World Refugee Day 2023: A call for a bold, visible hope for refugees especially those in South Sudan
20 June is World Refugee Day. Mesfin Loha, Country Director of World Vision in South Sudan, shares what this day meant for displaced people all over the world, especially in South Sudan and Sudan, and why they should be remembered. Mesfin urges governments and decision-makers to give refugees and internally displaced people hope away from home by providing additional funding for humanitarian operations and long-term solutions the utmost priority.
The 2023 theme of World Refugee Day is “hope away from home.” Hope emerges from what happens in the now and what is believed to come in the immediate or long-term future. It must be tangible in belief, commitment, and corresponding actions. The numbers are increasing exponentially, stretching the ability to support to the brink of breaking point. It is simply staggering. The situation refugees and returnees endure is horrific, to say the least. War and conflict are uprooting millions of households and forcing people to flee. One cannot succeed in convincing people fleeing violence with a great deal of despair with a mere message of hope without meeting immediate life-saving needs and assurance of their safety.
While 'refugee' and 'returnee' designations are used to delineate nationality and allegiance, the needs and worries of these different groups are more or less the same. They all need dignified, timely, safe basic services and durable solutions. This requires additional funding for humanitarian operations and long-term solutions as a matter of urgency.
The crisis in Sudan, the newest large-scale conflict in the region, has led to more than a million people being internally displaced and over 500,000 who fled to neighboring countries. While 'refugee' and 'returnee' designations are used to delineate nationality and allegiance, the needs and worries of these different groups are more or less the same. They all need dignified, timely, safe basic services and durable solutions. This requires additional funding for humanitarian operations and long-term solutions as a matter of urgency.
The little support they receive is mostly designed as a standard one size fits all approach, with less regard to the specific needs and vulnerabilities of children, women, girls, boys, and people with disabilities. World Vision is exerting efforts and is committed to looking into and responding to the needs of displaced people with gendered and inclusive lenses. We recognise how emergencies – nature-induced or man-made – disproportionately affect women, children, and people with special needs. There is so much more that needs to be done on this front. Hence we're urging governments and decision-makers for bolder and more visible support to ensure those vulnerable people forcibly displaced by hunger, climate change, and conflict find hope away from home and that no one is left behind.
In his famous I Have A Dream speech, Martin Luther King, Jr said, "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." A hope that is bold and visible, which can bring dignity and safety to millions. A lot must be done to assure hope away from home for the millions of refugees worldwide.
A united front to stand, walk and journey with refugees and unwavering support for their immediate and long-term needs is paramount.
As we commemorate World Refugee Day, the world must urge governments and decision-makers to ensure 'hope at home' for their citizens and commit to supporting the emergence of 'hope away from home’ for refugees.
---
World Vision in South Sudan and humanitarian partners support the vulnerable people displaced by the ongoing conflict in Sudan by providing food, clean water, access to sanitation and hygiene facilities, temporary shelter materials, and health and nutrition support. In all these, World Vision strives to respond to the needs of the displaced people – both refugees and returnees – putting priority on integrating gender equality and social inclusion in our interventions, ensuring that appropriate support is provided to girls, boys, pregnant and lactating women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
In 2022, World Vision in South Sudan reached over 2 million people through various emergency interventions. Most of this population are internally displaced people, refugees, and returnees.