacy and Gifts Manager Tel.: + 41 22 730 33 76 E-mail: mgirodblanc@icrc.org

•U niversal legacy: if there is no obligatory heir, you can bequeath all or part (for example: a quarter, third, half…) of the assets remaining in your estate once it has been

settled and any specific legacies have been deducted. • Residual legacy: you name the ICRC as beneficiary of the assets remaining on the death of the first beneficiary of your legacy, after deduction of statutory reserves, costs and any other legacies. The ICRC’s legacy and gifts department is at your service to help you choose the type of legacy that best corresponds to your expectations. Can a legacy be allocated? It is not advisable to specifically allocate a legacy to a precise country or programme because it’s difficult to know whether the ICRC’s work will still be current at the time of the inheritance. However, it is quite possible to allocate a legacy to a region of the world or a type of action in particular (emergency medical care, access to water and sanitation, reconstruction, re-establishing family links, visiting and protecting persons who have been deprived of their liberty).

Will you consider leaving a legacy to the ICRC? I would like to receive a copy of the booklet: A bequest to the ICRC Ms

Forename: ............................................ Surname: ��

Address: �� ................................................................................................. Postcode: �� Telephone: ............................................................................... Email: �� Please telephone me as I’d like some personalized advice.

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For more information visit www.icrc.org/bequest

Alyona Synenko/ICRC

The wheels in motion

Residents of war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) benefit from several ICRC water projects.

Ever since the ICRC was founded 150 years ago, ensuring a reliable supply of drinkable water has been one of our top priorities in the conflict and post-conflict zones where we work. Alyona Synenko/ICRC

BRINGING WATER CLOSE TO HOME

icrc.org | June 2015 | 15

Alyona Synenko/ICRC

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the ICRC helps people affected by conflict and violence to survive and become selfsufficient. For instance, we strengthen health care for the wounded and sick, including victims of sexual violence, and reunite families. One of our main activities is to improve water supply and sanitation. The ICRC & water

Alyona Synenko/ICRC

16 | icrc.org | June 2015

Alyona Synenko/ICRC

Each year, armed conflict disrupts millions of lives. The ICRC provides water in conflict zones to create a sustainable living environment for people all over the world.

The wheels in motion

As you approach Bunyakiri, driving along the bumpy dirt road, the landscape is stunning. The small town in the South Kivu province of the DRC is surrounded by mountains and tropical forest. The beauty of the surroundings, however, makes a stark contrast with the daily hardships people living here have to face. For over twenty years, this region has been severely affected by the armed conflict in Eastern DRC. People have had to adapt their daily lives to the realities of the war. While access to the most basic services has never been taken for granted, the recurrent displacements of the population and the instability caused by the armed violence has led to the abandonment and further decay of the already weak public infrastructure. So, for many years clean drinking water was a luxury unavailable to people living in Bunyakiri. They consumed water from the nearby river, using boiling as the only treatment. This resulted in proliferation of water related diseases, such as parasitosis and diarrhea, affecting most seriously children. Not having a clean water source nearby

made observing basic hygiene rules extremely difficult and epidemics, such as cholera, erupted frequently. In January 2015, the ICRC completed a project, which included construction of the water collection system, a large storage tank, and nine water distribution fountains, thus enabling 8,000 people to have access to clean drinking water. Furthermore, the local hospital can also benefit from 10 cubic meters of water per day.

“Now I can do laundry and wash dishes whenever I need to. My children don’t get sick as often as before” says Maman Moize, a mother living in Bunyakiri

509,748

In 2015, we aim to reach more than

people

800,000

benefited from an improved water supply in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2014

people Global impact

Thanks to your donations, over 8,000 people in the small town of Bunyakiri now have access to clean drinking water.

We are also working hard throughout the Middle East to restore access to safe water for millions of people who have suffered through years of conflict: Alyona Synenko/ICRC

Your impact

www.icrc.org/water

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THE NUMBERS

BUDGET AND OPERATIONS for 2015 Over 93%

Breakdown of the field budget for 2015 South Sudan: 9.49%

Other: 10.65%

of all individual donations go straight to operations in the field

Ukraine: 3.01%

Europe & the Americas

Other: 8.8%

Budget up by

+ 25%

Somalia: 5.33% Democratic Republic of the Congo: 4.58% Africa

Iraq: 5.66%

for 2015

Middle East

Israel and the occupied territories: 3.65%

The ICRC’s budget is financed entirely by voluntary contributions from individuals and governments

Mali: 3.44% Central African Republic: 3.39%

Other: 13.77% Asia & Pacific Afghanistan: 5.9% Other: 10.1%

Syria: 11.89%

THE ICRC’S TEN BIGGEST OPERATIONS IN 2015 Syria South Sudan Afghanistan Iraq Somalia Democratic Republic of the Congo Israel and the occupied territories Mali Central African Republic Key operations of the ICRC

Ukraine

Presence of the ICRC in the world

If you would like to know more about our operations and expenditure in 2014, please go to: 18 | icrc.org | June 2015

www.icrc.org/action

HELPING US HELP THOSE MOST IN NEED

Christopher Herby/ICRC

Philanthropy

The Circle of Friends of the ICRC has 150 members so far. Will you join them?

First responders

There where it matters

A special relationship

In 2014, the number of people around the world who needed help because of conflict increased. In 2015, it is set to rise again. This means even more people will have lost everything as a result of war, and they will need the ICRC’s support.

Substantial donations can make a big difference. For example, they help to fund our rapid deployment system so that we respond – often within 24 hours – to sudden crises and delivering life-saving supplies.

If you have the means, we’d be delighted if you would join our Circle of Friends by making an annual donation of 5,000 Swiss francs.

ICRC

We’re committed to helping every victim of conflict. You may know we rely on funding from individuals and governments to do this. You might not know that there is a group of philanthropists whose donations are crucial to our work. We call this group our Circle of Friends.

They also mean we can carry on working in forgotten war-torn areas like Afghanistan, where we need to rebuild lives and communities. We will continue to need these donations in 2015 to help where it matters, when it matters.

To thank you for your generosity, we’ll give you detailed information on the difference your donations make. You’ll receive a twice-yearly newsletter with reports on our operations around the world and a personal invitation to our Circle of Friends event hosted by the directors of the ICRC.

For more information, please contact our philanthropy manager, Sabrina Bordji-Michel, on + 41 22 730 30 31 or drop her a line at sbordji@icrc.org. Alternatively, you can complete and return the form below

“A donation of 5,000 francs pays for essential household items for an entire village in Syria – people who have lost everything after four years of war.”

JOIN THE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS OF THE ICRC SO THAT WE’RE ALWAYS READY TO HELP

YES, I want to receive more information about making the life-changing gift of 5,000 Swiss francs First name:

Last name:

Telephone:

Email:

Address:

Postcode:

For more information visit icrc.org/friends

Hagop Vanesian/ICRC

YOUR HELP GIVES HOPE FOR 1 FRANC A DAY, YOU COULD GIVE SOMEONE A FRESH START Around the world, an ever-growing number of people have lost everything to war. You can help more people by adding a regular gift to the donations you’ve already kindly given. Just 1 franc a day will support someone like Zainab in Iraq. Zainab was hit by a rocket and lost her leg. A sewing machine we provided meant she could start making and selling clothes, giving her back the independence she’d lost. You can help people like Zainab rebuild their lives. Please complete and return the form below.

francs A month

pays for a warwidow to receive training and equipment, such as a sewing machine

pays for two mine victims to receive physiotherapy

pays to train local people in reuniting families separated by war

WITH YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT, WE CAN HELP GIVE PEOPLE AFFECTED BY CONFLICT A BETTER FUTURE

YES, I want to receive more information about making regular donations First name:

Last name:

Telephone:

Email:

Address:

Postcode: