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Home » Fleeing from Disaster Fleeing from Disaster A Look into the Life of a Refugee Imagine you are comfortably sleeping when you’re suddenly woken by loud bangs and sharp screams. You rush outside only to find that your village is being attacked. Everywhere you look people are running; yelling; crying; dying. The homes around yours are being swallowed by flames and they’re heading your way. There is no time to think; no time to gather your belongings. You grab your children and you run. This scene, although a fictional creation, is not far from the reality of many refugees around the world today. Refugees like 38-year-old Maryam Issa who barely escaped from a violent attack while her home was being burned to the ground. Maryam, like many others, now lives in a refugee camp and struggles daily to provide for her children. She still has the burn scars on her arms from the attack. Refugees around the World: The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees defines a refugee as someone who: "…owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of that country…” According to the United Nations, by the end of 2007 a total of 67 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes. This number includes 16 million refugees. It is estimated that around 9 million of the world’s refugees are children. After the Escape Whether fleeing from political oppression, armed conflict, or humanitarian crises, the life of a refugee is one of daily struggle with limited resources. For many refugees, returning home is not an option. Instead, families and individuals settle in temporary camps or shelters in neighboring areas. According to the United Nations, over 80 percent of refugees are hosted by neighboring countries within their region of origin. For many, life in a refugee camp is often far more difficult and dangerous than their home countries. Families suffer from lack of clean water and adequate sanitation, finding food is a daily struggle, and the threat of violence and sexual assault abound, especially for women. Limited resources leave few options for families to rebuild their lives, creating a dependence on humanitarian aid. Major Refugee Hosting Countries include*: • Pakistan: Over 2 million Afghan refugees • Syria: 1.5 million Iraqi refugees • Iran: Over 950,000 Afghan refugees • Chad: 294,000 Sudanese refugees * UNHCR figures at end of 2007 Islamic Relief’s Work with Refugees Many of the countries Islamic Relief works in have been torn apart by war and humanitarian crises. To aid those affected, Islamic Relief operates a variety of projects for refugees and internally displaced peoples (IDP) around the world. Afghanistan: • Providing vocational training for poor, street working children • Providing agricultural support for small farmers • Providing irrigation, clean water and hand pumps for IDPs in Helmand Chad: • Providing emergency aid to refugees, returnees and IDPs • Aid includes food, plastic sheets, kitchen sets, blankets, mosquito nets Iraq: • Emergency aid for IDPs and refugees • Shelter support to IDP families • Education projects • Orphan sponsorships Jordan: • Orphan sponsorships for Palestinian refugees Kosova: • Emergency shelter for refugees • School rehabilitation for returnees • Micro-enterprise development • Psychosocial programs for women and children • Mine awareness projects Somalia: • Provide medicines and medical supplies • Emergency assistance to IDPs • Education for IDP children • Provide clean water and drill boreholes Sudan: • Run the Kerinding II camp for IDPs • Provides education, and water and sanitation for IDPs • Provides emergency aid to refugees |
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