Christian Aid recruits actress to highlight treatment of refugees
December 6, 2010 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
International UK-based churches development agency Christian Aid are focusing their Christmas appeal on the 42 million people who are displaced, driven from their homes by disaster, war, persecution or hunger.
Actress and model Lily Cole has travelled to refugee camps to express her support for Christian Aid’s work.
Cole visited the Nai Soi Camp in Mae Hong Son in Thailand, three miles from the Burmese border. Inhabited by 15,000 people, the camp is one of nine along the Thai-Burmese border housing Burmese refugees.
Christian Aid has been working with its partner organisation, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) since 1985, providing food and shelter for the 145,000 refugees living in these camps. The refugees themselves manage the camp.
Christian Aid insists that, “Few refugees live such hidden lives as the Burmese in Thailand”.
They point out that, for over 60 years, the conflict in eastern Burma has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Since 1984, many have been fleeing to Thailand in order to escape persecution, enforced labour and fighting. These families struggle to survive, dependent upon aid.
The Thai authorities are not signatories to the UN Convention on refugees which means the refugees are confined to the camps, with little opportunity for earning a living.
“Some of the refugees have lived in these camps for 26 years,” said Cole, “It’s a difficult idea to get my head around”.
She added, “The camps offer a refuge for people who have nowhere else in the world to feel safe and secure. If the funds were removed there would be nowhere for them to go. It’s frightening. There wouldn’t be this space filled with so many children laughing and playing.”
She described the work of Christian Aid and TBBC as “vital”.
TBBC’s training workshops help people learn new skills. They also develop productive ways for people to earn money inside the camps, such as employing women as weavers which allows them to buy essentials such as soap, clothes and extra food.
“Life in Burma was my farm and my house,” explained Kay Roh, a refugee living in the camp since he was identified as an opponent by the Burmese government, “We couldn’t take any money from there when we left. Our parents are looking after the land but we can’t communicate with them. If there’s opportunity to go outside the camps, I would like to. I would like to find a job to earn money for my family.”
At the end of her visit, Cole said it had been “one of the most moving trips of my life”.
She said she was “very inspired by the work I saw and the people I met. Christian Aid offers these refugees hope and some semblance of normality”.
She added, “They collaborate to make sure these people have food, work, and somewhere to call home. The shelter and food programmes are essentially keeping 145,000 people alive every day, and Christian Aid is one of the organisations enabling that. They are also trying to come up with solutions to try and make these communities more self-sufficient. This is a very worthwhile cause and I’m very proud to be supporting Christian Aid’s Christmas appeal.”
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Source: Ekklesia
Congo crisis not helped by UN-backed military action, says church agency
November 5, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
A year after the UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, Christian Aid has warned that military action will not solve the conflict and may worsen it.
Since January 2009 the UN-backed military operations against Rwandan Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rebels have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis and have not solved the long-standing problem of foreign armed groups operating in DRC.
The operations have dispersed rather than contained the FDLR, increasing the risk of reprisal attacks on civilians.
At least 1,000 civilians have been killed and upwards of 900,000 people forced to flee from their homes as a consequence of the ongoing military operations. Thousands of women have been raped and entire villages burnt to the ground. Both the FDLR and the Congolese army have committed serious human rights violations against civilians.
Shuna Keen, Christian Aid’s Great Lakes analyst, has just returned from North and South Kivu, where the military operation, Kimya II is taking place with logistical support from the UN.
She said: “The people I met described how they fled their villages on foot when the military operations began. Some had walked hundreds of kilometres to find safety. Others didn’t make it and died of starvation along the way.”
Keen continued: “When they reach the relative safety of Goma and Bukavu provincial towns, they are helped by local families who are already desperately poor themselves. One woman, who has a small business, supported by a micro-credit loan from Christian Aid’s local partner, told me how she has taken in nine people who had fled the fighting and now has 17 people living in her home. Her teenage son has had to give up his studies as there was no money left for school fees with nine extra mouths to feed,’ added Ms Keen. ‘This is a clear example of development-in-reverse. The efforts of local communities to pull themselves out of poverty are being undermined by ill-conceived military action.”
The long-standing crisis in the Great Lakes is a political crisis and requires appropriate regional political solutions and genuine political will for peace.
Christian Aid has called on the UK to support the suspension of the Kimiya II military operations and work with the Congolese government and the UN to conduct a proper evaluation of the security and humanitarian situation, with participation from local communities.
“With two million displaced people across the two Kivu provinces, strategies must be urgently redefined to prioritise civilian protection and increase humanitarian access”, the agency says.
It adds that it does not believe that peace can be achieved in the region through more war and violence.
“More can and should be done by the UN and Member States to accelerate the voluntary repatriation of FDLR rebels and Rwandan refugees through inclusive non-military engagement and confidence-building measures. Furthermore European governments have so far taken disappointingly little concrete action to address the problem of illegal militarised mining and trade in the Kivus, a major driver of conflict in the region. The EU should agree and implement measures requiring companies to carry out strict due diligence to ensure that they are not buying, selling or processing minerals which benefit any of the warring parties in eastern DRC.”
The churches’ international development agency says the UK – a major diplomatic actor in the region and number one bilateral donor to both DRC and Rwanda – must use its influence in favour of the peaceful resolution of this crisis, the promotion of civil and human rights and the correct exercise of justice mechanisms.
The GO has welcomed Glenys Kinnock’s appointment as Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State with responsibilities for Africa, United Nations and Human Rights.
“We hope this will provide a new opportunity to for the UK to contribute to addressing the underlying causes of conflict in the African Great Lakes region,” a media statement says.
You can also buy Christian Aid charity gifts and support present aid online.
