Témoignages

Aliye and Sewsen are both mothers and refugees who fled from Syria in search of a safer future.

As the world marks International Migrants Day, it is worth remembering that people rarely move without a reason. Some leave to escape danger, others because life at home has become impossible to sustain. This story focuses on those forced to flee.

In Kilis, a community centre by the International Blue Crescent Relief & Development Foundation (IBC), provides a safe space for local and refugee children to learn, play and recover. In addition, women also receive support to help them overcome the trauma they have experienced.

With funding from the EU, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps girls like Lina through difficult times.

For thousands of migrants, Colombia's northern coastal town of Necoclí is the first step of a long journey. The destination: what they hope will be a better life.

Over 40 million people are currently facing starvation in the Sahel, including in Burkina Faso, where conflict is the leading cause of food insecurity. At least 1.7 million people are internally displaced due to the ongoing violence - including almost 900,000 children.

In the Rusayo IDP camp, located at the foot of the Nyiragongo volcano in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lives Salomé (alias), 37 years old, a mother of 11 children and a survivor of sexual violence by an unidentified armed group, while fleeing hostilities in Masisi territory.

The oldest refugee settlement in Africa, Nakivale benefits from what is often lauded as the most progressive refugee policies in the world. Newcomers are given plots of land and are free to leave the settlement whenever they want.

In Colombia, thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes due to the conflict. Maria Victoria* (60) is one of them.

Colombia’s ongoing conflict still forces thousands to flee armed clashes

Conflict and climate change have pushed millions of people in South Sudan to the brink of starvation.

Rehaf fled the war in Syria with her 2 daughters in 2015. The young mother found safety in Turkey and managed to build a new life and future for herself and her children.

The EU has supported vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, EU funding supports the rollout of routine childhood immunisations.

In the small south African country of Eswatini, a 3-year EU-funded partnership is using cash assistance to improve people’s lives and increase their financial independence. This includes tackling food insecurity, future-proofing local farming techniques and strengthening the health system.

Thanks to UNICEF and the EU’s humanitarian support, health workers like Sedelia provide essential services to mothers and children.

Since 2021, large swathes of South Sudan have been under water. Unity State, where Angelina and her family live, has been the worst affected. Communities survive on the high ground, cut off from services, and each other, by the flood waters.

Before the ground dried and hardened, Amburo and her husband were farmers. They grew enough maize to sell at the local market, and to provide for their 4 children. Life was hard, but a life all the same. There were times of joy.

The repression of paramilitary groups in her native Nicaragua forced Maria and her family to flee to Costa Rica at the end of 2018.

Al Houri camp, located in Gedaref, eastern Sudan, has become a refuge for those fleeing the ongoing conflict. Among them is Ashraf, 48, who was forced to leave his home in Sennar when clashes erupted last July.