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21st
June 2004
UNHCR
urges Glasto-goers to spare a thought for real refugees
This
weekend, UNHCR London will be setting up camp in Glastonbury to
reach out to the temporarily displaced.
Festival
aid will come in the bouncy blue form of beach balls, and small
scale kids clubs will relieve tired parents for an hour or two.
But the real message is much more serious: instead of distributing
blankets and water, UNHCR will be handing out a Camp Challenge –
a quiz that draws comparisons between Glastonbury and a refugee
population of a similar size, but very different nature, in Chad.
With
this combined attack the UNHCR hopes to persuade ‘roughing
it’ revellers to spare a thought for Sudanese refugees, who
have been forced to camp in more life-threatening conditions:
“In
a small way Glastonbury-goers live like refugees. We hope that this
will make them more sympathetic to the plight of those living with
the reality in Chad” said Larry Hollingworth, UK
spokesperson for UNHCR.
“At
worst, Glastonbury-goers are escaping a dull job, refugees in Chad
are fleeing for their lives. Whereas revellers can go home after
three days, Sudanese refugees face an uncertain future with no home
to go back to.”
Described
by the UN as “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world”,
the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan has displaced 1.2 million
people. UNHCR is fighting an uphill battle against the elements
– desert sandstorms and seasonal rains - to assist 165,000
people who have fled to eastern Chad.
Glasto-goers
are hoping not to get too wet this weekend, but in Chad rain will
mean much more than a soggy sleeping bag. UNHCR is rushing to relocate
tens of thousands of refugees away from the insecure Chad-Sudan
border before the onset of the heavy rains makes getting people
out and aid in almost impossible. So far more than 106,000 refugees
have been moved to relative safety and 1,700 tonnes of aid have
been flown in.
UNHCR
Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie donated $50,000 to Chad and urges
more help after seeing first hand the dire situation in the border
area: "When
the rains start to fall, the weak temporary structures in the makeshift
shelters will be in danger of collapsing. There will be illnesses,
especially among children, due to the sanitary situation breaking
down," Jolie warned.
ENDS
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