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Save the Children Appeals for Help in Assisting
Refugee Children
in Europe
With more people around the world forced out of their homes
than any time since World War II, Save the Children has launched
a Child
Refugee Crisis Appeal aimed
at helping support and protect homeless children and their
families fleeing conflict, wars and persecution in the Middle
East and Africa in unprecedented numbers. Hundreds of thousands
are risking death seeking refuge in Europe.
“Every day, more and more traumatized children –
including many children who have seen their homes destroyed and
their loved ones killed -- are now streaming into Greece, Serbia
and Hungary in hopes of ultimately finding safety and relief in
Germany and other European countries,” said Save the Children
President and CEO Carolyn Miles.
“These children have been on the move for months.
They are sleeping in the open or in public places, suffering
from exhaustion and malnutrition and are highly vulnerable to
exploitation and harm,” Miles noted. “The seemingly endless
wars and conflict in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq have reached a
tipping point – many families see no alternative but to flee. We
are appealing to the public to help us help these desperate
children by contributing to our Child Refugee Crisis Appeal fund
and adding their names to our petition for
urgent action to address the crisis.”
Nearly half of the 19.5 million registered
refugees globally – out of a total of 60 million displaced
people -- are children and youth, and their numbers are growing
dramatically due to the ongoing conflicts, especially in Syria.
The aid agency has provided extensive support for Syrian
refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria in the last four
years and is now exploring ways to help protect refugee children
as they move toward Europe. Save the Children recently began a
rapid needs assessment at informal camps located on the Greek
islands of Lesvos, Chios and Kos, where thousands of refugees
are living in informal camps. The agency plans to help
coordinate a protective environment for children in the camps
while also setting up emergency shelters and distributing basic
hygiene items and baby kits.
“Besides young children, pregnant mothers are
especially at risk in these camps,” said Miles. “Imagine trying
to give birth while on the run.”
In the Serbian capital of Belgrade, Save the
Children has set up mother-baby help centers near the city’s
main train and bus stations that serve as major gathering points
for refugees. The centers provide hygiene and food supplies for
mothers and their children and offer parents a safe space to use
the hygiene items. The
agency also plans to provide support for mothers and children in
one of the large “informal” refugee day-camps in Belgrade
including a safe space for children to play.
To meet the growing crisis Save the Children has
joined other humanitarian groups in calling on the United States
and European Member States to strengthen protections for
refugees and to expand quotas for refugees so more can resettle
in Europe and the United States. “As the Obama Administration
has acknowledged, The United States has an important role to
play in helping Europe respond,” Miles said. “The situation is
extraordinary and it calls for an extraordinary response not
only from European countries but from the United States as well.
The international community must also step up its effort to
provide assistance to displaced people and host communities in
the Middle East as well as do more to bring an end to the
conflict.”
Save the Children gives
children in the United States and around the world a healthy
start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We
invest in childhood — every day, in times of crisis and for our
future. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
www.SaveTheChildren.org
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