With You, 2019 - Volume 1

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Philippines Office Newsletter, 2019 - Volume 1
Palapa:
A Taste of Tomorrow
What’s Inside
The Faces of Yemen
Eight Years
in the War in Syria
Portrait of Mariam, a young Syrian refugee from Raqqa at the snowy informal settlement camp of Douress. Harsh winter weather creates havoc
across Lebanon’s Syrian refugee camps. ©UNHCR/Diego Ibarra Sanchez

Message from the Representative
Special Feature
Message from the
Representative
Dear donor,
Warmest greetings!
For the past years, I look at March with some
sadness and hope. This year is no different. This
2019, we mark several heart-breaking milestones –
the Eight Year War in Syria, the 4th year of conflict
in Yemen, and the anniversary of the earthquake in
Japan. These tragic events have displaced millions
of families from their homes. After some years,
some were able to go back home and rebuild their
lives in safety and in dignity.
Forcibly displaced families are just like us. This
truth was repeated to me when I was stationed
in Bangladesh where I had the honor of working
with a Syrian colleague. Like many Syrians, his
wife and children were displaced by the tragic war.
“They miss home terribly,” he told me. His wife and
children weighed the risks and returned to a
war-torn Damascus, because it was the only home
that they had ever known. “I don’t know what to do,”
he told me one day.
It was at that moment that my commitment to
supporting the forcibly displaced families was
“[...] but together,
we also look at the
future with hope.”
reinforced. Every single displaced person is
someone’s mother, father, and child. The millions of
people who are struggling everyday – the 13.1 million
people driven away from their homes by the war
in Syria, the 24 million in dire need of assistance in
Yemen – are all women, men, and children, who had
a family, a job, a home.
These forcibly displaced families have been
struggling for years just to survive. Yet, you have
continued to support them in their greatest time of
need.
As part of our community of givers, you continuously
make the commitment to take a step with them.
In this issue of WithYou, we share with you some
poignant stories from Philippines, Yemen, and Syria.
Indeed, we look at March with some sadness
because of the tragic events, but together, we also
look at the future with hope. We can continue to
make a difference in the lives of families forcibly
displaced from their homes.
Sincerely,
Shinji Kubo
Representative
UNHCR Philippines
A Taste of Tomorrow
Food is a way to nourish one’s self. A staple food offers
a different meaning for the forcibly displaced women in
a transitional shelter in Lanao del Sur.
The palapa is a common side dish in Maranao cuisine.
It is made out of ginger, coconut, onions, garlic, salt, and
sakurab (a kind of shallot that only grows in cold areas).
It is also a dish that unites the most vulnerable women
and preserves the Maranao heritage. This dish is often
used in Maranao cuisine to give viands a spicy kick. No
household or eatery in Lanao Del Sur is seen without it.
More than a side
UNHCR Philippines helped turned this side dish into
a hero for some internally displaced families. Through
a quick-impact project, UNHCR was able to set-up
Palapalicious, a livelihood project that trains and assists
displaced women in the business of selling palapa.
Founded in 2018, Palapalicious was a way for the
internally displaced women to learn new skills, earn
a living, and take a step to rebuilding their lives in
safety and in dignity. It was also an avenue for the
most vulnerable women having shared experiences of
displacement form a safe community.
“Kaming mga IDPs- mixed kami diyan, marami sa
barangay shelter. Halo-halo kami. Nung magkakasama
kami, masaya. Nagkakasayahan. Kung baga
nagkaroon kami ng good friendship. Magandang
samahan.” said Sania Naga, a internally displaced
person and member of Palapalicious.
It is because of continued commitment from donors
and supporters that hope is restored to the women who
have lost everything because of conflict. Through this
quick-impact project, the displaced women were able
to start a community among themselves and take a step
towards building better futures.
©UNHCR/ Ma. Angelica Gonzalez
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Special Feature
Special Feature
THE FACES
OF YEMEN
The crisis in Yemen is entering its fourth year and more than 24
million people in Yemen are in dire need of assistance. Each one
of the statistics is a story of despair and survival. As we mark this
heart-breaking milestone, we take a look at some Yemenis who are
doing all that they can to survive and rebuild their lives in the midst
of the terrible conflict.
“We did not come to Korea for money or for better jobs. We
came because Korea is a safe country. We cannot return
now or even in the near future. If we return, we will die.”
Thousands of families have fled from their homes because of the
conflict in Yemen. One of them is Sami Al-baadani, who ended up in
Jeju Island in South Korea. When Sami arrived, he did not receive a
warm welcome in the small island. Yet, he found a friend in Ha Min
Kuyang, a South Korean refugee advocate.
Najiba,
Yemeni Mother of Two
“I ask Allah (God) to heal me and every patient from
this disease. But my disease and the disease of others
is not important. What’s important is the cancer (of
war) in this country to vanish…why should I care about
my cancer if the whole country has cancer?”
Najiba is a mother of two and used to live in the quiet village of Taizz. This
was until fighting broke out in her hometown that forced her to escape to
Sana’a. She was unable to find a safe place there and was left homeless.
Forcibly displaced persons, like Najiba, are more vulnerable to physical
and mental health problems and human trafficking.
Through the support of donors like you, UNHCR was able to provide
shelter assistance to thousands of IDPs, desperately in need of a home.
Ha Min opened the first Yemeni restaurant in Jeju Island, helped
provide jobs for Yemenis who lost everything, and advocated for
cultural exchange. Through these initiatives, the locals are able to
look beyond cultural differences.
Sami still misses his home, but through the support of Ha Min and
other locals, he is now able to find a safe place and
rebuild his life in safety and in dignity.
Salwa,
Yemeni Mother of Six
Sami,
Waiter at Wardah Restaurant
“I stepped outside to get some food and then they were hit by
a plane. When I went back to the house there was no one –
my children, my brothers, mother, nor husband… I fear for my
remaining children…I feel sorry to see them without food.”
In 2019, an estimated 3.3 million people are internally displaced in
Yemen. Salwa is one of them. She still remembers how her house blew
up and she barely escaped with her life. She was forced to flee to the
outskirts of Sana’a, the largest city in Yemen. Every day, Salwa struggles
to survive as food and water are extremely limited.
Internally displaced people like Salwa are often in need of basic
necessities - food, water, and clothing. They are also susceptible to
vulnerabilities and are in need of continued protection assistance.
“We didn’t know what it was but we thought we could
play with it. A minute or so after she picked it up, it
exploded. When I woke up, I was in the hospital.”
In 2017, Salah and his friend Kareema were herding sheep in a field
near their home when they found an unusual object. It exploded and
immediately killed Kareema and amputated Salah. Later in that year,
Salah with his sister and grandmother, were forced to flee their home
due to the conflict. His parents were left behind because they did not
want to leave their house and livestock.
Salah now lives in a makeshift shelter with his sister and
grandmother. They own nothing save for the clothes on their backs
and core-relief items that were delivered by UNHCR. Salah is one of
the millions of children who have been robbed of their childhood.
Salah,
Child from Yemen
“I wrote my children a will in case I didn’t make it.
I told them to learn and study hard.”
Ali was a family man and shopkeeper in Yemen. This all changed when
conflict broke out near their home. Ali and his wife contemplated fleeing via a
small raft with their children, but they were weary of the waves.
Rather than risk the lives of their children at sea, Ali and his wife made the
painful decision to leave their children behind. They left their children in the
mountains safe from shelling and war, while he and his wife took a small boat
to Italy where they almost lost their lives at sea.
He has not seen his children since then.
Ali is one of many who crossed continents and faced the most perilous
conditions in search of safety. Ali and thousands of refugees across the
globe are dreaming of the day that they are reunited with their families.
Ali,
Yemeni refugee to Italy
Families experience the crisis in Yemen in a multitude of ways, but they all know the struggle for survival. They are often
left with nothing. But with your continued support, we can provide them with safety and protection in their darkest hours.
Through the generosity of donors like you, we are able to help Ali, Salwa, Najiba, and Salah. Together, we can help them
rebuild their lives in safety and in dignity.
©UNHCR/ N. George, H. Hariri, B. Ahmed, S. Mantoo, UNHCR Yemen
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5

Special Feature
Special Feature
Eight Years in
the War in Syria
of their humanity, and the improvement of the quality
of their lives. Together we work in the pursuit of
rebuilding the lives of the forcibly displaced in safety
and in dignity.
Your donations have helped us build support for the
refugees. You have provided direct assistance, shelter,
relief items, and continued protection. Together,
we can continue to stand with them in their time of
greatest need.
“There were airstrikes and
dead bodies around us… I
didn’t want my kids to end
up like that.”
- Zeenab, Syrian Refugee in Jordan
When her house was destroyed in conflict, Zeenab
immediately left Syria with her two sons. They walked
through the winter cold to reach Jordan. They were
received by UNHCR staff. and given shelter and life
saving support.
Zeenab is one of the millions of Syrians who struggled
to make it out of the war zone. After eight years, 5.6
million refugees continue to fight for survival and rely
on humanitarian aid.
On March 2011, conflict broke out in Syria after 16
students were penalized for activism against the
government. The conflict quickly escalated as a myriad
of other forces and groups became involved. The
layered war resulted in a broken city, with uncountable
casualties and people fleeing from their homes.
And the distress did not end there.
To this day, the war continues. Civil unrest and
extremism has long penetrated the area. To this day,
the Syrian people live in constant fear of violence. An
end to the sufferings of the Syrian families is not within
sight.
People like Zeenab have left everything behind. For
eight long years, they have been struggling to survive.
UNHCR works for the protection of refugees in three
strategic stages: responding with life saving support,
safeguarding rights, and building better futures. This
response covers their physical survival, the restoration
6 With You | Vol. 1, 2019
©UNHCR/ Antwan Chnkdji
©UNHCR/A. Chnkdji
SOURCE: BRP2018-2019 |
REGIONAL REFUGEE RESILIENCE PLAN
QUARTERLY UPDATE ACHIEVEMENTS DECEMBER 2018
With You | Vol. 1, 2019 7

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of Yemeni families.
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© UNHCR/A. Chnkdji