"Displacement
remains arguably the most significant humanitarian challenge that we
face.” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

When women
and girls are displaced, they live without shelter, sanitation, security,
access to resources and services like education and healthcare, and without
their support networks. All of these
things are considered to be among some of the most basic of human rights. Displaced women and girls are left vulnerable and at increased risks of
violence.

There are many reasons why people may become displaced
including conflict and persecution, natural disasters, famine, the effects of
climate change and large-scale developments. To make problems even harder to
fix, the rules that apply to internally displaced persons and refugees are
different. To be a refugee you must cross an international border whereas
internally displaced persons remain in their own country and are looked after
by their government. When governments can be the cause of the displacement, the
vulnerability of women and girls increases further still and there may be no
clear solution to their problems.

All of the causes of gender based violence are accentuated
during crisis situations, and the results are shocking. Displaced persons and
refugees often have to live in constant fear for their safety and without access
to the most basic human necessities.

Eliminate violence against internally displaced women and girls, say UN Experts Geneva, 25, November

 

Displacement and Natural Disasters

The media is generally good at reporting displacement due to
conflict, but natural disasters displaced three times as many people as war in
2013. Last year, 22 million people were driven out of their homes by floods,
hurricanes and other hazards. The natural disasters that displace people can be
huge, such as the tsunami that hit Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and other
countries in 2004, and typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines in 2013. However,
many are smaller and more localised, never reaching the newspapers. As a result, the
damage caused to lives goes unrecorded.

Climate change means that risks of displacement due to
natural disasters is rising. Twice as many people lose their homes due to
natural disasters today, than in the 1970s and those in developing countries
are most at risk. In times of crisis caused by natural disasters and
displacement, women and their children are vulnerable to violence and have to live
without access to basic facilities. 

Lamreh
Village – ten years on (2004 – 2014)

by Isla Winarto, SI Jakarta

"On 26 December, 2014, we commemorate the 10th
anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami which wreaked havoc in many countries,
including Indonesia. It is also a time for Indonesia’s SI Jakarta (SIJ) members
to reflect on their most challenging project ever – the Rebuilding Aceh Village (RLV) Project which was designed and
implemented in response to the needs of a small village in Aceh, north Sumatra,
Indonesia.

which was designed and
implemented in response to the needs of a small village in Aceh, north Sumatra,
Indonesia.

Over the six months immediately
following the tsunami, SIJ, through a world-wide appeal and excellent
networking,  managed to raise US$1
million to rebuild the village of Lamreh, Aceh. By the end of this project in
August, 2007, SIJ had raised a total of US$1.7 from Soroptimist Clubs
world-wide, from international and local organisations, major donor agencies
and small and large private companies.

 

Situated at the foot of Mount Malahayati and within meters of the coast
line, Lamreh village consists of four hamlets. In 2004, there were approximately
1,450 inhabitants (260 families) in Lamreh, 86 of whom had lost their lives
during the tsunami that year.  Most Lamreh
villagers worked as fishermen, owners of small coffee shops and kiosks, street and
market vendors, farmers, labourers and civil servants (teachers; clinic staff;
administration). In the RLV project, SIJ took on the daunting task of
rebuilding an entire new village, offering the Lamreh people new hope for a
brighter future.

 

When SIJ came across the Lamreh
village four days after the tsunami in December, 2004, they found its
inhabitants starving and with nothing but the clothes on their backs. SIJ
members rallied around, collecting food and clothing which they took to Aceh,
and distributed directly to the villagers.

Over the two year period
(2005-2007), SIJ provided Lamreh villagers with 200 houses; a primary school; a
clinic; a learning centre; a community hall; a women’s centre; a kindergarten;
a playground; and a market. Every household was also provided access to utilities
such as electricity; clean, running water, and waste collection.

 

Throughout SIJ’s work in Aceh,
focus was on community-driven development. SIJ involved the Lamreh people at
every stage of the project. This was achieved through village meetings, where
villagers were encouraged to ask questions, raise any issues, and express their
desires and  aspirations for the
future.  Throughout the RLV project, SIJ
endeavoured to empower the villagers and encourage them to take responsibility for
identifying systems and processes for the sustainability of  the  project outcomes  in their village, particularly  in areas of water and waste management
systems, user pays policies (for electricity and waste disposal), capacity
building programs and general maintenance of the public facilities.  At all times Soroptimist  emphasis was on community engagement  and  accomodating
local culture and conditions.

Any visitor to Lamreh Village in
Aceh these days will find a strong, vibrant community compared to that of ten
years ago post-tsunami. Families have moved on with their lives, healthy
children run around happily, most of the villagers are now gainfully employed,
and there is a general buzz in the area. Motor bikes, and some cars, are seen
parked outside the villagers’ houses, a far cry from back in 2005 when
transport from one place to another was extremely hard to come by. TV satellite
dishes have also been installed outside many of the homes, indicating a certain
affluence among the Lamreh villagers. The villagers appear happy, with a
purpose in life.

Many Lamreh villagers have repainted
their SIJ constructed houses in bright, sometimes gaudy colours, some have built
on additional rooms built onto the side or back sections of their houses. All
have running water and electricity. Footpaths and roads have been built in the
village itself, and in the surrounding areas.

As for the public facilities, the
local SIJ built school is showing definite signs of wear and tear and is badly
in need of a new coat of paint. The school playground equipment will also soon
need to be replaced as many items are now in a state of disrepair. But the
important thing is that the Lamreh children – both girls and boys – are
attending school and enjoying the opportunity of having an education.

 

The public library continues to
provide reading material for young and old. The open air community hall is
frequently used for village events and ceremonies.

The only public facility that has
not been functioning to serve the community is the SIJ built clinic. Due to
bureaucracy and issues with funds for on-going maintenance of the clinic, it
remains closed until matters are settled at the district and local government
level".

 

SI Singapore, Build Your
Future Today in Siem Reap, Cambodia

In Cambodia,
after years of conflict and its ensuring devastation, women and families have
been left without shelter. Without shelter they lack security, empowerment, and
education and sustainable employment opportunities. Having shelter would give
women and their families a chance to rebuilt their lives and gain independence.

 

SI Singapore
is working on an ongoing collaborative project in Siem Reap, Cambodia to give a
community living with the after effects of conflict the shelter they sorely
need. Siem Reap is one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia, and home to more
than 900, 000 villagers in 900 villages.

Over $3000
USD was raised in 2013 to assist with the construction of a ‘Mother and Child
Centre’ for Build Your Future Today and Soroptimists visited the Centre in
November 2014.

 

Mr Sedtha
Long, who helps run the project in Siem Reap, welcomed Soroptimists in November
to the blessing ceremony at the new centre in Bos Em. Soroptimists had a chance
to meet the women and children benefiting from the Centre, as well as
volunteers who work in the community to help make the project a success. The Centre
is now the focus point for so many sub projects. Australian students assist
with teaching and education opportunities, and a Norwegian volunteer is helping
build a water purifying system for the villagers. All of these projects are
designed to be self-sustaining.

This Centre
that was constructed with the assistance of Soroptimists is a much needed
shelter. It provides a place to house women and girls within the community,
where they can congregate and communicate, learning not only to read but other
skills, weaving, sewing which would lead to them becoming self-sufficient.

 

Click on the image below to view a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)

 

FACTS:

·        
There are an estimated 16.7 million refugees, but
approximately 33.3 million internally displaced persons worldwide.

·        
2.5 million people became refugees in 2014, the
highest number since 1994, and 8.2 million people became displaced within their
country which is the highest figure on record.

·        
32,200 people are thought to become displaced
every day.

·        
Developing countries host over 86% of the
world’s refugees.

·        
Between 75 and 80% of the total number of
refugees and internally displaced persons are women and children.

Source: UNHCR and the Brookings
Institute. 

 

“They [women and
girls] flee to escape arbitrary killings, rape, torture, inhuman or degrading
treatment, forced recruitment or starvation, but too often, they encounter the
same level of insecurity, violence and threats of violence, reinforced by a
climate of impunity, at their destination, including in camps”

Rashida
Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women