Unhcr 70 anni dedicati a chi fugge: per nuove emergenze occorrono nuove soluzioni

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Returnee at Nizny Pianj Transit Centre. ;

Liliane smiles as the sun sets and evening falls on Lukwangulo, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo on 11 November, 2014. Lukwangulo is one of three IDP sites in Katanga Province where the internally displaced people residing there have worked with the local community and authorities to settle permanently. This process, called "local integration" is common when finding durable solutions for refugees - where people have crossed an international border - but is something of a new model for IDP situations. ; The Democratic Republic of Congo is among the world’s poorest countries, measured by gross national income per capita. Insecurity in some parts of the country and few roads make it difficult to protect and assist refugees and displaced people. Through our 19 offices in the DRC, UNHCR provide protection and assistance for those forced to flee their homes, helping to find long-term responses and supporting them on the way to self-reliance.

Two young Syrian refugees at Suruc camp in Turkey. ; Suruc refugee camp opened in late January to accommodate tens of thousands of Syrian refugees from the town of Kobani, just across the nearby border. To date just 5,000 people have moved to the camp, which has a capacity to provide shelter to 35,000 of the estimated 192,000 people who fled to Turkey from Kobani during fighting from last September to January between militants and Syrian Kurdish forces. Although most of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey live in urban areas, many struggle to survive without help and so the authorities here are working hard to encourage more people to move to Suruc camp from surrounding areas. Some of those targeted by the government campaign include refugees living in the village of Saygin, which lies 14 kms from the camp they are being encouraged to move to.

Afghan refugees in Nasir Bagh camp, NWFP. New arrivals, food distribution (only for newcomers). ;

Signature of the 1951 Refugee Convention in Geneva, Switzerland / the three seated men (l-r): Mr. John Humphrey, Director of the Human Rights Division; Mr. Knud Larsen (Denmark) President of the Conference; Dr. G.V. van Heuven Goedhart, High Commissioner for Refugees / copyright Arni / UN Archives / August 1, 1951 ;

Refugee from Laos in Ubon Ratchathani province. ;

Afghan refugees in Munda, Swat river. ;

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Poul Hartling, receiving the 1981 Nobel Peace Prize from Professor J. Sanness, Chairman of the Nobel Committee. ;

Transport of blankets being unloaded from UNHCR plane at the British Base of Akrotiri. ;

Algerian refugee children. ;

Refugees in Europe after World War II As World War II ended, millions of people were homeless, inluding these refugees from Eastern Europe in a camp in Germany. At the time of UNHCR's creation in 1950, it was estimated that there were 1,250,000 refugees under its mandate, of whom some 300,000 to 400,000 were without a home and in need of assistance. UNHCR / 133 / 1953 On January 17, 2014, Mrs. Miri Maher, from Melbourne, Australia, contacted UNHCR to say that she recognized her family members on this iconic historical UNHCR photo. Here are the details she provided: "My Grandfather from then Czechoslovakia, appears in this image, Jaroslav Patetl, along with his wife and 2 children (my great aunt and uncle). My Great Aunt Artemis, here portrayed as an attractive and caring young woman, is now 82yrs old, and has told me of her father's many photographs that went missing (stolen?) during their journey (he was a talented Photo Journalist and made efforts to document the happenings of the time). It appears to me that this photo is set up, and could be his own work in fact -and this is one of many photos that our family does not possess, so we would certainly like to find out more -anything at all." ;

In Northern Iraq, many Iranian Kurd refugees who are displaced for a second time by the war, reside. The NGO Qandil is helping Kurds to build houses in Barika in Sulymaniya. ;

Fifty-eight-year-old Hossein is head of a large family of Afghan refugees in Iran. The government, UNHCR and partner agencies established a help network to advise the country's 950,000 Afghan refugees on issues such as the health of Hossein's young son who suffered from suspected cerebral palsy in 2015. ; In 2016 Iran hosted nearly one million registered Afghan refugees, the second largest refugee population in the world. UNHCR cooperated with national and local government organizations and partner agencies to assist this long-term refugee population in education, skills training, health and other humanitarian areas. In one project in the city of Shiraz, volunteers went door-to-door to explain personal hygiene, vaccination programs and the threat of contagious diseases, particularly targetting women who, because of cultural taboos, rarely left their homes. Some 97% of refugees lived in urban areas. Approximately 920,000 refugees have repatriated voluntarily to Afghanistan.

Greek Cypriot children in the Strovolos camp, which accomodates a population of 1,600. ;

Ressettlement of refugees through IRO Bremerhaven, Germany: UNHCR's predecessor, the International Refugee Organisation (IRO) helped one million people to resettle overseas. Seen here are displaced persons from camps in Germany, Austria and Italy boarding an IRO-chartered ship on their way to start a new life in the United States of America. UNHCR / 157 / 1951 ;

Cambodian refugees in Aranyaprathet. ;

Newly arrived Syrian refugee women and children queue for registration and aid distribution in the town of Arsal, Lebanon, on 17 February 2014. ; Thousands of Syrians have crossed the border into Lebanon in recent days after violence in Yabrud and its surrounds. UNHCR registered over 800 families on Monday alone and has been distributing aid to thousands of new refugees.

Three-year-old Ashraf is photographed in the tented settlement where he lives with his family in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. ; Three-year-old Ashraf and his brother Hani Al Moulia live in their family's shelter at an informal tented settlement in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Ashraf was born on 15 March 2011, the same day that Syria's conflict began. For the first two years of his life he grew up under ever-increasing violence as the conflict escalated into outright civil war. In March 2013, his family, including his mother, father, four brothers and two sisters left their home on the outskirts of Homs and fled across the border to Lebanon. They now live in a makeshift shelter just off the main road that leads to Damascus. Ashraf's family speak of a small boy who loves nothing more than to run through the settlement but also of the fear of loud noises and the trauma of the memories he still holds from those days in Syria.

Families flee their homes in Mosul, heading for an army outpost in the Samah neighbourhood where they will be taken away from the heavy fighting engulfing the city. ; After two years trapped inside Iraq's second largest city, thousands of Iraqis are relieved to be free of tyrannical militant rule. But escaping to freedom can also be dangerous. Many are caught on the front lines of the battle to retake the city from Isis, and many are in need of urgent care. In preparation for the military operation in October 2016, UNHCR made plans to deal with the mass-displacement that might occur. Eleven new camps have been built by UN agencies and the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement, designed to accommodate 120,000 people. Emergency plans are also in place to provide tents and supplies to those who cannot access the camps. Around 3.3 million Iraqis, ten per cent of the population, have fled their homes since March 2014.

Water supply. ;

"We fled the burning and killing. They burned my father's house and fired into the people. It took 15 days to reach the border, we walked during the day and at night we stayed in abandoned villages. I saw a lot of dead bodies.” Rohingya refugee Hussein Ara, 16, recalls the trauma of fleeing Myanmar with her 11-month-old daughter, Taslima, as she sits in their shelter at Palong Khali refugee camp in Bangladesh. ; As an estimated 600,000 Rohingya sought safety in Bangladesh between late-August and November 2017, UNHCR doubled its efforts to provide shelter in and around existing camps near Cox’s Bazar. Whole families, young mothers and unaccompanied minors were among those fleeing for their lives when fighting reignited in Myanmar. They came by boat or walked barefoot for days, wading through vast rice fields. They left most of their possessions behind. Large groups crossed into south-eastern Bangladesh hungry, traumatised, in poor physical condition and in need of life-saving support. UNHCR is working with the Bangladesh Government to provide Rohingya refugees with protection, food, clean water, shelter, health care, trauma counselling and reunification for separated families.

UNHCR is distributing 50,000 Water Sanitation-Hygiene Kits to refugee families in Kutupalong camp and Chakmakrul, Bangladesh. ; Approximately 688,000 Rohingya have sought safety in Bangladesh sine late-August 2017, UNHCR began work on an extension site next to the long-established Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. Whole families, young mothers and unaccompanied minors were among those fleeing for their lives since fighting reignited in Myanmar. They came by boat or walked barefoot for days, wading through vast rice fields. They left most of their possessions behind. Large groups crossed into south-eastern Bangladesh hungry, in poor physical condition and in need of life-saving support. By mid-September, the Bangladeshi Government allocated some 2,000 acres of land on which family tents and temporary communal shelters were erected to shelter new arrivals.

“We need more books, paper and resources.” Twelve-year-old Zubaida Begum was born in Bangladesh to Rohingya refugee parents from Myanmar. She is in the sixth grade at the UNHCR-funded Ashar Alo Junior High School, in Kutupalong camp and wants to be a doctor when she grows up. ; It is difficult for Rohingya girls to obtain an education because of requirements to help parents with work at home, social pressures against educating girls, early marriages and a general lack of access to higher education. UNHCR supports as many girls as possible to attend school in Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh where many of the 688,000 Rohingya who fled Myanmar in 2017 sought safety. Unaccompanied minors, widowed mothers and multiple generations of families were among those fleeing persecution and violence. Many arrived traumatised and in need of life-saving support. UNHCR is providing protection, food, clean water, shelter, health care, trauma counselling and reunification for separated families.

Seventeen-month-old Rohingya refugee, Arafat, sleeps soundly in his new monsoon-ready shelter where he lives with his parents and older brother in Kutupalong settlement. ; After fleeing to Kutupalong, the world’s largest refugee settlement in the hills around Cox’s Bazar, Rahima Khatun and her husband Abul Kalam, lived in fear that heavy monsoon rains would wash away their home. Their anxieties have eased after they were relocated to a new bamboo-framed shelter on stilts with their three-year-old son Ayaz and his baby brother Arafat. The couple fled Buthidaung, Myanmar, when their neighbourhood was attacked in August 2017. Their story is similar to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled the violent military crackdown and crossed the border into Bangladesh over the past two and a half years. Families have found safety here but also challenging conditions including lack of infrastructure, inadequate sanitation and the threat of flooding and landslides. In a joint effort, UNHCR has helped replace and repair tens of thousands of shelters, built extensive road networks, installed drainage, bridges and solar-powered streetlights, and opened dozens of health facilities and nutrition centres.

Rohingya refugee children from Myanmar play together at a site converted from an unused government complex in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Indonesia. ; On 7 September 2020, a boat with close to 300 Rohingya refugees landed, mostly women and children, landed in Ujong Blang Village, Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, Indonesia. The refugees survived a seven-month journey at sea in desperate conditions, during which 30 people are estimated to have died. The survivors told UNHCR that they departed Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh in early-February and repeatedly attempted to land in different countries but did not succeed. They are currently being accommodated at a refugee site that has been converted from an unused government complex. The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar, who have been subjected to persecution, rights abuses, violence and forced displacement. The latest exodus began in August 2017, when violence broke out in Rakhine State, driving 750,000 to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

A young Ethiopian refugee collects a mattress at a transit site in Hamdayet, Sudan. ; A worsening crisis is unravelling in northern Ethiopia, where clashes between the Ethiopian army and forces from the Tigray region are driving thousands of people to flee – more than half of them children. Since the violence began in early-November 2020, more than 33,000 people have fled into Sudan in search of safety, overwhelming the current capacity to provide aid. The majority have crossed at Hamdayet border point in Kassala state and others at Lugdi in Gedaref state. The transit centre at Hamdayet is designed to accommodate 300 refugees but is currently struggling to deal with some 6,000 people.

Amira's family fled their village in Mosul back in June, but they haven't felt truly at home since 2006. The family now live as IDPs in Baharka camp near Erbil. ;

Camp life for Alergian refugees ;

Six-year-old returnee, Farishta, is photographed in the Dand district of Kandahar province, Afghanistan, where homes are being built under UNHCR's Cash for Shelter project. ; Shelter remains one of the most pressing needs of returnees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable households in Afghanistan, after food needs. Given the urgent need for shelter UNHCR is piloting its Cash for Shelter project, giving 600 households in the provinces of Herat, Kandahar and Nangarhar money to construct a two-room shelter. Engineers are present on site to advise beneficiaries on technical details, ensure that agreed designs are met and that all safety standards are adhered to. Monitoring of Cash for Shelter is conducted by UNHCR partner APA using the KoBo data toolkit. GPS coordinates of shelter locations are tracked and logged, ensuring that key milestones are met and reducing the risk of fraud.

“I am the chief breadwinner. Without this business I wouldn’t be able to support my family. I was an apprentice for six years and I make curtains and material for cushions. I opened a bank account and I pay 100,000 rupees (US$645) a month to creditors. Whatever money we save we use it to invest back into the business.” Shifat Ullah, 23, photographed at home with his son, owns a fabrics shop in Al-Asif Square market in Karachi. Afghan refugees like Shifat have recently been allowed bank accounts in Pakistan. ; In February 2019, UNHCR welcomed the decision of Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan to allow Afghan refugees to open bank accounts. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called it “a forward-looking, generous gesture of solidarity of global significance.” UNHCR’s Director for Asia and the Pacific, Indrika Rawatte, called it "a bold demonstration of humanitarian leadership.” UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, said the decision to allow Afghan refugees to participate in the formal economy is a welcome step for people who are already contributing to the local economy and added that UNHCR “stands ready to support the government in any way we can.” Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades and is currently host to some 1.4 million refugees.

Chiara Cardoletti

14 dicembre 2020 • 10:03Aggiornato, 14 dicembre 2020 • 10:26

Nata per per trovare una soluzione per gli europei costretti a fuggire dalle loro case nella Seconda guerra mondiale, l’agenzia Onu per i rifugiati festeggia oggi settanta anni al fianco di chi è costretto a fuggire

L’agenzia Onu per i rifugiati, Unhcr, nasce nel 1950 per aiutare gli europei costretti a fuggire dalle loro case nella Seconda guerra mondiale.
Dopo settanta anni, l’Unhcr è attiva in tutto il mondo per aiutare chi fugge da guerre e persecuzioni in un mondo in cui, nonostante i continui appelli delle organizzazioni internazionali, sempre meno leader sembrano essere interessati alla pace nel mondo.
In Italia, l’agenzia Onu ha lanciato diversi piani per integrare chi arriva nel nostro paese come il programma Welcome che ha permesso l’assunzione di cinquemila rifugiati in tre anni.

Un mandato temporaneo per trovare una soluzione per gli europei costretti a fuggire dalle loro case nella Seconda guerra mondiale. Per questa ragione, il 14 dicembre del 1950, è stata istituita l’Unhcr, Agenzia Onu per i rifugiati. Ma purtroppo non si è trattato di un problema circoscritto e momentaneo. Oggi, a distanza di 70 anni, ci occupiamo di oltre 80 milioni di persone in tutto il mondo.

Non potremmo essere più orgogliosi del nostro lavoro all'interno delle Nazioni unite e ci sentiamo privilegiati e onorati di servire le persone costrette a fuggire da guerre, violenze e persecuzioni. Eppure, se siamo ancora drammaticamente necessari, significa che la comunità internazionale deve compiere ancora molti passi avanti per dar vita ad un ordine globale più giusto e sicuro. I rifugiati, i richiedenti asilo e gli sfollati interni ne pagano le conseguenze, ogni giorno.

I compiti dell’Unhcr

Avremmo certamente preferito non dover celebrare questo anniversario. Come agenzia umanitaria, il nostro compito non è quello di porre fine ai conflitti e non abbiamo il potere di fermare gli abusi dei diritti umani. Il mandato a noi assegnato dall’Assemblea generale delle Nazioni unite è di assistere chi a causa delle violenze, delle persecuzioni e dei conflitti deve fuggire. Facciamo eco alle loro voci e diamo loro il supporto necessario per ricostruire la propria vita dopo tanta sofferenza.

Sempre meno rifugiati tornano a casa

Oggi, a fronte di una crisi globale senza precedenti, lavoriamo ogni giorno con i governi e i nostri partners per assicurarci che le persone in fuga abbiano un posto sicuro dove ricominciare la propria vita, i documenti necessari per vivere in modo sicuro e dignitoso e possano godere di diritti fondamentali, quali l’istruzione, le cure mediche e il lavoro.

Quando cominciai a lavorare per l’Unhcr, due decenni fa ormai, si contavano circa 21 milioni di rifugiati in tutto il mondo. In quella fase lavoravo a Timor Est ed ero impegnata nella difficile ricostruzione del paese dopo la scissione dal resto del Timor. La sfida più grande per noi era riportare le persone a casa: un’emozione immensa. Oggi il nostro lavoro è cambiato in modo radicale. Pochi riescono a tornare a casa e ci troviamo a gestire sia molteplici emergenze che crisi protratte. Ogni giorno ricordiamo al mondo che questa situazione di perenne instabilità non è sostenibile: troppe persone soffrono perché la pace nel mondo è ormai una chimera a cui pochi leader sembrano essere interessati.

Il dramma degli apolidi

Negli anni il mandato dell’Unhcr è stato esteso per comprendere anche la protezione delle persone apolidi. Si tratta di una delle condizioni esistenziali più difficili in cui una persona possa trovarsi, perché di fatto costringe l’apolide a “non esistere” di fronte a nessun governo e alle sue istituzioni. L’apolide non ha obblighi, ma neppure diritti. E trovare soluzioni per uscire da questo limbo angosciante è molto difficile. L’Unhcr sta cercando da anni, anche attraverso iniziative globali come la campagna #IBelong, di porre fine all’apolidia, di identificare le persone apolidi o a rischio, e di lavorare con i governi per dar loro una nazionalità. Abbiamo registrato successi importanti, ma la strada è ancora in salita.

L’Italia e la sfida dell’integrazione

In Italia, l’Unhcr può contare su un eccellente collaborazione con le autorità nazionali e locali e su un sistema di asilo molto solido, costruito negli anni, oltre che sulla generosità degli italiani, che continuano giorno dopo giorno ad aiutare chi approda nel nostro paese lasciandosi tutto alle spalle.

L’Italia rimane un esempio di umanità e inclusione, con la sua lunga tradizione di accoglienza che trova concretezza anche nel programma nazionale di reinsediamento e in altri canali sicuri e regolari, come i corridoi umanitari, i corridoi universitari e le evacuazioni di emergenza. Tutto questo fa dell’Italia un esempio per molti altri paesi quando si parla di assunzione e condivisione delle responsabilità. Dal canto nostro, continueremo a supportare il governo nell’accogliere i rifugiati e nell’aprire opportunità per la loro integrazione nel paese. Perché avere un luogo sicuro in cui ripartire significa anche poter godere di una vita appagante e dignitosa.

E in Italia l’integrazione è sicuramente la sfida più grande. Dobbiamo dare ai rifugiati la possibilità di esprimere il loro potenziale, partecipare attivamente, contribuendo a costruire una società inclusiva, capace di dare accesso equo a diritti e opportunità’. Affinché questo avvenga i rifugiati devono essere resi autonomi e capaci di gestire la propria vita, liberi da situazioni di emarginazione e discriminazione. Sono sicura che l’Unhcr in Italia saprà sostenere questa sfida insieme al governo, alle autorità locali, al settore privato - anche nel contesto degli impegni presi per il Global Compact sui tifugiati - e ovviamente insieme ai rifugiati stessi.

Si, i rifugiati. Perché la comunità internazionale può senz’altro fare molto, ma occorre ascoltare i rifugiati per individuare le soluzioni più efficaci. Con la loro forza, il loro coraggio, la loro determinazione. Ed è su questo che noi dobbiamo investire ogni giorno, perché senza la loro forza di volontà, la loro voglia di superarsi e di andare oltre, non saremmo mai riusciti a risolvere tante situazioni.

Lo hanno capito le aziende italiane che hanno sostenuto Welcome, un progetto che abbiamo creato per favorire l’inclusione professionale dei rifugiati. Con grande entusiasmo, le tante aziende coinvolte hanno assunto cinquemila rifugiati in tre anni, contribuendo sicuramente a una loro inclusione sociale e al contempo assicurandosi il loro valido contributo.

È la dimostrazione di come possa si possa sostenere l’integrazione con modalità positive per chi accoglie e per chi arriva, costruendo con le azioni quotidiane una società capace di apprezzare le differenze.

L’accoglienza non è solo uno slogan

Durante una mia recente visita a Torino, Berthin, mi ha raccontato la sua storia, dicendomi quanto fosse grato all’Italia per l’opportunità che gli aveva offerto, per l’umanità che il nostro paese gli ha dimostrato. Ma soprattutto, Berthin, era grato all’ Italia per averlo reso autonomo. Berthin oggi è un leader che, con Mosaico, l’associazione di rifugiati che ha contribuito a creare, ha preso parte a PartecipAzione, un programma di empowerment ideato da Unhcr grazie al quale centinaia di persone come lui possono interagire con le comunità che li ospitano, portano idee e capacità. Tutto questo è stato ancora più evidente da marzo ad oggi, da nord a sud i rifugiati hanno aiutato i più colpiti dalla pandemia portando cibo, beni di prima necessità e cucendo mascherine.

Questo per dire che la partecipazione dei rifugiati è la chiave, il fattore cruciale, e non un banale slogan. È il modo per restituire loro la possibilità di vivere al meglio la propria vita e il proprio futuro. Questa è l’essenza dell’operato dell’Unhcr negli ultimi 70 anni e di quello che continuerà a fare con dedizione e determinazione in futuro.

© Riproduzione riservata

Chiara Cardoletti

Rappresentante dell'agenzia Onu per rifugiiati, Unhcr, per l’Italia, la Santa Sede e San Marino