Oct 25, 2019
L'attesa - inermi - di un genocidio
non è essa stessa genocidio?
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L'attesa - inermi - di un genocidio
non è essa stessa genocidio?
"Refugee Female. Nine years old."
Picture a small, picturesque, mountain-top town in Tennessee with a long literary and artistic history. Living in Sewanee, I have met a remarkable poet, A. E. Stallings. She is a member of the faculty of the Sewanee Writers' Conference during its intensive two-week session in the summer, but she normally lives in Athens, Greece, with her husband and two young children. Knowing and admiring her, I have followed Alicia Stallings's efforts there to help refugees in the largest refugee crisis since World War II. According to the International Rescue Committee, 1.3 million refugees have passed through Greece since 2014. The majority of these flee from violence and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Stallings's children provide a way to think about the impact this many people have on a city and a country. When they saw refugees camping in one of Athens's beautiful, well-kept city squares, they asked, "Is this war coming here?" Of course they were apprehensive and wondered, but they also identified with the refugee children: "They were very aware that kids very much like themselves were displaced and in Greece."
As a photographer looking over images of such scenes, I find the reality more than shocking. It involves wounds, muddy feet, drownings, lost dreams, and so much more. In Stallings's poem "From an autopsy report of an unknown drowning victim, Ikaria," two brief lines paint an unforgettable picture:
Female. Nine years old. Found wearing a blouse, And a pair of sweatpants patched with Minnie Mouse.
Children who survive draw pictures of massacres they had witnessed, or drownings at sea. Stallings says, "Every single displaced person has arrived in a dinghy. Every single person has risked drowning." Their dreams will be as haunted by this tragedy as their new everyday lives will be.
Perhaps poets and photographers can tell this story most poignantly.
Thank you for taking time to ready my blog. What are your thoughts?
Today is World Refugee Day. Meet @senka10 a Bosnian Muslim refugee who was separated from her father and arrived to the U.S. as a child during the Bosnian War with her mother, grandmother, and brother thanks to the help of the @theirc Senka went on to earn her graduate degree and now dedicates her career to helping other refugees, working at the same organization that gave her and her family a chance to thrive in the U.S., @theirc Senka is also an out and proud member of the queer community! SWIPE FOR MORE INFO! #worldrefugeeday #istandwithrefugees #westandwithrefugees #nobannowall #thisiswhatarefugeelookslike #outandproud
Bye, @uber. Too bad your CEO is an asshole and a Xenophobe, among other horrendous things. #istandwithmuslims #istandwithrefugees #deleteuber #solidarity Hello @lyft & @gettny 👋🏼❤ (at New York, New York)
Icy and Sot, “Imagine a world without borders”, 2017
Archival pigment print, 20.87 x 29.92 in (53.0 x 76.0 cm)
World Refugee Day commemorates the obstacles refugees face each year, while also celebrating their courage and strength. Since 2001, the United Nations and more than 100 countries have observed World Refugee Day annually on June 20th.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has started the #WithRefugees petition to send a message of action, solidarity, and responsibility on behalf of refugees to governments worldwide.
Together, we can work to end the refugee crisis and find homes for displaced peoples worldwide. Here are seven facts to help you better understand the current refugee crisis, and how you can help:
According to the UNHCR, there are 65.3 million forcibly displaced people around the world.
More than 21 million of these people are refugees and 10 million are stateless.
On average, 42,500 people per day flee their homes to seek protection within the borders of their own country or other countries.
In the last year alone, there have been 13.9 million people newly displaced.
The civil war in Syria has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises of our lifetime.
More than 11 million Syrians are currently displaced. This amounts to 45% of the Syrian population.
86% of the world's refugees are hosted by developing countries.
This number has jumped by 16% in the last decade. Refugees only account for a tiny percentage of overall immigration.
The world’s largest refugee camp is located in Dadaab, Kenya, which is home to more than 329,000 people.
The Dadaab refugee camp was been threatened with closures due to potential security risks.
Of the 20 million refugees worldwide, 51% are under the age of 18.
This is the highest number of child refugees since World War II.
Share this article on Facebook or Twitter to spread the word about the millions of refugees that need support.
Monthly Roundup - June 2021
World Refugee Day was June 20th
Statement by the Prime Minister on World Refugee Day
"This year’s theme, ‘Together we heal, learn and shine,’ calls on us all to renew our support for refugees by improving their access to quality health care and education. Echoing the Global Compact on Refugees, this year’s theme also reminds us of the importance of inclusion, and ensuring that all people, including refugees from diverse backgrounds, have access to the spaces they need to learn and thrive. Canada recognizes the importance of inclusion and diversity, and has a long-standing tradition of promoting these values through our international assistance, resettlement, and integration efforts."
World Refugee Day 2021: A look at Syrian and other major refugee crises around the world
Afghan-Canadian refugee artist designs World Refugee Day Twitter emoji
"UNHCR and Twitter commissioned Afghan-Canadian artist Hangama Amiri to create the emoji for World Refugee Day, celebrated each year on 20 June. It is the first time the emoji has been designed by a refugee. The design features a blue heart cupped between two hands to symbolize protection and solidarity. It goes live today and will be activated on any tweet that uses the hashtags #WorldRefugeeDay, #WithRefugees and #RefugeeDay, in any of 12 languages, through 23 June."
Drawing Home and Hope
"As her family moved from one place to the next, Hangama always carried pencil and paper. Drawing her experiences at an early age gave her a “sense of freedom,” she says. Today, at age 31, she has turned that early practice into a successful career as an artist. Her colourful textile pieces, which recall and reconfigure her hometown of Kabul, are on view in galleries around the world."
Kenya launches elephant naming festival to boost wildlife conservation
"Kenya launched a magical elephant naming festival in order to boost wildlife conservation. Najib Balala, the cabinet secretary at the Ministry for Tourism and Wildlife, said that the event, which will be held annually on Aug. 12, the World Elephant Day, seeks to raise awareness on the plight of elephants and rally support toward their conservation."
Children by the thousands forced to act as soldiers, victimized by war in 2020
"The report confirmed that violations were committed against 19,379 children in 21 conflicts in 2020, with the greatest number of violations committed in Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. It found that 8,521 children were used as soldiers last year, while another 2,674 children were killed and 5,748 injured in various conflicts."
No place for children in conflict, UN chief tells Security Council
'Will you take the time to listen to us? Will you work with us? Will you have the strength to see the positive in us?' We must.”
- Forest Whitaker, Advocate for Children Affected by War with the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation
Children and Armed Conflict Report
May 2021
The high-level open debate on Children and Armed Conflict under the Presidency of Estonia took place on June 28th, 2021.
"The open debate will consider the findings of the annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (A/75/873-S/2021/43). It will also be an opportunity to focus on issues related to the implementation of the children and armed conflict agenda, including the mid- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the protection of children in conflict as well as the importance of a gender perspective in child protection, considering the specific risks faced by girls in armed conflict."
Settlers Take Action
Make this Moment of Mourning a Movement for Change
Non-Indigenous folk who live in Canada benefit from the colonialism that happened here. That means we are all responsible for our personal role in reconciliation.
In honour of #RefugeeWeek2020, JM Wilson Solicitors and Garden Court Chambers (North) have teamed up to raise funds and bring awareness to this cause. This year, we have decided to fundraise for the Refugee Council who work tirelessely to support and empower refugees, including; ⁃ Young asylum seeking children. ⁃ Helping refugees to re-integrate into new communities ⁃ Offering counselling services to help those who may have experienced trauma. We kindly request that you donate whatever you can afford to this worthy cause so that Refugee Council are able to continue to support a marginalised community in our country. Please donate using the following link - Additionally to bring awareness to this cause, the link below has a selection of recently-released movies made by refugees or that tell their stories, including BAFTA award winning short film ‘Sama’. https://imix.org.uk/7-powerful-refugee-films-to-watch-ahead-of-refugee-week-2020/ THANK YOU!🙏🏽🙏🏽 #IStandWithRefugees #RefugeeWeek2020 https://jmwilsonsolicitors.com https://gcnchambers.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/p/CBd9AcpDjjX/?igshid=a2axw3e5ke2n