WHAT HOPE FOR DISPLACED PEOPLE? JUNE 20 WAS WORLD REFUGEE DAY, AND TRÓCAIRE MARKED THE DAY BY SPEAKING TO FADI HALLISSO OF THEIR LEBANESE PARTNER ORGANISATION BASMEH & ZEITOONEH ABOUT THE ONGOING CHALLENGES FACING THE PEOPLE HE WORKS WITH.
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BY DAVID O'HARE
years ago, talented tailor and keen footballer Ahmad's dreams were dashed when he was injured in the Syrian war and became a wheelchair user. As the civil war continued to rage through Syria, Ahmad sought refuge in Lebanon but lost all hope of pursuing his past dreams. He remained in his room until he heard about a local charity called Basmeh & Zeitooneh, one of Trócaire's partners, that was offering training and small grants to future business owners. Ahmad attended one of the sessions in a community centre in the Bar-Elias region of Lebanon. He signed up for management and finance training, after which he received a small grant to launch his own tailor business. His talents were quickly recognised, and today, Ahmad is one of the most popular tailors in the region and has a small business within his home. He continues to work hard to fulfil his dreams and help his fellow
people who have suffered from the war. Ahmad is just one of the 82.4 million people in the world who have had to flee their homes due to persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations. Every day around the world, 30,000 people – more than the population of Kilkenny city – are forced from their homes, abandoning their entire lives in search of safety. World Refugee Day provides an important opportunity to reflect on the refugee crisis and our responsibility to support and protect these people – many of whom live in refugee camps and face the spread of COVID-19 Fadi Hallisso, co-founder and CEO of Basmeh & Zeitooneh, is a former civil engineer who was studying to be a Jesuit priest in Lebanon when the conflict in his home country of Syria escalated. Seeing the increasing Syrian death toll drove Fadi to action. In 2012, he left the Jesuits to co-found Basmeh & Zeitooneh (B&Z), which supports
Thanks to Trócaire partner B&Z, Syrian refugee children have been able to learn from home in Lebanon during the COVID-19 pandemic.
REALITY SUMMER 2021
Syrian refugees and vulnerable populations living in Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Iraq. BASMEH & ZEITOONEH'S IMPACT Since 2012, working in partnership with Trócaire, B&Z has provided these communities with education, protection, relief services, and ways to earn an income. "One of our main priorities is ensuring that families can sustain their livelihoods," Fadi says. "People can't survive on aid alone. They need to work and provide for themselves. We offer people training on entering the labour market and funding to start their own businesses and projects. "In our schools, we support 2,400 Syrian refugees to continue their education by offering retention support and removing barriers to their education. In our learning centres, we teach Syrian refugees Arabic, English, math, science, literacy and Turkish to prepare them to re-enrol in formal education."
