TRÓCAIRE

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.

BY DAVID O'HARE

Four 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 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."

Thanks to Trócaire partner B&Z, Syrian refugee children have been able to learn from home in Lebanon during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to forced displacement and economic insecurity, COVID-19 is now also a threat to people living in crowded camps that often lack basic sanitation.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE

Fadi says the biggest problem his organisation faces is ensuring funding continues to those most in need. "The next year will be a fight for survival. When COVID-19 first hit, we mobilised our resources quickly to respond to the lockdown. In Lebanon, a lot of people work in the informal sector, so they are counting on daily wages to survive. Lockdown means that they might be left to starve. We supported some 20,000 families with food packages, cash and hygiene kits. "We also urged donors to donate money to get devices for our students to continue their schoolwork. Our teachers adapted quickly to doing lessons on WhatsApp, and we developed an online platform for students to work with their teachers.

"Unfortunately, as always, those with the least resources are most affected by COVID-19 Many people around the world are able to sit at home and wait for the pandemic to pass, but Syrian refugees didn't have that luxury because their livelihoods depend on them reporting to work daily. Fortunately, we were able to respond quickly to families' needs because of the support of our donors. "However, with the effects of COVID-19, 2022 will be a grim year for us because there are no new cycles of funding being announced, and it is becoming harder to secure any available funding, as we have to compete with international organisations. "Thankfully, Trócaire have been a very good partnership for us. They are always very understanding of our needs and difficulties and we have a say in the decision-making."

To find out more about Trócaire's work, visit www.trocaire.org

SIX KEY FACTS ABOUT DISPLACEMENT

* 85 per cent of the world's refugees are hosted in low-income countries, which are already struggling with high levels of poverty. * UNHCR identified 1.4 million refugees as particularly vulnerable and in need of resettlement, yet only 22,800 refugees were resettled in 2020.

* Forced displacement has almost doubled in the decade since 2010.

* As many children are among the displaced as the populations of Australia, Denmark and Mongolia combined. * 77 per cent of refugees are in long-term displacement situations. * A sixth of the world's displaced people come from Syria alone.

A Redemptorist Pilgrimage

Visiting the sites associated with St. Alphonsus & St. Gerard in Southern Italy Saturday May 14th to Saturday May21st 2022.

Based at the Caravel Hotel in Sant’Agnello, Sorrento (Half Board)

Cost: €1,120.00 per person sharing. Places are limited so early booking is advised.

Group Leaders Fr Seamus Enright CSsR and Fr Dan Baragry CSsR

For further details contact Claire Carmichael at

ccarmichael@redcoms.org Tel: 00 353 (0)1 4922488