On World Refugee Day

When people have to flee

Imagine that you are no longer safe in your home and have to leave it. You leave behind a large part of your belongings, your familiar surroundings, friends and family. You decide to flee to a country you don't know, where you don't understand the language, where you don't know what it will be like. And yet you hope for a better, safer, peaceful life.

This is everyday life for many people around the world. At the end of 2021, 89.3 million people were displaced. Currently, after Russia's attack on Ukraine, the number has risen to over 100 million people. 

On this day, the UN wants to draw attention to the fact that all refugees, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or when they flee, should be treated with respect and dignity. It is a human right to seek safety. 

According to the UN, security means:

• The right to asylum.

• Safe access so that people can cross borders without hurdles.

• No pushbacks, 

• no discrimination and 

• humane treatment.

However, the reality is often different. People on the run are pushed back at the borders or deported or suffer in mass accommodation. 

Trauma through the refugee experience

Refugees are often exposed to life-threatening situations before and during their escape. War and violence can have a severe impact on them, so that traumas can arise. The effects of trauma can vary greatly. Often, fears are constant companions in everyday life. The right to psychiatric or psychotherapeutic treatment is therefore essential. 

Dealing with fear

In order to be able to do something about fear quickly, the community project "How to deal with fear" was launched. This is aimed at all those who have fears and worries in the context of the war in Ukraine. Professional therapists from Couch:now volunteer to make videos on this topic available in several languages with the help of alugha. You can find out more about this project here.

UKR4Kids

Children suffer most from escape and expulsion. In order to bring them a little joy and provide a little extracurricular education, there is the voluntary project UKR4Kids, in which educational videos for pre-school children are translated into several languages with the help of alugha and are now available for children of different origins.

What projects for refugees do you support?

#alugha

#wespeakearthish

#multlingual