You may be hearing the words “refugee” and “conflict” in the news more and more often. The number of people displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the fighting in Sudan continues to increase, and the global refugee problem is becoming more serious. Among these, one area that has remained unresolved for 75 years is the Middle East, Palestine, where the conflict continues to this day.
On the occasion of World Refugee Day, June 20, we interviewed Akihiro Kiyota, who has been working in the field for more than 10 years as Director of the Health Department of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and Toshiya Abe, former Director of the JICA Palestine Office, who has long been involved in Palestine assistance, on the scene of the increasingly serious refugee problem, We asked them about what is happening now, how support should be provided, and clues to solving the problems surrounding refugees.
People forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution exceed 100 million for the first time
— According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of refugees and internally displaced persons who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution will exceed 100 million for the first time in 2022, more than doubling from 42.7 million 10 years ago. How do you view this current situation?
Kiyota: No one in the world, including myself, would have thought that the number of refugees would increase as much as it has. Even here in the Middle East, the situation surrounding refugees is worsening. This morning, there was an airstrike in Gaza (see note). The conflict is still going on and the number of people who have been forced to flee their homes is increasing.
Note: On May 9, the day of the dialogue, the Israeli military bombed the stronghold of the armed group Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Palestinian territory. Thereafter, an exchange of airstrikes and rockets, including counterattacks by the Palestinian side, continued for five days, resulting in the injury and death of civilians on both sides, as well as a senior member of the armed group in Gaza, according to media reports.
Akihiro Seita
He is the Director of Health at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which provides medical, educational, social welfare, and other assistance to Palestinian refugees. After working for the World Health Organization (WHO) for about 15 years on infectious diseases and AIDS control in the Middle East, he was appointed to his current position in 2010. He participated in this dialogue online from Jordan, where he is based.
Abe: We are aware that this is a very serious situation, with more than 100 million people, which is about 80% of Japan’s population, or one in every 80 people worldwide.
Conflict is the most significant factor in this situation, and the UHNCR has identified the following solutions for refugees: return to their country of origin, settle in the country where they were displaced, or settle in a third country. Of course, it is preferable to return to one’s country of origin, but one cannot return unless the conflict is over and peace is achieved. The longer the situation is prolonged, the more refugees there will be in Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, and in Ukraine, Sudan, and many other places.
Toshiya Abe
He served as Director of JICA’s Palestine Office from January 2019 to February 2023.After joining JICA in 1993, he was in charge of Palestine in the Planning Department and was involved in the launch of the Palestine Office in 1998, where he was assigned for three years. In 2007, he was seconded to UNHCR Headquarters as Senior Development Officer in charge of Humanitarian and Development Coordination. Currently Director of JICA’s Evaluation Department.
Note: Statistics for 2022 are estimates as of June 9, 2022. All “Other People in Need of International Protection” (2019-22) are Venezuelans.
Source: UNHCR Refugee Data Finder
Palestinian Refugees, the World’s Most Prolonged Refugee Problem Today
–In 1948, the First Middle East War broke out following the proclamation of the State of Israel, and approximately 800,000 people were forced to flee “Palestine”. Those who fled to neighboring countries have been living as refugees for 75 years, longing to “return home” ever since, and the number has now reached approximately 5.8 million. Please tell us about the current situation of Palestinian refugees.
Kiyota: My honest impression is that “we are in a tunnel with no way out.” UNRWA was adopted by the United Nations in 1949 and has been active since 1950. The period of activity set at that time was three years. In other words, the world at that time thought that the problem of Palestinian refugees could be solved in three years. However, 73 years later, the political problem that gave birth to the Palestinian refugees is still not expected to be resolved. Peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel have not progressed, and the political and economic situation in neighboring countries such as Syria and Lebanon, where many Palestinian refugees live, has also deteriorated.
None of the Palestinian refugees wanted to be refugees or to remain refugees for 75 years. However, four generations of their families are now refugees, and their sense of hopelessness about the future is growing stronger. UNRWA’s role in supporting children’s education and health is becoming increasingly important as parents are keen to “at least do something about their children’s future.
Abe: I became in charge of Palestine immediately after I joined JICA in 1993. The Oslo Accords (peace agreement between Palestine and Israel) were signed in the same year, and expectations for the establishment of a Palestinian state grew as the Palestinian Authority was established the following year, but now peace negotiations have completely stalled. In the past, the international community continued to assist in the “two-state solution” of establishing a Palestinian state, but with no prospect of such a state, the international community’s interest has waned.
What concerns me most is that the transition from humanitarian aid to medium- to long-term economic development is now being reversed. In other words, people are once again finding it difficult to make ends meet.
Palestinian refugee children sleep on the floor of a UNRWA-run elementary school designated as a shelter after fleeing Israeli airstrikes, Gaza, May 2021 (Photo courtesy of UNRWA)
–With the political situation and the life of Palestinian refugees becoming more difficult, what kind of support are UNRWA and JICA providing now?
● Kiyota: In the health field I am involved in, we provide medical care at 140 clinics in UNRWA’s area of operation in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.
Currently, 70-80% of deaths among Palestinian refugees are due to lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The main reason is that they lack financial resources and are forced to follow an unbalanced diet. Since it is important that the same doctors and nurses provide continuous treatment for chronic lifestyle-related diseases, we have introduced a “family doctor system. We have also introduced an electronic medical record so that patients can see at a glance their medical history, test results, medications, and other treatment progress. As life continues to be harsh with no clear future, there is also an urgent need to address domestic violence and mental health care.
UNRWA medical clinic in Syria. Weigh-in for Palestinian refugee children as part of maternal and child health services (photo courtesy of UNRWA).
Abe: JICA, a development agency, is focusing on improving living conditions, human resource development, and capacity building, rather than emergency humanitarian assistance, in response to the protracted refugee situation. The houses were originally built as temporary housing, but have become dilapidated and the infrastructure is inadequate. In this project, improvement plans are made at the initiative of the residents and crowdfunding is used to improve their living environment. We support them to live in safety and dignity even under difficult circumstances.
A refugee camp where buildings and street vendors stand side by side in a small space. Buildings have been repeatedly and disorderly extended and remodeled, and the roads are noticeably deteriorated.
Kiyota: We have been working with JICA to introduce an electronic mother-child handbook. All of the 90,000 pregnant women who use it each year use it, and locally it is also known as the “JICA Book. JOCV members are also involved in music and physical education at UNRWA-run elementary and junior high schools, making JICA a strategic partner in supporting Palestinian refugees.
Abe: The Refugee Camp Improvement Project is the first time JICA has stepped into a refugee camp to provide assistance. The project has created opportunities for residents from various backgrounds in the camps, including women, people with disabilities, and young people, who until now have had few opportunities to voice their opinions, to discuss how to improve their living environment for the future, and the participating residents are very active. It is important to cooperate with UNRWA, which is well versed in the lives of the residents and the conditions of the camp, and I believe it is important to continue to provide support in cooperation with each other in the future.
Forums are held for residents themselves to discuss plans for improving the camp. Women, people with disabilities, young people, and other residents who had not previously been involved in decision-making are actively participating.
What is the role of support organizations that cannot enter into a political solution?
–With neither UNRWA nor JICA able to step directly into the political issue of peace between Palestine and Israel with regard to a solution, what role can aid agencies play in helping to bring about a solution?
● Kiyota: Of course it is not our job to intervene in political issues, but we can create situations that contribute to the resolution of the refugee problem; almost all of UNRWA’s 28,000 employees are Palestinian refugees, and we are creating a system that allows refugees to solve their own problems. It is very important now, when the situation is so difficult, to show Palestinian refugees that “the world has not given up” on peace and to support Palestinian refugees to live with dignity and pride until the day the political problem is resolved.
Abe: Along with humanitarian assistance, a major role of development assistance organizations is to create an environment conducive to a political solution. For example, there is a 14-fold disparity in per capita GDP between Palestine and Israel, which leads to a disparity in power, We hope that the correction of the disparity through economic development will eventually lead to a political solution. In cooperation with a Japanese IT startup, JICA is promoting human resource development in software development for young people in the Gaza Strip, and is providing loans to the largest private bank in Palestine to support the expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Monster Lab Inc., an IT service development and other company, in collaboration with JICA, helps create jobs for young people in the Gaza Strip. (Photo courtesy of Monster Labs)
Kiyota: This year marks exactly 70 years since Japan began supporting UNRWA. Japan has been solemnly continuing its humanitarian assistance without political agendas, and is greatly appreciated in the region.
Partnerships are essential to solving problems surrounding refugees
–What clues have you gained through your support for Palestinian refugees to help solve the protracted problems surrounding refugees around the world?
● Kiyota: In order to protect the human rights and dignity of refugees, those who provide support must show that they will not give up, create a system that will not give up, create partners who will not give up, and continue to provide support in any case. It is also important to share the voices of the refugees and the results of our support with the world so that they will not be forgotten by the rest of the world. And now, I believe that whether the countries of the world can end the war between Russia and Ukraine, the development of this war will greatly determine the future resolution of the world’s refugee problem.
Abe: It is impossible for a single country or institution to solve the problems surrounding the world’s refugees. It is important for host governments that host refugees, aid organizations such as JICA, and international organizations to utilize each other’s strengths to find solutions. As conflicts become more protracted, we believe that refugee assistance will increasingly require collaboration between humanitarian and development assistance.
When we think of the refugee problem, images and news reports show only groups of people from different countries and ideologies fighting. But on the other side of the battle are the people who are forced to leave their homes. Imagine what it is like to lose your life and be separated from your family and friends. Although the refugees themselves have limited opportunities to speak out, they want us to understand their situation. It is important for each and every one of us to accept this fact.
© Source JICA
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