Truck with 3D image of child refugees brings stark reality of crisis to London
A truck bearing a 3D image of asylum-seeking children, will this morning (Monday 19 September 2016), drive across London to highlight the strife and challenges that child refugees are facing around the world.
Commissioned by the aid and development agency, World Vision, the artistic stunt will coincide with the UN’s Refugees & Migrants Summit starting in New York City today.
The original 3D artwork was created and produced by well-known Palestine-born American artist, Hani Shihada. The piece depicts refugee children from Syria pressed against a wire fence in the hope that someone will let them through.
Hani, a former refugee himself, says of the work: “This project has meant so much to me because the subject is close to my heart. I was a child - only eight years old - when I became a refugee. I can say that I know how these children feel as I was there and I can feel their pain. This project represented a great opportunity for me to express my feelings and do something to raise awareness, especially about the plight and the suffering of Syrian children and their struggle for freedom and their need for peace.”
The artwork will be wrapped onto a large truck and carries the message: “World leaders, we cannot ignore children forced to flee their homes. Tell @UN leaders #kidsdeservebetter. The future of nearly 50 million children rests in the hands of leaders meeting today. Let's make sure they deliver. The world is watching.”
The truck will begin its journey outside Westminister station, across from Big Ben and Parliament Square at 9 am (Monday 19 September 2016). It then proceeds to St. Margreth Church, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, London Eye; completing its journey at the Florence Nightingale museum in the afternoon. Identical trucks will be deployed in four other cities around the globe the same day: Auckland (New Zealand), Seoul (Korea), Dublin (Ireland) and New York City (USA).
World Vision’s President Kevin Jenkins, in New York for the summit said: “Politics and bureaucracy should never get in the way of helping a scared, lonely child. All children deserve a bright future.”
“The Refugees and Migrants Summit (Sept 19) can and should make a huge difference to children forced to flee their homes because of war, poverty or persecution. The pace of change is too slow. While we’ve been waiting for the commitments made in this important meeting, children and families have been languishing in refugee camps and temporary settlements. Child labour, early marriage, trafficking, and other forms of exploitation and violence against children have run rife. We must see some very clear, time bound commitments for children emerge from this summit or it will be a wasted opportunity. The reality is that while leaders sit on the fence, children suffer. This isn’t good enough, children deserve better.”
Lifejackets graveyard
Elsewhere across London, World Vision will join hands with four other NGOs (UNHCR, Migrant Voices, Médecins Sans Frontières and International Rescue Committee) to create ‘lifejacket graveyard' on the doorstep of British decision-makers: Parliament Square.
The display organised by Snappin’ Turtle Productions and supported by the Mayor’s office, refugees and refugee charities is designed to raise the profile of the UN Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants on 19th September in New York.
These lifejackets – in the UK for the first time - are a visual reminder of the suffering and risks hundreds of thousands of refugees have endured and of the need for a concerted international response, responsibility sharing and secure pathways.
Gavin Crowden, World Vision UK’s head of policy and public affairs, said; “Global leaders meeting in New York have a moral and legal obligation to protect the lives of the hundreds of thousands of refugees, especially children, on the move right now. Children are suffering - children are dying - as they flee devastation [and extreme poverty] in search of safer places."
He added: "It’s clear that concrete commitments are desperately needed to protect children on the move. Children – especially those on their own, separated from their families – are particularly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and violence. Now is the time for the UK Prime Minister and other global leaders to stand up and be counted."
For more information, pictures, case studies and interviews, please contact: Henry Makiwa | Media Manager Strategy | World Vision UK | www.worldvision.org.uk Phone: +44 1908244446| Mobile +44 (0)7469 154268 | E-mail: henry.makiwa@worldvision.org.uk | Skype: Soshangana | Twitter: @makiwahenry
Today, on the occasion of the Global Disability Summit, the UK Government became the first major donor of its kind to explicitly pledge support for family and community-based care for all children.
Championing families and not orphanages, Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, announced: “Orphanages are harmful to children and it is often those with disabilities who are placed in them the most. This needs to end, which is why I’m committed to the long-term plan to ensure all children grow up with a family of their own.”
An NGO alliance including Hope and Homes, Lumos, Save the Children and World Vision - have joined forces to echo the UK Government’s commitment and support global change for children trapped in orphanages, especially those with disabilities who are the furthest left behind. The launch ofthe new ‘Civil Society Compact [CSO Compact]’ sets out a pathway for change to help eliminate orphanages worldwide.
“Recognising that institutionalisation harms children – and that children with disabilities are overrepresented in institutions –we commit to work together toward eliminating the institutionalisation of children globally. Ensuring our organisations do not contribute towards the institutionalisation of children, directly or indirectly - and in line with international treaties and best practice, we share the UK Government’s pledge to enable all children to have the opportunity to realise their right to family care.”
World Vision is a proud signatory to the CSO Compact, which is set out in full below.
Now is the time for other governments, funders, companies and individuals to follow suit and invest in alternatives to orphanages so all children can thrive in families.
CSO COMPACT
Recognising that institutionalisation harms children’s physical, emotional, psychological and psychosocial development, the undersigned organisations pledge to work toward the end of institutionalization of children and for the promotion of family-based care.
The occasion of the first Global Disability Summit makes this a particularly appropriate moment for this commitment, since children with disabilities are often the first to enter an institution and the last to leave.
In-line with international treaties and best practice, including the UN Guidelines on the Alternative Care of Children, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we share the UK Government’s pledge to enable all children to have the opportunity to realise their right to family care and, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, commit to leave no child behind in this effort.
We are committed to ensuring our organisations do not, either directly or indirectly, contribute towards the institutionalisation of children. We are also committed to coordinating our activities and resources to maximise our collective efforts to support the transition to family and community-based care worldwide. Specifically, we commit to coordinating around six key themes:
Raising awareness and understanding in a way that stops the flow of funding and resources in support of orphanages and other types of institutions, and helping to redirect this support to family and community-based solutions. We will also seek to influence our partners, supporters and donors to work in a coordinated way to do the same.
Encouraging the integration of child protection and care services with health and education support in order to promote family-based care and ensure that the wide-ranging needs of children with disabilities and their carers are met.
Advocating with decision-makers - international and national - to prevent the placement of children into institutions, and to ensure that legislation and policy are always derived from a locally developed evidence base on how to best combat the key drivers of institutionalisation.
Investing in (whether financial or in-kind) local partner capacity – civil society and local authorities – to effectively manage the transition from institutions to quality family and community-based care in ways that protect the rights of affected children.
Promoting the meaningful participation of children and young people - actively seeking out, listening to and acting on the views and opinions of the young people and children we work with, and where safe and appropriate to do so, giving them a platform to share their views and ideas more widely – paying particular attention to ensuring gender balance, and the inclusion of children with disabilities and other minority groups.
Researching and generating an evidence base about key issues such as:
· best practice interventions to address the key drivers of institutionalisation;
· the proliferation and poor quality of care in these institutions;
· ways to challenge the invisibility of children in institutions, especially children with disabilities;
· the most appropriate alternative care options for children who cannot live with their own biological family.
To achieve this we will work together to share our data, research findings, methodologies and support countries to gather better data and monitor outcomes for all children. In doing this we will seek to Increase the visibility and understanding of disability issues in children’s care and protection through wider research and routinely disaggregated data collection.
List of signatories
1. Save the Children UK
2. World Vision
3. Plan International UK
4. Human Rights Watch
5. Islamic Relief Worldwide
6. Disability Rights International
7. Hope and Homes for Children
8. Lumos
9. DeafKidz International
10. Home for Good
11. Better Care Network
12. Friends International
13. Chance for Childhood
14. HealthProm
15. Forget Me Not Australia
16. Next Generation Nepal
17. One Sky Foundation
18. Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children