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Storys

We use an illustration photo in order to protect “David’s” identity. The photo is from Brasil and was taken in August 2019. The man in the photo worked on a coffee farm in conditions analogous to slavery. Photo: Adriano Machado/Reuters/NTB Scanpix

Sklaverei hautnah

NRC education team takes precautionary measures against COVID-19 into consideration during distribution of High Energy Biscuits to displaced families in Lahj governorate.

The education team used to distribute these biscuits to children in schools as replacement for the food children would have been receiving in schools but nowadays the schools are closed so our team is distributing it to displaced families.

Photo: Abdulfatah Al Jaboly/NRC

Der Kampf gegen Covid-19 im Jemen

In September 2019, Mariam Farah Hussein, her husband and seven children fled Mogadishu for Bosaso, on Somalia's northern coastline. The family left their home during shelling on their neighbourhood that subsequently hit and destroyed their home completely.

“I lived in constant fear. There were a lot of explosions every day. People were killed every day, murdered – anything could happen. Because of this fear we decided to flee.”

“We have seen a lot of problems. When I left my home, it was hit by bombs. I suffered when I was travelling. After I arrived here, I forgot all my problems and fears. I feel safe.”

Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Sie floh aus einer der gefährlichsten Städte der Welt

The humanitarian situation in the South West State of Somalia is deteriorating, with thousands of displaced people arriving in Baidoa and other towns every month. They flee from rural areas due to conflict and drought which has destroyed harvests for three consecutive seasons. The ongoing threat of armed conflict is limiting the capacity of humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance outside of urban areas, forcing people who are severely affected to relocate to areas wherever support is available.

Stimmen somalischer Vertriebener

Seife rettet Leben

Rafsanjan Settlement is situated about 15 kilometres outside of Kerman city in southern Iran. It hosts 5,500 Afghan refugees, making it the largest refugee settlement in the country. Picture: Hamid Sadeghi/NRC

Iran: Träume auf Eis gelegt

Faduma Abdinor Mohamed, 39, was pregnant with her youngest child when both her father and husband were killed during armed attacks.

The compounding impact of drought left Faduma unable to feed and water her livestock, leaving her struggling to feed her children. When one of her sons became seriously ill, she sold her four surviving goats to pay for his medicine. She does not own any land but earned some money by working on other people’s farms. When the drought deteriorated, it was not possible to find any more work.

Eventually, the combined pressure of conflict and drought forced Faduma to move to Baidoa, an urban centre with greater access to humanitarian assistance.

“Children adapt to the place where they grow up and spend time. I want my children to learn, to help their parents and build a future … and get an education that can give them opportunities everywhere. That is why I brought them here.”

With help from her brother, who lives in Mogadishu, Faduma is able to send her four oldest children to school, but she continues to struggling to provide enough for them enough to eat.

“Last night we got something to eat from others. My children didn’t eat anything this morning. I had nothing to cook.”

Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

„Ich floh, um meine Kinder zu retten“

Eine Momentaufnahme unserer Covid-19-Reaktion

Mohammed Abdulwahab, 33, belongs to a family with a long tradition of farming. He inherited this job from his father. He is a father of four children and farming is the main source of income for the family.

“When the war broke out, most residents fled their houses but we didn’t flee because we have livestock and we didn’t have anywhere else to go.,” Mohammed says.

“I remained in the house. But I had to leave the house every two to three days to bring food for the family and during that time we were unable to plant our land.”

Mohammed states that half of his farm became barren by the time fighting in his area stopped and farmers lost their source of income.

“The prices of basic goods such as food increased and since the farmers had lost their income they couldn’t afford to buy basic goods to survive. “We experienced real suffering,” he adds. “We were struggling until NRC intervened and helped us with seeds, farming tools, water tanks and money to pay for the cost of ploughing.”

Mohammed confirms that NRC’s support really helped the farmers and residents as the prices of vegetables decreased by half with more vegetables becoming available.

“Farmers got the seeds for free, so all of them planted their land and the yields were a lot so the prices decreased by half.”

Mohammed believes NRC came at the right time for his family and hopes more support will be available in the coming months, “I thank NRC for helping us to return to our land and hope they can continue to support us in the coming year.”

Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC

Landwirtschaft im Schatten des Krieges

A thoughtful Hamayadi looks on after sharing his story with us in Berberati, Central African Republic.

Zentralafrikanische Republik

In meinem Haus lebte eine andere Familie

The night Boko Haram attacked Halima’s village, her husband disappeared in the chaos and she had to flee alone with her four young children. Five years have passed and she has still not heard from him. She fears he was killed that night.

Halima, 32, is not the only one that has been forced to flee her home because of attacks from armed groups in the border areas between Cameroon and Nigeria. The Boko Haram conflict in Nigeria has led to significant protracted displacements in Cameroon’s Far North region, ranking Cameroon as the second most affected country (after Nigeria) in the Lake Chad Basin region. 64% of all humanitarian needs in the country, affecting approximately 2.1 million people, are concentrated in the Far North region. This includes 227,581 internally displaced persons (IDPs), 92,238 returnees (former IDPs), 96,727 Nigerian refugees, 406,700 host community members and more than one million other vulnerable people (Humanitarian Response Plan - HRP 2018). As more and more attacks are now also happening inside of Cameroon, it is leading to more insecurity and secondary displacements. For aid agencies, access is also increasingly difficult.

“After I fled my home, we stayed in Kourgui for two months hoping that life would be better there, but it was not easy at all, so I decided to come here to Mora".

Mora is a little bit further from the border and feels a bit safer. Halima now rents a small house in a compound with another family, trying to make a new life after having lost all she once owned. Back home she had a sewing machine that gave her a steady income. Without her machine or her husband’s help, she has struggled to make ends meet. Now, with the support from NRC, her situation has turned for the better.

Halima is part of a group of women that are selected for a fish farming project that NRC supports as part of our Food Security activities. A local entrepeneur, Boucar Adji, had set up a fish farming cooperative and NRC decided to provide financial support to this great initiative. The entrepreneur used the funds to expand the fish activities and intentionally hired displaced women to work with him at the cooperative. The women receive 15,000 francs every month from the cooperative for the work they do on the fish farm. Every morning for the past three months, Halima and the other members of the association meet to feed the fish and clean the premises.

In addition, NRC has provided financial assistance directly to the women to help them start up a small business. With the first of three cash instalments, Halima chose to buy peanuts that she now roasts and sells. The income from this and the work at the fish farm has made it possible for her to pay the school fee for two of her four children. It also generates a welcome addition of fish into their diet.

"If today my small family manages to eat fresh fish, it is thanks to the fish farming done by the association," Halima ends.

Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/NRC

Der Welleneffekt: Wie Fischzucht Leben verändert

10 Gründe, warum Menschen auf der Flucht vom Coronavirus besonders stark bedroht sind

Solidarität darf nicht an unseren Grenzen Halt machen

There are hand sanitizers at the main gate, and work with the committees distributing vouchers to people to ensure people sterilize their hands when they come to collect their vouchers and when they leave.

Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC

Angst vor den Folgen des Coronavirus

Al-Ezi Majed, 6, is washing his hands and face from the only water point in Souk Al-Lail camp in Amran city where more than fifty families live.

Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC

Wie wir das Coronavirus bekämpfen

The protracted crisis in the Donbas region of Ukraine is well into its sixth year. The contact line continues to separate Government controlled area (GCA) and Non-Government controlled area (NGCA) of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This separation isolates much of the population in GCA from important services and livelihood providers in urban centres in NGCA. Along the 427-kilometre contact line, there are five open exit-entry checkpoints (EECP) in Hnutove, Novotroitske, Marinka, Maiorsk and Stanytsia Luhanska, where internally displaced and conflict-affected people cross to visit relatives, buy food and other goods, receive social payments and check on their property.

Since the opening of these EECPs, the number of people crossing the contact line continues to grow. Every month, there are about 1,3 million people recorded crossing through all five of the EECPs. Long queues and correspondingly, long waiting times at checkpoints continue to be reported. During their journey to cross the contact line, very often people face difficult weather conditions and slow processing times. These civilians who cross the contact line have limited access to basic services such as drinking water, latrines, weather shelters, heating, and medical care.

Photo: Dmytro Tielushkin/The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Sechs Fakten nach sechs Jahren Krise

FISHERMAN
Suleiman (45 years old) is a fisherman from Al-Hodeidah and now he is an internally displaced person in Ras Emran (Aden). His only income was fishing. Because of the war, he could not continue fishing in Al – Hodeidah after some of his friends were killed by airstrikes, and others were killed in the fish market which was hit by airstrikes several times.

He is afraid to face his friends fate since they were killed without having committed any sins- they were only fishermen. Because of the war, he faced many difficulties in Al-Hodeidah, the high cost of living, no money to buy fishing tools and the fuel for the boat to go out to the sea. Even before the war, his life was difficult and strenuous as he was staying out at sea for many days, but at least it was a safe life. Since the war started - he no longer feels safe.

When the clashes moved closer to the area where he lived, he heard people say that they should store basic food items because they would not be able to get out of their homes. Suleiman has a big family; one wife, 7 children and 2 grandchildren. He stored a few basic food items, which was enough for a few days. After a few days, the food was close to running out so he had to go out and buy some food and store it. He did this three times despite clashes coming to his area.

One day, Suleiman made a tough decision – it was about surviving. He fled with his family, and they left with only the clothes that they were wearing. He sold his wife's jewellery and his animals to pay for transportation and travel expenses. He fled to Ras Emran (Aden) where he could continue work as a fisherman. It took three days to get here.

As an internally displaced person he feels like a stranger in the area that he fled to. He cannot act or live as freely as he used to do in Al-Hodeidah before the war. He doesn't know the condition of his house in Al-Hodaidah. Maybe it was hit by an airstrike or is occupied by someone else. But the most important thing for him is that he and his family are safe.

Currently, Suleiman works together with other fishermen to provide a living for his family. But it is not easy to find enough work. He has a wife, 7 children and 1 grandchild. He works for a daily fee between 3000 to 5000 Yemeni Riyals, and he needs many things for his family to live as he and his family left everything behind when they fled.

Suleiman hopes that the war will end so he can return to his home. So that he can go back to his work. And his children can live in peace and safety like other children in the world and go back to school to finish their education. His message to the international community is to help and stand by Yemeni people in their ordeal and to do their best to stop this war in a peaceful manner and to make Yemen safe and secure for people.

Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Alles verloren nach fünf Jahren Krieg

Lailah Rabei Al-Raboui, one-year-old, playing in the yard of Al-Fajr Al-Jadeed School where her family has been living since 2015 after the war forced them to flee their houses in Taiz city.

Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC

Wofür sollte eine Schule genutzt werden?

With support from the Norwegian government, NRC is providing thousands of soaps to Afghan families living in settlements in Iran to encourage hand washing, the most effective preventive measure for COVID-19. Distribution is paired with hygiene promotion messaging through different leaflets reinforcing key points provided by the Ministry of Health.

NRC Flüchtlingshilfe verstärkt Bemühungen

Children living in Harasta, Eastern Ghouta, flock to school to catch up on years of missed education. Years of siege ended with a peak in fighting last March. With most of the neighbourhood in ruins, tens of thousands of Syrians are still displaced with no home to return to, but hundreds have also returned to what remains of their houses or stayed all along.
Despite all they have been through, these children are happy to be back to school. This one in Harasta houses 725 children, with parts of it completely destroyed and others badly damaged.
Photo: Karl Schembri/NRC

Neun Fakten nach neun Jahren Krieg in Syrien

A returnee villagers house rehabilitated with the support of NRC

Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem

DIY in einem Land im Krieg

Sechs Fakten, die man über die humanitäre Krise in Idlib wissen sollte

Forty-five years-old, Yvonne poses with the two little orphan boys whose parents were recently killed during attacks in Mikenge village in the southeast of DR Congo. Due to violence in her home village, she had to flee to Mulima village for safety.

“When the clashes broke out, I was harvesting maize in my field near the village. Suddenly, I saw houses burning to the ground and people running in all the directions. I knew then the situation was bad and I quickly scrambled to hide in the bush,” recounts Yvonne in an emotional tone of voice. “Everywhere I hid; armed men would come to attack and forced us to flee,” she says.

November 2019
Photo: Ephrem Chiruza/NRC

Der lange Weg in die Sicherheit

AFGHANISTAN/Mazar-i-Sharif
Nov 2019
Photo: Ingrid Prestetun /NRC

Mama khal- Mahmood (67): at the NRC distributing point waiting to receive money to bay a stove and firewood for the winter.

She is a widow and female HH living with her grandsons/ daughters. There are 16 members in her family. She is making wool waving to support her family and additionally her closed relatives collect money from people and support her on monthly basis with very small amount of money.

The family is included in NRC's shelter upgrade project and winterization program.

Wie Ana ein Dach über dem Kopf bekam

Sorya Ahmed, 55, a grandmother from Ras Al Ayn. When Turkey announced their military operations in north east Syria she moved to different locations hoping that the situation would calm down, however things were escalating and the fighting was reaching them from one village to another. Eventually, Sorya and her family decided to leave Syria and seek refuge in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Sorya has been displaced three times during eight years of war but this time was more horrifying than any time before.
“We saw people burning in front of us. We escaped running over their dead bodies, there were no safe routes to escape, and they did not secure a road for civilians to leave.”
“We were 23 people; there were kids, women and young men with us. The smugglers were asking for a big amount of money. We did not have any money but we had my son's car, so we gave them the car instead of money.”
“At the border, we walked for around six hours. We were so scared that ISIS or anyone else would attack us. All of these children were with us without water and food.”
“On the way, we did not know who we are dealing with. Even men started to get scared because we no longer knew where we were going.”
“There is nothing to go back to, they burnt my house, and in Ras Al Ayn the original people of the area have left (now is full of Arabs and people from other areas). Even if I eat soil here I would not go back to Syria.”

Photo: Alan Ayoubi/NRC
Date: 02 December 2019

Irgendwohin – nur nicht nach Hause

A severe lack of funding is hampering humanitarians from saving lives.

The military response alone cannot respond to the needs of the displaced who are in precarious situations due to insecurity. Displaced people need urgent assistance. They need shelters, food, water, education, but as long as the response will be mainly security-oriented, the needs will not be met.

The funding of the humanitarian response is falling short. Aid organisations have scaled up their capacity in the country and stand ready to respond to the skyrocketing needs but their work is being severely hampered by the lack of commitment from donor governments. In 2019, not even half of the funds for the humanitarian response were allocated.

Date: 21 January 2020
Location: Kaya - Center North Burkina Faso
Photo: Tom Peyre-Costa/NRC

Fünf Dinge, die man über die Krise in Burkina Faso wissen sollte

AFGHANISTAN/Mazar-i-Sharif
Nov 2019
Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Mama khal- Mahmood (67): She is a widow and female HH living with her grandsons/ daughters. There are 16 members in her family. She is making wool waving to support her family and additionally her closed relatives collect money from people and support her on monthly basis with very small amount of money.

The family is included in NRC's shelter upgrade project and winterization program.

Wo Kälte und Armut Kinder töten

Die am schnellsten wachsende Vertreibungskrise

Nachhaltige Hilfe im Winter

“It was very cold inside and I thought if I go outside and walk I might feel warmer,” says Roqia, 11, standing outside her makeshift home in a snowy day in KABUL.

Rogia doesn’t have enough clothes and proper slippers to keep her warm in a cold. Her family do not have sufficient firewood to keep the oven burning all the time and they only burn it once in a day and if the weather is freezing cold, they might burn it twice in a day. They burn plastics, cartons, packets and other waste materials they have collected during the summer season.
“The house we have is out of plastic bags, blankets and mud. As soon as the oven dies the home gets cold,” she says. “It’s very cold during the night and we wakeup many times due to cold. Sometimes, I feel pain and burn in my feet, legs and back due to the cold.”

Kabul gets very cold during the winter and last night only, the temperature dropped to -16 Celsius. Photo: Enayatullah Azad/ NRC

Kabul von Kälte und Schnee getroffen