Walking with a Fragile Heart
Refugee Trauma Recovery is pleased to invite you to the launch of its third book of short stories and poems written by former refugees.
Leave a Comment April 3, 2013
U.N. Seeks New Aid for Syria Crisis and Predicts 1 Million Refugees by Mid-2013
Winter is descending on Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and the bloodied stage for an urban battle, now running into its sixth month, between rebels and the military of President Bashar al-Assad.
GENEVA — The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for $1.5 billion in new aid to handle the steadily worsening humanitarian crisis created by spiraling violence in Syria and predicted that the number of refugees fleeing the conflict would double to more than 1 million in the next six months.
The increased estimate was least the fourth time the United Nations had revised its projections upward on refugees in the nearly two-year-old uprising against the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, which has turned into a civil war that has left at least 40,000 people dead and has threatened to destabilize the Middle East.
The Syrian crisis was a dominant theme of a year-end news conference at the United Nations by Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general, who said that he planned to convene a donor conference next year to raise additional aid money. Mr. Ban also thanked all the neighboring countries in the region that had absorbed Syrian refugees and he called upon Israel publicly for the first time to accept them as well.
Mr. Ban reiterated his plea for an end to the violence in Syria and said “we’re doing our best to provide necessary humanitarian assistance. We are raising our voices, appealing to the international community.”
Panos Moumtzis, the United Nations regional coordinator for Syrian refugees, said in a statement from Geneva that the enormity of the crisis “requires urgent support from governments, businesses and private individuals. Unless these funds come quickly we will not be able to fully respond to the lifesaving needs of civilians who flee Syria every hour of the day — many in a truly desperate condition.”
More than 525,000 Syrians have now registered as refugees, the United Nations refugee agency reported, roughly double the number it had recorded in early September. These include approximately 160,000 in Lebanon, 150,000 in Jordan, 140,000 in Turkey and more than 65,000 in Iraq. The agency also included Egypt for the first time as a sanctuary for fleeing Syrians, reporting more than 10,000 had registered there.
The refugee agency now expects the number to double again within the next six months, Mr. Moumtzis said.
He based that forecast on present trends in the conflict, with 2,000 to 3,000 Syrians crossing into neighboring countries every day. Under a worst-case outcome, in which the conflict results in a massive exodus of civilians, the number of refugees could rise to 1.85 million, he said.
As it is, “the violence in Syria is raging across the country, there are nearly no more safe areas where people can flee,” Radhouane Nouicer, the coordinator of United Nations humanitarian aid based in Damascus, told journalists in Geneva, citing daily shelling and bombings in the suburbs of the capital.
The needs of Syria’s increasingly desperate population, facing winter cold and shortages of basics like food, were much greater than the aid sought by the United Nations, Mr. Nouicer said, but the appeal was “realistic assessment of what we can achieve” in the complex and dangerous conditions prevailing in the country.
Leave a Comment December 19, 2012
New Zealand Red Cross to Lead the Delivery of Refugee Services
On 10 December 2012, New Zealand’s world renowned refugee resettlement programme will enter a new chapter, as Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand become part of New Zealand Red Cross to further improve resettlement for refugees and their families throughout the country.
New Zealand Red Cross will become the lead agency responsible for the resettlement of quota refugees, with the expertise of the two reputable organisations combining to improve the support provided to newly arrived refugees and deliver greater efficiency.
New Zealand Red Cross President Jenny McMahon says working with and for refugees, asylum seekers and their families is one of the long-standing activities of the Red Cross Movement throughout the world.
“This is a very natural partnership,” says Ms McMahon. “Our national presence, global connections and experience will add opportunities to further strengthen an already world class programme, and bringing the operations of Refugee Services into New Zealand Red Cross will naturally deliver efficiency savings.”
“New Zealand Red Cross applauds the legacy that Refugee Services has achieved in the provision of settlement services, and we are committed to building on that legacy.”
Refugee Services Chief Executive Heather Hayden says the key focus of Refugee Services’ work has been on ensuring former refugees receive a supportive start to life through settling in and being connected to local communities.
“Joining with Red Cross will help us do that more effectively. Together we will provide a stronger foundation for former refugees who want the chance to settle into their new community, find work and contribute to New Zealand.”
Ms Hayden says Refugee Services approached Red Cross because they saw the value in being part of a larger, internationally recognised organisation.
“We are fully confident that as part of Red Cross we can carry on doing the great work we have done for nearly forty years through the work of local communities, volunteers and staff, many of whom came to New Zealand as refugees themselves.”
“All those who have been part of Refugee Services in the past can be confident that the contribution they made in giving people a fresh start in New Zealand will continue through Red Cross.”
Stephen Dunstan, General Manager of Immigration New Zealand, says that it is important that refugees are well supported in their initial settlement in New Zealand and that the agency has been very appreciative of the partnership it has had over many years with Refugee Services.
Mr Dunstan says, “I am confident that Red Cross will continue Refugee Services’ strong community-based approach, connecting new refugees with supportive Kiwis in local communities.”
He noted that Red Cross will also take opportunities to strengthen service delivery by leveraging their strong national and international base.
New Zealand is one of only small number of countries who accept an annual quota of refugees for resettlement. Each year 750 refugees come to New Zealand through the United Nations quota system. They are people who have an immediate and desperate need for protection, unable to go back to their home country or stay in the country to which they have fled.
Currently the majority of refugees coming to New Zealand are from Bhutan, Burma, Colombia, Iraq and Sri Lanka. There are also smaller numbers from Afghanistan, the African continent and the Middle East. Settlement support for their first year in New Zealand is provided through volunteers, caseworkers, social workers and employment advisors.
Leave a Comment December 11, 2012
