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Red Cross Supports South American Refugees
Written by
Jacki Flowers
, Special to RedCross.Org
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 — Millions of people in Colombia and Ecuador live against the backdrop of an ongoing and often violent armed conflict. Many experience this scenario daily, and are forced to give up their normal routines to seek food and shelter in refugee camps and temporary housing that can be as many as hundreds of miles away from home.
To help ease the effects of the disruption, the Colombian and Ecuadorian Red Cross societies are providing medical, psychosocial and other relief to this growing population.
“In some cases, the communities that receive these populations, often called ‘host communities,’ are ill-prepared and vulnerable themselves, lacking basic services and access to health care,” said Drew Strobel, head of the American Red Cross office in Quito, Ecuador.
A Colombian Red Cross “health brigade” volunteer treats a young child.
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More than 50 years of internal conflict in Colombia has left an estimated two to three million people – as much as eight percent of the population – displaced. In Colombia, more than 250,000 displaced citizens have fled to neighboring countries including Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, and the United States.
Since 2002, the American Red Cross Humanitarian Assistance Program has sought to improve living conditions for displaced populations and their affected host communities in Colombia and Ecuador. Food shortages, lack of clean, safe water and inadequate sanitation systems are common problems facing displaced populations in their temporary homes.
According to UNHCR figures, requests for refugee-status Ecuador have increased from 475 to more than 11,000 in just five years, signaling a rising urgency.
“Temporary shelter, though not ideal, is an unfortunate reality as we work to fulfill the immediate needs of populations moving from place to place,” said Robert Brito de la Cuesta, head of the American Red Cross delegation in Bogotá, Colombia. “We’ve assisted more than 2,000 families in Colombia with material and technical assistance to help build their own temporary housing or to improve the conditions of their current residence.”
Thousands of families in the region have benefited from food and relief supplies including kitchen sets and hygiene kits. In addition to providing immunizations, medications, medical care, and dental services, the Red Cross societies in Colombia and Ecuador have used some innovative means to address the health needs – both physical and emotional – of these communities. Mobile health units staffed by health professionals, local volunteers and community members have reached thousands of families in both countries with psychosocial first-aid, health education and promotion.
A child’s drawing says thank you to Columbian volunteers for the help he and his family receive.
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“Psychosocial support is one component for assisting a population suffering due to traumatic experiences in violent environments or suddenly abandoning their homes,” said Dr. Carmen Guevara, a psychologist from the Ecuadorian Red Cross Psychosocial Support Office. “It is a way in which people of all ages—children through the elderly—can attain possible solutions, specific steps, and follow-up in coping with the stressors of their environment.”
The Peace, Action and Living Together program of the Colombian Red Cross, combines psychosocial therapy, addressing stress and trauma in individuals living with displacement and the ongoing conflict, with workshops on the principles of international humanitarian law.
“The program has given young people a place to reflect on what they have seen, have an open dialogue, and develop the skills that could serve them in the future—when they are in the positions to work toward improvement in society,” said Brito.
Eight health brigades in Colombia have cared for more than 5,000 patients, supplying immunizations, dental services, and medicine distributions. In Ecuador, the Ecuadorian Red Cross has trained 56 volunteers to serve as health promoters, and mobile health services have provided 272 visits to target communities over the past eight months–providing a total of 24,000 medical consultations with patients.
About 340 volunteers in Colombia and 30 staff and volunteers in Ecuador are currently providing psychosocial support, administering this critical care to a large number of children.
As part of the world's largest humanitarian network, the American Red Cross alleviates the suffering of victims of war, disaster and other international emergencies, and works with other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to improve chronic, life-threatening conditions in developing nations. We reconnect families separated by emergencies and educate the American public about international humanitarian law. This assistance is made possible through the generosity of the American public.
As part of the world's largest humanitarian network, the American Red Cross alleviates the suffering of victims of war, disaster and other international crises, and works with other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to improve chronic, life-threatening conditions in developing nations. We reconnect families separated by emergencies and educate the American public about international humanitarian law. This assistance is made possible through the generosity of the American public.
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