ukrainian refugees are welcome to romania. volunteers as well as local governing bodies are offering people warm food and shelter in suceava, galați, and vama siret. for more information:
whatsapp: +40765861888 (ukrainian speakers are volunteering to help w comunication)
We have to be careful about the words we use and what we agree on.
Human beings are not just a spirit and a passport. A human being is an individual and relationships and a society and social values that (s)he practice them with freedom and authority on his/her homeland.
Therefore, the issue of refugees can’t be solved by securing a place to live and and a travelling document. However, it is solved by giving him/her the right to return to his/her homeland …
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center Preparing Your Family GuideinEnglishandSpanish & Family Preparedness for Immigration Enforcement Video in English or in Spanish
In the run up to International Women’s Day, we would like to celebrate the strength and resilience of Palestinian women the world over. We would like to share with you the story of Saeda Shaladan, a 35 year-old mother of five from Gaza.
She lives with her children and younger sister, who is studying at university. After studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Al-Aqsa University she found herself unemployed and unable to provide for her growing family. Following a divorce from her husband, Saeda was alone and without means - forced to rely on benefits from the Ministry of Social Affairs. After sacrificing her alimony payments in order to retain custody of her children, Saeda experienced firsthand the double-bind placed on women under occupation. She has been trying to find employment to support her family but pressing concerns at home have demanded her attention.
One of Saeda’s daughters, Shahd, was diagnosed with a kidney defect from birth. Her crucial treatment cost $100 every month, more than the benefits from the Ministry of Social Affairs can provide. Saeda is Shahd’s full-time carer but is desperately in need of a fixed salary to meet her children’s needs. “I want to give my children the best opportunities in life and start them off on a good foundation from which to succeed”.
Interpal provided the family with considerable support to see them through the winter, including warm clothing for the children, blankets and carpets, a heater and LED-powered batteries. Saeda said of the support she received: ‘I have never asked an organisation for help, but Interpal truly seeks to help needy people and provides them with the means to help themselves, allowing us to keep our dignity intact’.
Interpal ensures all our projects support women and girls. By supporting Palestinian women, you can make a positive impact on entire families and communities.
The Vision Project, our joint initiative with UNRWA has been covered with a piece on Middle East Monitor.
The project has provided over two hundred blind and visually impaired children in Gaza with cutting-edge digital technology to help them access information sources, learning opportunities and creative initiatives. It also equipped visually impaired children in Gaza with “Voice Dream Reader” technology to supplement their education. As part of The Vision Project we also provided digital and equipment training to 33 UNRWA teachers.
January has been a busy month for all of us at Interpal. From the launch of our new website to advocacy events in Parliament, we have been hard at work ensuring that this important campaigning year gets off to a good start.
As we wrap up our Winter Appeal, let’s remember that the difficulties refugees face do not simply dissipate with the arrival of warmer weather. Nevertheless, I would like to thank you personally for your generous support; we raised just under £200,000 over the winter and are proud to be delivering vital aid to those in need.
Last week, I was invited to speak at a parliamentary event hosted by Dr. Phillipa Whitford MP to highlight the work we do at Interpal in delivering vital aid to Palestinians in need. The question of how to take action is particularly important in 2017, as we look forward to a year of important anniversaries.
Finally, I am delighted to announce that The Vision Project has been completed successfully in Gaza. We partnered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to equip over 200 blind and visually impaired students with cutting-edge digital technology to supplement their education. You can read more about the project by following the link below.
As part of our 2016/17 Winter Appeal we distributed 2,000 winter clothing kits for refugee children in Rashidiyeh and Borj Al Shamali camps. Thanks to your generous donations we are able to continue distributing aid to school children in Lebanese refugee camps.
To donate, call 0208 961 9993 or click the ‘Donate’ button at the top of our Page.
One of our Sponsorship Assistants reflects on the winter and her role in securing vital lifelines for children in need.
It is mid-winter and the cold is the only thing on my mind. Before I make a start on my work for the day I notice an unusual flush creeping over my complexion. The hint of heat on my cheeks thaws my cold hands so I cradle my face for a few minutes. I stop typing, I stop working and I start thinking.
***
I work in Interpal’s sponsorship department, processing requests and donations and delivering feedback from our projects in the field. In a nutshell, my role entails helping thousands of Palestinian children and their families to secure much needed aid. From my perspective, I see the donations process in its entirety, mediating between donors, staff in the field offices and our beneficiaries.
In amongst the administrative duties and everyday office tasks I have the unique privilege of hearing the stories of extraordinary children and their families. Even though I do not physically meet them, I am privy to intimate details about their lives. I know what they look like, (now and how they have changed and matured over the years), what they study at school, their aspirations and dreams for the future. But I also know of their difficulties. I see them grow up and vicariously experience their every joy and hardship from the distance of our office in London as they live through one of the most shameful periods in contemporary history; the Palestinian refugee crisis. Extraordinary children in extraordinary circumstances. The protracted displacement of the Palestinians is the longest running refugee crisis of our era and has now spilled over into the complications of other conflicts in the region, further muddying the waters until the international community finds it increasingly difficult to separate one set of causes from the effects of another.
Winter in London is a familiar visitor but one I cannot quite get used to. Of course, it has its moments of beauty, moments I enjoy best in my house, under the bed covers, tucked up in flannel pyjamas and drinking a steaming cup of hot chocolate. The long winter months seem to stretch out forever and it strikes me that despite any discomfort I may face, every year thousands of lives at home and abroad are lost because of vulnerability and our failure to act swiftly and humanely.
The winter is also a time of reflection, celebration and thankfulness. Year in year out, I am reminded of my many privileges. The list is endless, including in it the many inalienable social, political and economic freedoms we enjoy, but on a cold winter day like today, and even more on colder nights, I find myself ironically adding to my mental list the freedom from having to make the hard choices between feeding myself and my family and freezing to death.
Most people don’t realise just how cold it can get in the Middle East. The idea that people can freeze to death in a place that is so often characterised by desert heat and the image of a burning sun seems unimaginable. However, winters in Palestine are as harsh as ours if not more so, as our planet’s changing climate brings with it unexpected new weather patterns, catching people unprepared and thus engineering a catastrophe.
Other than the superficial comparisons my imagination can muster, I cannot comprehend the realities enough to authentically feel their emotions. I get first hand reports from our field offices, trawl through figures and statistics, listen to anecdotes, scroll through pictures and sometimes even videos. But what are facts to a distant and disconnected mind? Our minds can crunch numbers and register emotions, but even the power of empathy cannot fully feel what it is like to be a Palestinian refugee.
Many of the families I deal with directly do not have means of heating themselves or their property. Still more cannot afford winter clothing and do not even possess enough clothes to be able to layer up - one of the main winter safety tips offered by the NHS. Others are without shelter due to lasting damage or destruction from successive shelling and war. Food is also scarce and in the winter an empty stomach can increase the likelihood of death. Moreover, the healthcare facilities in the region are under-equipped due to the tight restrictions on what is allowed in and out of the territory. Social security is almost non-existent and many people are trapped in legal and political quagmires. This is an over-simplification of their struggle, of course, just know that the odds are not stacked in their favour.
This is why I cannot help but pay attention to the cold creeping over me. The shivering, the shuddering, and the stiff discomfort all strike me as stark reminders of my privilege. What about those living in the crowded refugee camps of Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan, and in the occupied territories of the West Bank? What about their parents, grandparents, their friends, their communities, all of whom are fighting to survive the cold amidst all of their other daily struggles?
My thoughts are interrupted once more by the incessant creeping of the cold. I, unlike Palestinian children and family, am well equipped to fight the winter and its blues. Almost without thinking, I flick the switch on the electric heater stationed neatly under my desk and take a long sip of my hot cup of tea, a British tradition I proudly claim during the winter months.
As I write this, I reflect on the ways in which we should not feel guilty for the privilege of warmth and wealth, but instead put these comforts to good use. Let us warm the hands and hearts of those who are struggling to survive the winter, and revive another great British tradition in this festive season, that of generously giving and caring about those in need.
A few days ago, a little syrian refugee boy was found dead on a turkish shore. His photo spreads all around the world. May this horrible vision open our eyes about this tragedy.
