Refugees are hostage to our political games and environmental experiments: don’t push them away

Kate Blanchet, Goodwill Ambassador of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and outstanding actress, has met with many dedicated staff in Jordan, South Sudan and Niger this year.

“The people I’ve met dedicate their lives to better protecting refugees in the world’s most challenging emergencies. I admire their courage, experience and energy they give to make the world a better, safer and kinder place,” Kate wrote on Instagram a few days ago.

The Office of the UNHCR– the UN Refugee Agency – was created in 1950 to help millions of refugees in Europe who fled their countries or lost their homes because of the terrible World War. Today, the UNHCR employs almost 17,000 staff in 134 countries around the world, often in the most difficult and dangerous environments. They are helping nearly 71 million refugees all over the planet. I admire these people.

Victims of ill ambition

Wars, inter-ethnic conflicts, natural disasters resulting from global climate change are major reasons why millions of people around the world seek refuge in other countries and even continents. Leaving everything and escaping from danger zones, these unfortunate people are not looking for some special life, at that moment they just want to survive and save their children. Let me give you a few examples.

The Sudanese refugee crisis this year arose from the conflict between the Armed Forces and the paramilitary organization, the Operational Support Force. Thousands of normal civilians were forced to flee the country while the grown boys were entertained at gunpoint.

On 15 April this year, real fighting began in the capital of Khartoum. The local residents were held hostage by sick military ambitions. They were without electricity and water for several days. Violence against civilians took place in the streets. It was impossible to leave the house to buy groceries. Due to the influx of wounded, the city's hospitals were paralyzed.

As a result, more than 100 thousand people from Sudan, many of them walking, moved to neighboring countries - the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and Chad. These countries are not rich, and they have many problems. So, it's scary to imagine what the refugee camps look like there.

In July 2023, a military coup took place in Niger, and the power was handed over to the National Council for the Protection of the Motherland, simply – to the military junta. They closed the borders of the State, suspended the activities of state institutions and imposed a curfew.

The trouble is that Niger is a key European partner in controlling the transit of migrants and refugees through Western Africa. Today, the country has sheltered some 200,000 refugees who have escaped the violence of the jihadists in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Even before the coup, more than 3 million people in Niger were in need of humanitarian assistance, more than 2 million of whom were on the verge of starvation. Yet, only one third of humanitarian aid to the poor in Niger has been financed by rich countries this year. Therefore, despite the outraged junta, the UN continues to provide assistance to the people of Niger.

However, Jordan hosts the world’s largest per capita refugee population. When the war broke out in Syria, the country set up a Za'atari camp in record time, which was immediately able to accommodate 25,000 people. Today, it is the largest camp for Syrian refugees in the world, where there are currently 80,000 people, half of whom are children. This is the most vulnerable category of refugees – innocent children forced to live in the field. More than 1 million Syrians live outside refugee camps in Jordan.

Nevertheless, the attitude of the leaders of the State towards refugees cannot be overlooked. They are doing everything they can to ensure that Syrians can get proper education and find a job.

Any help will be little

I cannot fully understand what it feels like to unfortunate people who flee danger and disaster when they leave their homes. I cannot imagine how they survive without elementary necessities that we don't even pay attention to in our lives because of their banal routine.

Therefore, I urge everyone to be tolerant to refugees, if they have found shelter in your country. They represent a different culture, so try to understand them. Remember what they had to go through at home and on the way to their new home. Besides, a refugee camp is not a resort or a spa hotel. It is not easy for people to live there either. Therefore, help them with whatever you can – clothes, food, and donations. For example, I recently donated EUR 510,000 to UNICEF, which protects children's rights. DO NOT regret what you can share!