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How Can We Help With The Migrant Crisis?
The heartbreaking photo of Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach has left people outraged, with a strong desire to help with the migrant crisis personally and financially.
Photo Credit: CBC
A memorial was held at Simon Fraser University on Saturday for Aylan Kurdi, his brother, Ghalib, and their mother, Rehanna. The children's aunt, Tima Kurdi, who lives in Coquitlam, BC, organized the event, which attracted the public to remember the family. The Kurdi family is only one small group among the 4 million Syrian refugees who have left their homes, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Some of the most Googled questions online since then have been "how can I help?" and "how to sponsor a Syrian refugee?" The first question is slightly easier to answer: financial donations are crucial to the effort. Many organizations have dedicated funds to helping refugees coming to Europe.
You can donate to Islamic Relief Canada, which has been focusing its efforts on short-term help for incoming refugees, so that means food, toiletries, water and hygiene products. The CEO, Zaid Al-Rawni, said to The Globe and Mail to help them focus on those needs first. “Help us make sure that those migrants aren’t just sleeping rough, eating from rubbish bins, not eating at all,” he said in the interview.
To sponsor a family, you can apply through the government's Private Sponsorship of Refugees program, where sponsors need to provide financial and emotional support for the refugees they take in. However, this is a longer process despite the government promising to accept 10,000 more refugees into Canada. Therefore, many sponsors apply through faith-based organizations or charities or through the Group of Five process, where a group of five or more permanent residents or Canadian citizens commit to sponsorship.
Lifeline Syria, a group based in Toronto, aims to connect interested sponsors with the refugees who they hope to bring in.
"You can divide (the money) up, you can find in-kind donations, but you have to have a group of people who are prepared to sign papers and say 'we will support this family for a year,'" said spokesperson Wendy Cukier to CTV News.
UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has also gotten involved in urging the UN Security Council to do more for Syrian refugees with her impassioned plea in April. She's since written an op-ed in The Times with Arminka Heli?, a member of the House of Lords and a former refugee from the 1990s war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Here is a comprehensive list of the agencies and charities to donate to:
The UNHCR: The UN refugee agency provides shelter and critical emergency support to Syrian refugees.
World Vision: This organization supplies food, hygiene items and water for Syrian children. They have supported more than 700,000 people in Syria to date.
UNICEF Canada: This child-focused group efforts focus on health, nutrition, immunization, water and sanitation as well as education and child protection.
The World Food Programme: The WFP’s response focuses on delivering food and e-cards and organizing logistics to help Syrians. WFP provides emergency food assistance to close to 4 million Syrians.
The Canadian Red Cross: This organization is working on the front lines of the conflict with the Syrian Arab Crescent to provide food, household items, healthcare and supplies to help survive the chilly winters.
The Migrant Offshore Aid Station: This agency is made up of humanitarians and marine officers, and it tries to save migrants in distress in the Mediterranean. International donations can be made in US dollars via PayPal or bitcoin.
Main Image Photo Credit: CBC
Rumnique Nannar
Author
Rumnique Nannar is a new journalist with a passion for all things pop culture, film, and art. Rumnique was born in London, with a predilection for devouring English chocolate with her Vogue, ANOKHI, and Glamour magazines in tow. She is currently in her Journalism Masters at UBC. Connect ...
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