WE MUST TOP THIS CATASTROPHE NOW
When it comes to famous Irish faces, they don’t come much bigger than Liam Cunningham. His body of work is immense and he has regularly flown the flag as one of the hardest working Irish actors on the planet. This July, his star power is going to rise further when Sky launches series seven of Game of Thrones, in which he plays the loyal smuggler Davos.
But away from filming for the TV behemoth, Liam recently spent a week in Uganda, which is facing a growing crisis. It’s an issue that is very close to his heart and he speaks passionately about the difficulties facing people at the world’s biggest refugee camp. Bidi Bidi has 2,000 arrivals a day from South Sudan – 86% of whom are women and children – and with 270,000
Actor Liam Cunningham made a recent trip to the world’s biggest refugee camp in Uganda and says that if people power doesn’t force politicians into action, a crisis is inevitable
inhabitants is already full, despite only opening three months ago.
‘I’m trying to get the word out nationally and internationally about this problem because it is fixable,’ he says.
‘It’s a disaster at the moment but if we don’t do something about it very soon, it’s going to be a complete catastrophe.’
No stranger to refugee camps, Liam admits that as a father, it’s heart-breaking meeting children who are displaced. He met orphans and an entire school of children who were forced to flee when fighting broke out near their classroom. ‘ The majority of these children saw their parents being killed while others lost touch with their families once fighting broke out,’ says Gilbert Kamanga, the World Vision Uganda country director. ‘Some of them walk for more than a
➤ week to get to Uganda, with nothing to eat. This is one of the worst forms of violence against children. It must stop. Peace needs to prevail in South Sudan.’
World Vision – which is currently helping to coordinate separated refugee children and unaccompanied minors at Bidi Bidi and other camps – has warned that unless conflict ceases in South Sudan, Uganda could be home to 10,000 unaccompanied children by mid-2017.
The majority of these children saw their parents being killed while others were separated when the fighting broke out.
Together with its partners, World Vision has been able to put in place interim foster care support for more than 2,500 unaccompanied minors plus help at least 1,000 separated children reunite with their relatives.
The situation in Uganda has been compromised by the fact that promised international backing has not been forthcoming.
‘Uganda has the most progressive refugee policy on the planet,’ explains Liam. ‘ They have an open- door policy for whoever needs help, which I believe is incredibly generous.
‘ To make that deal, the international community was going to take care of the budget that was needed to look after these people until they get settled. So far, they have only delivered 40% of the budget. This means that Uganda is now essentially importing a famine.
‘It was extremely difficult to watch but it hasn’t gone to disaster-level like it was in Ethiopia in 1984. However, there is an opportunity for it to get to that level.’
Liam explains that by the time the refugees get to Uganda, they have already been through so much. ‘We wanted to go to the border to see the refugees coming across but we couldn’t because the people making the crossing were being fired at from the heavy conflict in South Sudan.
‘Snipers lined the border and were shooting them as they crossed. You have these incredibly brave people who drive buses three or four kilometres into South Sudan, fill up the bus and speed back across the border into the charities – all the while they are being fired upon.
‘When the refugees arrive, they are given a tarpaulin, a blanket, a machete, a hot meal, large bags of maize and beans to set themselves up, a 30x30 meter plot of land and a shovel, and told to start planting because they’re going to have to feed themselves in the very near future. The crisis is getting to biblical proportions, it’s very difficult for these people.’
While the actor understands that people in Ireland might feel overwhelmed by their own problems, he is adamant this this situation simply won’t go away. He insists that, without immediate action, these Sudanese refugees could be knocking on our doors.
‘ This is not me just being a bleeding heart liberal who wants to help mankind,’ he says. ‘ The people from South Sudan are heading south to Uganda because they are being given shelter and refuge. If that food doesn’t show up and we don’t provide the money, what’s going to happen is the same thing that is happening in the Mediterranean. There are 12 million people in South Sudan, should famine kick off and ethnic cleansing and the genocide continue and there is no safe sanctuary in Uganda, they are going to turn around and head north.
‘When they are coming into Europe in their millions, it will become real. You can have all the apologies you want from the politicians but they are being given an opportunity now to sort this out before it turns into a catastrophe. Enough hasn’t been done.’
While money and donations are of course critical to the cause, Liam insists that people power is what will help Uganda get the international aid it was promised.
‘Get on to social media and get the word out that this is kicking off – that’s the first thing that needs to happen. I appeal to young people to get on to their representatives in Europe and at home and batter them into doing something about this.
‘With regards to donations, I have seen firsthand what they can do with just a little money. I know Ireland is a small country but there is no reason why we shouldn’t lead the way.
‘ This is not a hugely expensive project to look after people and once they are settled in six months or a year’s time they will more than likely be able to feed themselves. But this problem
needs to be dealt with quickly. People need to threaten politicians with their vote – now is a great time to do it because they are begging for votes.
‘ This thing needs to be done urgently. We don’t have the luxury of turning a blind eye here because it won’t go away.’
Liam says if you want proof that people power can work, just look at the tragedy surrounding Aylan Kurdi. Pictures of the three-year- old Syrian boy sparked global outrage after he drowned in September 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea. While Liam hopes that such a thing never happens again, he says it shows just how powerful a movement can be when it has public support.
‘ The only thing that ever works is people power. Look at what happened as a result of poor little Aylan Kurdi, that sparked a huge amount of people power.
‘Don’t forget that at that time politicians came under enormous pressure to do something because we didn’t want to see these images over our corn flakes on a Sunday morning – our hearts were broken over it.
‘ That showed me that pressure works. Politicians are human beings as well, they have wives and children. This needs a concerted effort internationally to work this out so we don’t have any more pictures of children dying.’
Liam also pointed out that Ireland has a particularly poignant link with the refugees currently fleeing South Sudan.
‘We were helped in the past,’ he says. ‘When Ireland was in trouble with the famine we did exactly the same thing. A million and a half died and the same number again got on the boat and headed for America. We have done it, that’s human nature. It has nothing to do with the colour of our skin. We are all just looking after our kids.’
TO SUPPORT World Vision’s work, visit worldvision.ie or phone 01 498 0800
This needs a concerted effort – we don’t want any more pictures of children dying