At the start of 2011, Syria was one of the largest refugee hosting countries in the world. Today, Syrians are the largest group of refugees with 5.5 million people forced to flee the country and 6.3 million internally displaced. An estimated 400,000 others have been killed in one of the most brutal conflicts we’ve seen.
After surviving years in exile by living on their savings and selling their possessions, many families are drained of resources. Without money for rent, they have been forced into overcrowded, run-down accommodation.
Many children who used to go to school have been forced into child labour such as street hawking and cleaning to help pay the rent and keep food on the table.
These families have run out of options.
Unexpected expenses like medical bills can tip them over the edge – and with the approach of another unforgiving winter, they desperately need your help.
At home with a Syrian refugee family in Amman, Jordan, on the waiting list for cash assistance. Ala is father to three children, and the fourth is on the way.
© UNHCR/Christopher Herwig
Ala, a father of three is embarrassed when UNHCR staff come to visit. He tells the assessment team that he's ashamed he can't shake their hands. Lack of medication for his diabetes has impaired his ability to move, and his arms have become partially paralysed.
"We kept moving from one house to the next because we couldn't afford the rent."
Nor can the family afford the medication Ala needs. Without it, his health will continue to deteriorate.
Ala's family has been identified by UNHCR as extremely vulnerable. They are waiting for UNHCR's Lifeline assistance.
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Jenna
The kitchen where her family prepares their food is dirty and in disrepair. Half of Syrian refugees in Jordan live in inadequate housing. Jenna and her family receive food vouchers from the World Food Programme, but a healthy diet always remains a challenge.
(© UNHCR/J. Kohler)
Loay is the 2 year old son of Fatmeh. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer.
Fatmeh uses the cash assistance she receives to provide for Loay's treatment...Fatmeh has been living as a refugee in Jordan for the last five years. She struggles every day to cover her family’s basic needs and provide lifesaving treatment for her seriously ill son Loay, who was diagnosed with bladder cancer...Fatmeh had difficulties making the ends meet, and was evicted from their previous home after failing to pay the rent. ..Last year, Fatmeh finally had a good news when the UNHCR, the refugee agency, told her that her family was eligible for a monthly cash assistance of 155 Jordanian dinars (US$ 220)...She mostly uses the extra cash to pay for her son’s radiotherapy, even if that means falling behind with her rent and getting into ever deeper debt. “The cash assistance is literally what’s keeping my son alive. Without it I don’t know how we could go on living,” she says. ; Fatmeh’s family is among 30,000 Syrian refugee households in Jordan currently receiving monthly cash assistance, with around a third of those including a family member with a serious illness or disability.. .But a worrying shortfall in funding for the agency’s Syria response, particularly in Jordan and Lebanon, means that this life-saving assistance could dry up by the end of June, affecting a total of 75,000 families in both countries. . .The current funding gap for the Syria crisis in 2017 is more than US$ 1 billion, of which US$ 187 million is urgently needed to avoid the disruption of cash assistance and other vital aid in Jordan and Lebanon.
(© UNHCR / Benoit Almeras)
Source: Australia for UNHCR's Statement of Comprehensive income 2015
Jena, 8 months, is held by her father Ahmed, 22.
Jena, 8 months, is held by her father Ahmed, 22, in the family's rented apartment on the outskirts of Amman, Amman Governorate, Jordan. UNHCR provided the family with a one-off cash assistance to cover an emergency caesarean section for Sumaiya and hospital treatment for Jena. The family also receive winter assistance.
(© UNHCR/David Azia)
Talal is 65 and lives in Jordan with his wife Asma.
Now they fear losing everything. “If I stop receiving this amount, I prefer to go back to Syria to die in my country. In Jordan, there is no door left to knock”. ; Both with a disability, Talal and his wife are part of the one third of the families in the cash assistance programme relying on UNHCR as their sole source of income, making them particularly vulnerable to any changes in cash assistance.
(© UNHCR)
Protection
Reuniting Families
Safe Places
Counselling
People fleeing war, disaster or persecution can be very vulnerable. UNHCR supplies displaced people with essential items, food and shelter to protect them from having to make dangerous decisions to survive. On a larger scale, UNHCR negotiates safe passage, asylum spaces and humanitarian access, upholding the rights of refugees and minimising the threat of violence, including sexual assault.
Families often become separated during forced displacement and flight. UNHCR makes use of registration data to locate separated family members and reunite them where possible. UNHCR also works with its partners to share information between refugee sites and provide safe accommodation and psychosocial support for unaccompanied and separated children.
UNHCR operates safe spaces for the most vulnerable refugees. Children travelling alone are given special support and safe accommodation while UNHCR staff search for their relatives or carers. Throughout Europe, UNHCR works with UNICEF to operate ‘blue dot’ hubs for child and family support, providing child services, play areas and counselling. For displaced girls, safe spaces in refugee camps are essential for preventing abuse and exploitation. LGBTI refugees are also offered safe spaces to protect them from harm and discrimination.
Displacement due to armed conflict, persecution, or disaster puts significant psychological and social stress on individuals, families and communities. UNHCR provides counselling to refugee populations to address trauma arising from displacement. These services are particularly vital for survivors of torture and of sexual and gender-based violence.
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Australia for UNHCR (ABN 35 092 843 322) respects the importance of privacy and security of your personal information. This privacy policy sets out the way we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information and underpins our commitment to protecting your right to privacy. This policy reflects Australia for UNHCR’s obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (including the National Privacy Principles) (the Privacy Act). Australia for UNHCR embraces the National Privacy Principles and is committed to safeguarding your personal data. As members of the following bodies, we adhere to additional codes of conduct and ethical fundraising practices:
We may revise this Privacy Policy or any part of it from time to time. You will find the most current version on our website or obtain a copy from our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
Collection of Personal Information
Australia for UNHCR follows the Australian Privacy Principles in handling personal information; we collect personal information about individuals including supporters, employees, contractors, volunteers, special representatives/delegates and job applicants. This information is collected directly from you, in person, by phone or email, on hard copy donation forms or via our website. We may also collect your personal information from publically available sources or third parties.
Use of Personal Data
The information we collect and hold generally includes contact details (name, address, email), personal details including date of birth, and credit card or bank accounts details.
We use the personal information you provide us with for the purpose for which it was provided to us, other related purposes or as permitted or required by law. Generally we collect and use your personal information for:
We also use your information in our marketing and fundraising activities, keeping you informed of our latest news, campaigns and appeals or about campaigns and appeals which may be of interest to you, and offer you the opportunity to subscribe to them. We may also offer you the opportunity to participate in surveys carried out by Australia for UNHCR or its agents.
Direct Marketing
We use your personal details to assist in the cost-effective development of our marketing and fundraising activities by sending you information by post, email or telephone. As we have a large number of supporters, at times we use external providers to assist with our telemarketing and mailing. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that our contracts with third parties include requirements for third parties to comply with the Use and Disclosure requirements of the Privacy Act.
We will endeavour to provide you with an opportunity to opt out of receiving such communications. By signing our pledge documents, you consent to having your personal information stored. If you do not opt out by ticking the box, we will send you our direct marketing materials. We make every effort to ensure that our opt-out notices are clear and easy to follow.
If you do not wish to receive future communications from Australia for UNHCR or have any questions about privacy please contact our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
Disclosure and Sharing of Personal Data
We occasionally invite other like-minded and trusted organisations in Australia to contact you with information that may be of interest. This allows Australia for UNHCR to increase its base of supporters and reach more people with our vital message.
Any personal contact information you provide to us may be disclosed, if appropriate, to third parties who provide services on our behalf. We may also disclose your personal information to our volunteers who assist with many of our tasks.
Strict confidentiality agreements are in place with our service providers and external agencies, and with staff and volunteers who handle your personal information. We will only disclose your personal information for the purposes for which it was initially collected, other directly related purposes or purposes to which you otherwise consent.
Other than as stated above, we will we not share your personal information. However, it is possible, though unlikely, that we might be forced to disclose personal information in response to legal processes or when we believe in good faith that the law requires it, for example, in response to a court order, subpoena or a law enforcement agency's request.
If you do not wish Australia for UNHCR to share your personal information with like-minded and trusted organisations in Australia, you may opt out by ticking the appropriate box on the donation or pledge form or contact our Donor Care team, with contact details at the bottom of this policy. If you have any questions about privacy please contact our Donor Care Team (see contact details at the bottom of this policy).
Access and Correction of Personal Data
Australia for UNHCR will correct its records containing Personal Information as soon as practically possible at the request of the individual concerned in accordance with the Privacy Act. We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that we collect and hold is accurate, complete and up-to-date. However, we rely on you to advise us of any changes to your personal information to help us maintain accurate, complete and up-to-date information.
We will, on request, provide you with access to the personal information we hold about you unless otherwise required or permitted by law. We will notify you of the basis for any denial of access to your personal information.
Individuals wishing to lodge a request to access and/or correct their Personal Information should do so by contacting our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this document.
Quality of Personal Information
Australia for UNHCR will review, on a regular and ongoing basis, its collection and storage practices to ascertain how improvements to accuracy can be achieved. We may utilise the services of third parties in order to maintain accurate personal information. Where such disclosure is made, we take reasonable steps to require these organisations comply with the National Privacy Principles.
Storage and Security of Information
We strive to protect your personal information, that it is protected from misuse, loss, interference and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. For example, whenever we ask for your financial details online, we use security-encrypted response forms.
No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, Australia for UNHCR cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us over the internet, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to try and ensure its security both on our systems and while in transit between our systems and the companies who provide us with various services. If you do not wish to make your financial contribution online, please contact us to receive a hard copy form; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
Making a Privacy Complaint
If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of this privacy policy or the privacy principles of the Privacy Act 1988 you can contact us using the contact details at the bottom of this policy. You will need to provide us with sufficient details regarding your complaint as well as any supporting evidence and/or information.
We will refer your complaint to our Privacy Officer who will investigate the issue and determine the steps that we will undertake to resolve your complaint. We will contact you if we require any additional information from you and will notify you in writing of the outcome of the investigation. If you are not satisfied with our determination, you can contact us to discuss your concerns. If your complaint is about the way we handle your personal information, you may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by calling 1300 363 992, online at www.oaic.gov.au or writing to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001.
Online Activity and Privacy
Cookies
When you visit our website our server tracks non-personal statistical information about your experience on the site, such as pages viewed and donation details. The Australia for UNHCR website uses cookies and tracking technology to enhance your experience and deliver content relevant to your behaviour. This enables us to gather information such as the number of website visits and how you interact with our website. We use this information to help us understand more about how our site is used, so we can continually improve your experience.
We also use cookies for tracking the statistics of our website, which allows us to better understand your visit and improve the layout and functionality of our website. This analysis is conducted in such a way to ensure the anonymity of visitors while the information can help us customise the online experience for visitor to our site. No personally identifiable information is obtained. Information is gathered at an aggregate level and may be shared with third parties to help us analyse website usage and deliver marketing material.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser. If you do not wish to receive any cookies you may set your browser to either prompt or refuse cookies.
Third party cookies
Australia for UNHCR sometimes embeds photos and video content from websites such as YouTube. Pages with this embedded content may present cookies from these websites. Similarly, when you use one of the share buttons on our website, a cookie may be set by the service you have chosen to share content through. We do not control the dissemination of these cookies; you should check the relevant third party website for more information about these.
In addition, if you linked to our websites from a third party website, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners or operators of that site. We recommend you check the policy of the third party site and contact its owner or operator if you have any concerns or questions.
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If you don’t want to receive cookies, you can modify your browser so that it notifies you when cookies are sent to it or you can refuse cookies altogether. You can also delete cookies that have already been set.
If you wish to restrict or block web browser cookies which are set on your device you can do this through your browser settings; the Help function within your browser should tell you how. Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of desktop browsers.
Social Media
Our website and mobile site may contain links to online forums. Think carefully before you post or publish any Personal Information in these forums as it will be publicly available.
Secure Online transactions
If you make a donation via our website, we process your credit/debit card details securely using an accredited internet payment security system. With the combination of SSL encryption on our website and a secure browser at your end, we take all reasonable measures to ensure that your credit/debit card and personal information are protected when you donate online. We also recommend that you take appropriate security precautions when accessing the internet via public Wi-Fi networks or shared computers.
Contact Us
You will find the most current version of our Privacy Policy on our website at privacy-policy.
If you have any questions about your privacy, wish to access or change your details, how to lodge a complaint regarding the handling of your information and how that complaint will be handled by Australia for UNHCR, please contact our
Donor Care Team: