Ways To Help With The Crisis in Afghanistan

As we speak, the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan after U.S. troops began withdrawing from the country, per the Biden Administration’s orders, after two decades of being stationed there. Now, the country is in crisis as the Taliban, who previously held power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, overtook the capital city of Kabul on Sunday.

The biggest uncertainty at this time, it seems, is what the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan means for women and girls. Says Josie Fischels for NPR, “For women in Afghanistan, the Taliban takeover of the country puts their rights at stake, as well as their lives. When the Taliban last held power between 1996 and 2001, women were denied education and employment opportunities. Girls couldn't attend school and women could only be seen in public with a male escort and their bodies fully covered. Punishment for disobeying these strict rules was severe, ranging from beating to execution.”

Fischels goes on to explain how women’s rights have increased in Afghanistan since 2001: they’ve been able to attend school and the mortality rates of children have decreased. Now, though, all of the progress made over the last 20 years is in jeopardy.

“80% of the nearly 250,000 people in Afghanistan who have been forced to flee their homes since the end of May have been women and children, according to Shabia Mantoo, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency,” explains Fischels. “A report released last month from the U.N. also showed that the number of women and children killed and injured increased in May and June, around the same time U.S. and other international troops moved foreword with withdrawing their remaining troops from Afghanistan.”

Another urgent matter is the current refugee situation in Afghanistan, which is sadly only going to get worse now. According to USA for UNHCR, there are around 2.5 million registered refugees from Afghanistan. “They make up the largest protracted refugee population in Asia, and the second largest refugee population in the world.”

As I was writing this post, I received an email from our contact at USA for UNHCR who provided even more startling and important information about what’s going on. She shared the following:

The situation in Afghanistan has been worsening at a rapid pace over the last few days.

Violence and insecurity have forced more 550,000 Afghan people to flee their homes this year, and a recent increase in conflict is resulting in growing displacement. As the fighting spreads, thousands more families are fleeing for their lives each day.

Many highly vulnerable families flee with only the clothes on their back and are now without shelter, without drinkable water, without food, without medical care or protection. UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch has described the situation as one of “Utter devastation which is unfolding in front of our eyes.”

UNHCR has been on the ground from the first moment the crisis began. With nearly 200 team members in Afghanistan, and through a global network of suppliers, specialist agencies and partners, UNHCR is working to provide urgently needed services to displaced Afghan families, including:

• Emergency shelter

• Hygiene and sanitation kits

• Core relief items like blankets, sleeping mats, kitchen sets, buckets and jerry cans

• Personal protective equipment to prevent the spread of COVID-19

• Emergency cash support

What can we do? How can we help? Below, a list of ways we can all pitch in and do what we can for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan who are in need:

• Help USA for UNHCR raise money for displaced Afghan families by clicking here.

• Share information about the crisis with your friends and family by clicking here.

• Women for Women International is collecting donations to help women find safe places to meet and ways to stay connected. Click here to help.

• Afghanaid is a London-based group providing emergency aid to Afghanistan. Click here to see how you can help.

• Save the Children helps families who have been displaced, and estimates over 800,000 children have been displaced in the last two months. Click here to learn more.

• The International Rescue Committee “works with thousands of Afghan villages across nine provinces, raising money to deliver aid and resources to Afghan families.” Click here to learn more.

If you are able to help out in any way, even just a little, it could go such a long way. Thanks for reading, friends, and for doing what you can to help those in need.

(photo by Edris Lutfi via USA for UNHCR)

Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

Together with USA for UNHCR, we’re observing International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, or IDAHOTB.

Created in 2004, IDAHOTB was formed to observe the violence, persecution, and discrimination that many members of the LGBTQ+ community face every day for simply being themselves. It is currently observed in over 130 countries around the world, which, truly, is a high number that signifies great progress for LGBTQ+ rights, but sadly there are still more than 68 countries that have laws criminalizing same-sex relationships and different gender expressions.

“By celebrating those with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and sex characteristics, the observance hopes to bring these issues to the attention of leaders and decision makers who can help protect the rights of the LGBTI community,” per USA for UNHCR’s website.

The heartbreaking truth is that many in the LGBTQ+ community are forced to become refugees and flee their homes in fear of persecution. It is quite literally a matter of life or death and leaving their home, their family, their friends, and their country, is sometimes the only way to survive. And this happens every day in countries where being gay is still illegal, so they have a choice of either living in secrecy or feeling for their lives.

USA for UNHCR shared a story about Estefanía (whose name was changed for protection), who lived in Honduras:

“As a transwoman living in Honduras, Estefanía never felt safe. Every day, she faced harassment and discrimination that affected her daily life. In many Central American countries, discrimination against LGBTI individuals is so entrenched in the culture that people like Estefanía are forced to live without access to basic services or work.

One day, Estefanía decided she could no longer take the abuse and fled the country with a group of other LGBTI Hondurans. During their journey, they were violently attacked and Estefanía needed to be transported to a hospital and received seven stitches in her head.

Despite the attack, Estefanía is glad she made the journey to Mexico as she now feels safer to be herself in a more open-minded community.”

The pandemic has lifted the lid and exposed everything that was already wrong with the refugee crisis. Refugees are some of the most vulnerable people on earth, and many LGBTQ+ refugees are now even more at risk because of the pandemic, which has left them without access to sanitation supplies and facilities, and has forced them to live in conditions that make social distancing virtually impossible.

If you’re looking for ways to help, USA for UNHCR explains the easiest thing you can do is to speak up for those who simply cannot. What does that look like? It could be as simple as reaching out to someone you know who is struggling or post messages of solidarity online letting the millions of people around the world who live in secret know that they’re not alone. Simply posting your support online may not feel like concrete action, but it does let others know where you stand on a subject, and for those being persecuted, sometimes, it means more than you’ll ever know.

You can also become a monthly donor to USA for UNHCR (or a one-time donor!). By donating, you are helping UNHCR build programs that are inclusive of LGBTQ+ refugees and that will help them settle in new homes and communities for a better life.

Thank you dear friends, and as always, any little bit helps!!

(above photo and info via USA for UNHCR’s website)

Can You Sign This Petition to Help Raise the U.S. Refugee Admissions Cap?

The Biden Administration recently raised the refugee admissions cap in the United States to 62,500, which, even though that number seems low, it’s a significant increase from the previous administration’s admissions allowance of just 15,000 (which seems unsettling compared to the highest number in 1980 of 200,000).

The refugee resettlement program will help save tens of thousands of lives and Biden’s decisions sends a message to the rest of the world that the US is supportive and here to help the global refugee crisis. There are more than 80 million refugees and displaced people worldwide, and nearly 90 percent reside in low to mid-income countries, so hopefully the decision to raise the cap in the US will allow other countries to see that we’re taking the refugee crisis seriously and that we stand behind them in solidarity.

While we know what raising the admissions cap means for so many people, and are extremely grateful for Biden’s pledge, we believe that number could be even higher annually. USA for UNHCR has started a petition to support drastically increasing refugee admissions in the US. Sadl,y we as a country have not adapted to the growing need to help refugees in the last few decades, having steadily lowered our admissions amount every year.

We need to act and take action now. Please, if you can, click here to sign the petition and add your name to show your support in renewing the United States’ commitment to refugees by greatly increasing its annual refugee admissions.

Every little bit helps and together, we can all make a difference in the lives of many.

Thank you so much, friends!!!

(photo by Arielle Moncure and info via USA for UNHCR)

How Refugees Celebrate Ramadan

April 12th was the beginning of Ramadan, and over on USA for UNHCR’s blog, they’re spotlighting a few refugees and how they’re celebrating the Islamic holiday.

Abdelwahed (above), has been a refugee in Jordan for the past nine years. He talks about how different Ramadan is for him in Jordan than it was at his home in Homs, Syria: “Ramadan in Homs was beautiful. I used to go to work before dawn, have Suhoor at the shop and stay up all night. I used to pray in the afternoon then take my children for a ride in the car, as a treat to smell the fresh air,” he says.

They also share a bit about Abdallah, a 13 year old boy who cares for his visually impaired mother. When he gets home from school every day, he organizes their laundry and takes her to the local market to buy fruit. They’ve been living in a small apartment for the past nine years, also in Jordan, and will be fasting and praying for Ramadan at home this year.

His mother, who lost her sight as a result of the psychological effects of the Syrian conflict, gushes about Abdallah: “The best moment of the day is when Abdallah is next to me. Even if he leaves me just for an hour, I feel sad and worried. He is the only thing left for me in this life.”

To read more about how refugees are celebrating Ramadan this year, click here, and thank you so much USA for UNHCR for sharing these stories!!!

(above images & information via USA for UNHCR’s website)

Can You Sign This Petition to Help Refugees Get COVID-19 Vaccines?

Often, refugees are some of the most vulnerable people on earth, and the COVID-19 pandemic has left them even more at risk.

As vaccines start to roll out all over the world, refugees have every right to have equal access to them as much as everyone else does. USA for UNHCR has started a petition to help get more refugees vaccinated so they can continue to protect themselves and their family.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says, “Global and equitable access is what will ultimately protect lives and stem the pandemic.” USA for UNHCR goes on to explain that, “as caring Americans, it is our moral obligation — as well as a public health and economic imperative — to ensure that refugees and forcibly displaced people have equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and other preventative measures.”

If you can, please click here to sign the petition to stand with refugees and their human right to have access to the COVID-19 vaccines.

Thank you so much, friends!!!

(image via USA for UNHCR’s website)

What is a Refugee Camp?

It’s a valid question for anyone unfamiliar with the everyday struggles refugees face all around the world, so today, with help from USA for UNHCR, let’s go in depth on what exactly a refugee camp is.

Per their website, USA for UNHCR explains that refugee camps are “temporary facilities built to provide immediate protection and assistance to people who have been forced to flee their homes due to war, persecution or violence.” Quite simply, they are places to for people to go when they have nowhere else to go. They can be what separates one from living and dying. They are very, very important, so it only makes sense we should know more about them.

Startling numbers about refugee camps:

• 6 million refugees live in refugee camps- 22% of the world’s overall refugee population.

• 800k Rohingya refugees are hosted in Kutupalong refugee resettlement in Bangladesh- more than the total population of Washington, D.C.

• More than half of refugees living in Za’atari and Azraq refugee camp are children.

Services provided at camps:

• Shelter

• Food

• Emergency relief items

• Water and sanitation

• Healthcare and counseling

• Registration and legal aid

Length of time refugees live in camps:

“The average length of time that refugees spend in camps varies depending on the crisis. In protracted refugee situations - where mass displacement has affected a country for five years or more -, refugees may spend years and even decades living in camps and it is common to have entire generations growing up in the camps.” -USA for UNHCR.

Fact:

The vast majority of refugees (about 78%) do not live in camps, but rather in cities. Unfortunately, urban locations, while they do offer more opportunities to find employment, they also present major challenges for refugees, as they are often forced to share housing or live in “non-functional buildings, collective centers, slums or other types of informal settlements with substandard living conditions.”

The largest refugee camp in the world is:

The Kutupalong refugee resettlement, located in the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh. The settlement hosts more than 800,000 refugees (who fled violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, and who more than half are children) among its 26 camps.

USA for UNCHCR heartbreakingly explains, “On March 22, a massive fire broke out at Kutupalong refugee camp, destroying 9,500 shelters and leaving more than 45,000 refugees temporarily homeless. Approximately 1,600 important infrastructure facilities - including hospitals, learning centers, aid distribution points and a registration center - were also destroyed. For the thousands of Rohingya refugees who had already suffered trauma when they were forced to flee Myanmar in 2017, this will be the second time they will have to restart their lives.”

COVID-19 impact on refugee camps:

Last year, “many countries temporarily suspended their resettlement programs, leaving millions of refugees stranded and without the possibility to restart their lives. From the 1.44 million refugees in need of resettlement last year, fewer than two percent were resettled - the lowest resettlement numbers recorded in almost two decades and an 80 percent reduction from the previous year.”

How to help:

USA for UNHCR explains how becoming a monthly donor is the best way to help them “ensure families in refugee camps have access to immediate aid, including critical supplies and programs to help them rebuild their lives.”

In a time when so many people are suffering in so many ways all around the world, even a little can go a very long way. Thank you to USA for UNHCR for all the work you to do help the global refugee crisis.

All information in today’s post is from USA for UNHCR’s website. Please click here if you want more info and to see more ways to help.

(images via USA for UNHCR, here and here)