Remembering the faces behind the numbers | UN Refugee Summit September 2016
11-year-old Jouri is a Syrian refugee living in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
By Johan Eldebo, Senior Humanitarian Policy Adviser, World Vision UK
Lebanon
Four years ago I spoke with children in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. They had fled their homes in Syria as fighting erupted in their town. They left their schools and homes behind, piled as many suitcases as they could fit into their car, and drove across the border into Lebanon. When I spoke to them in their makeshift shelter, they weren’t expecting to stay for long. They thought the conflict would be over in a few weeks and that they’d soon be able to return to their homes.
Five and a half years since the conflict in Syria first began, many families are still in a no man’s land. Makeshift shelters have been reinforced with extra tarps, and heaters brought in for the winter, but children have still spent perhaps half their childhoods in these tents, and the conflict is still preventing people from returning home. As conditions deteriorate in neighbouring countries, the situation becomes increasingly unsustainable and families are forced to move further and further away in order to secure an education and a future for their children.
Serbia
Last winter in Serbia I met Rasha, a mum of three. She, and many of the others I met who were making their way on foot across Europe, had already spent years as refugees in neighbouring countries close to Syria. Rasha, and other parents like her, had decided that their children should not grow up in a refugee camp - the perilous journey to Europe suddenly became worth the risk. Rasha and her children crossed the Mediterranean in a small boat in the dark, hoping that they would one day be able to build a better future that did not include waking up to gunfire in the night.
Far too many families in the world today face decisions like that, where their only choices are gunfire in their hometown, an indefinite time in a refugee settlement area or a dangerous journey to a safer country further abroad.
Johan stands in front of the 2000 life jackets laid out in Parliament Square this morning as a tribute to the refugees who have lost their lives in search of safety over the past year.
A chance to make a difference in New York
Today, some four million people are displaced from Syria alone, bringing the total globally to 60 million people who have had to flee their homes due to conflict and insecurity. As the sheer number of displaced families has grown over the past few years, so too has the amount of time they have been away from their homes. Aid, thankfully, has also grown, but has not managed to increase at the same rate as displacement. Although the total amount of money spent on the refugee crisis has increased, support per displaced family has actually decreased. Families like Rasha’s struggle to feed their children, and less than half of all displaced children actually receive an education.
Today and tomorrow, world leaders are gathering in New York to discuss how to address this global crisis and how to support the 60 million displaced, half of whom are children. It is imperative that Teresa May and other leaders talk about the lives of real children who have fled from conflict and not simply about abstract numbers of people who need support. In a world where the temptation to turn inwards and build walls to the outside seems to be growing every day, the refugee summits in New York are an opportunity for us to remember that those 60 million refugees and displaced people fleeing conflicts are men, women and children just like you and I.
World Vision works in almost 100 countries worldwide, and is on the ground helping families fleeing violence and conflict in Syria, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and too many other crises. You can read about some of the humanitarian emergencies where we’re working here. You can also follow Johan on twitter.