A Joint Statement by Amity Foundation Hong Kong, Cedar Fund, Hong Kong Red Cross, Oxfam Hong Kong, Plan International Hong Kong, Save the Children Hong Kong, The Salvation Army
A picture of Alan Kurdi brought tears to millions overnight: a 3-year old Syrian boy lying cold and dead on a beach in Turkey, after he and members of his family drowned trying to reach safety. He was only one of the 12 million Syrians suffering from violence, persecution and extreme conflict-led poverty in a brutal war. The story of the Syrians fleeing conflict is the same sad story for many refugees around the world. In common with many other countries at war, instability and poverty at this very moment, people are forced to leave everything behind and to risk their lives in perilous journeys with only a hope of survival.
In Syria, 220,000 people have already been killed. The prolonged 5-year-conflict has displaced 7.6 million people; systems and infrastructures are broken, hindering the access to very basic means of survival. Another 4 million people, many of them women and including 1.5 million children, are currently taking refuge in neighboring countries. Most live in a tough environment with limited resources: children are malnourished, abused and deprived of education opportunities. An estimated total funding of US$7.4 billion is needed for the Syria response plan, but so far only 37% is met.
It is these extreme conditions and life threatening situation that push the refugees into a tipping point, to flee from their home, some to Europe or even further.
We are a group of organizations in Hong Kong that form part of the world’s efforts to work and meet humanitarian needs, protecting and preventing loss of life, and to maintain human dignity of the people affected. We see this as our responsibility: to act together on the basis of humanitarian imperative. We are supporting displaced people in Syria, and along the migration routes, providing water, food, medical care, protection and psycho-social support.
We strongly call for a commitment from the international community to offer humanitarian aid and protection to the displaced Syrians and meet their basic needs. We encourage civil society to join us and together we make a loud voice to protect humanity at all levels. We appeal for your support to alleviate the human sufferings by making donations to the organizations that respond to the Syrian crisis. We encourage you to forward this message to your family and friends so that more people can stand in solidarity with Syria.
Media contact:
Ashley To, Assistant Manager (Publicity), Hong Kong Red Cross
Telephone: +852 2507 7023/ +852 6765 9909 Email: ashley.to@redcross.org.hk
Sarah Chu, Senior Communications Officer, Oxfam Hong Kong
Telephone: +852 3120 5280/ +852 9276 0064 Email: sarah.chu@oxfam.org.hk
Amity Foundation Hong Kong: www.amityfoundation.org
Cedar Fund : www.cedarfund.org
Hong Kong Red Cross: www.redcross.org.hk
Oxfam Hong Kong: www.oxfam.org.hk
Plan International Hong Kong: www.plan.org.hk
Save the Children Hong Kong: www.savethechildren.org.hk
The Salvation Army: www.salvationarmy.org.hk