Témoignages

Across East Africa, millions of displaced people are navigating the hardships of conflict and displacement with resilience and hope. The EU is supporting people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda with life-saving cash and nutrition assistance.

Nelofar lives in Istanbul with her husband and 5 children. Fearing persecution in their home country Afghanistan, she was forced to flee to Turkey together with her family.

Over the past 4 decades, the constant conflict has vastly deteriorated Afghanistan’s ability to cope with the effects of climate change.

Exactly 1,000 days ago, on 24 February 2022, Russia waged an all-out war on Ukraine. These days will forever be marked by the immeasurable suffering of the Ukrainian people but also by their outstanding resilience.

Conflict, crisis, COVID-19, cholera, and, as if things couldn’t possibly get worse, the strongest earthquake in a lifetime – there seems to be no end to the suffering of people in northern Syria.

More than 579,000* Sudanese refugees have escaped to Chad since April, pushing the country’s refugee population over the 1 million mark which is more than Chad ever hosted in the past 20 years.

730 days later... And the pain is still as fresh as the first day. On 6 February 2023, a powerful earthquake shook 11 provinces in Türkiye, leaving more than 53,000 dead, 107,000 injured, and 164,000 buildings in ruins. In an instant, millions of lives were changed.

Afghanistan is grappling with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. In 2023, a staggering 28.3 million people – or two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population - require urgent humanitarian assistance to survive.

Since it was set up, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been responding quickly and collectively to emergencies and disasters.

When western Nepal was hit by floods in 2021, those most affected received cash grants distributed by the Nepal Red Cross Society.

War, power cuts, freezing temperatures: Ukrainians are going through one of the most arduous winters in recent history after Russian attacks have left millions without reliable access to electricity and heating.

A number where anyone anywhere can reach emergency services at all times of day and night seems evident since Europe adopted 112 as its emergency number in 1991. But that’s not the case everywhere.

The past 12 months have brought unprecedented humanitarian challenges.
The EU’s civil protection and humanitarian aid operations department has been working on helping the most vulnerable people worldwide.

In February 2021, Myanmar’s army overthrew the democratically elected government and seized power in a military coup. The country fell into deep social, political and economic turmoil as the army conducted brutal campaigns against perceived opponents.

25 August 2022 marks 5 years since a military crackdown in Myanmar forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee their homes to reach Bangladesh.

On 6 February, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck the southeastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye, affecting 10 provinces in Türkiye and 6 governorates in Syria. Another powerful 7.5 quake struck the same day.

The EU helps refugees in Syria’s neighbouring countries, providing impartial aid to vulnerable people inside Syria through over 30 humanitarian partners.

In 2022, the EU and its Member States were among the leading donors of humanitarian aid in the world.

It starts with smoke – a single column of black smoke rising on the other side of the village. Then a second, a third. Houses are burning. Soon, the sound of gunshots and screaming. This has been the reality for millions of people in Cabo Delgado since the conflict started in October 2017.