TORONTO, LONDON and ERBIL, Aug. 2, 2016 /CNW/ - UNICEF Ambassador Ewan McGregor travelled to northern Iraq last week to see how the conflicts sweeping across Iraq and Syria are devastating children's lives. Tens of thousands of children have been killed, injured, separated from their parents, forced to work, tortured and recruited into fighting.
During his visit McGregor travelled to Debaga camp where he met with families that have escaped brutal violence currently taking place in areas surrounding Mosul in the north of the country. He also spent time with Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqi families in camps and communities around Erbil.
The situation for children in Iraq is becoming increasingly desperate. Around 3.6 million children – one in five – are at serious risk of death, injury, sexual violence, abduction and recruitment into armed groups. Many are being ripped from their families and forced to flee on their own, often making dangerous journeys and falling into the hands of traffickers.
"Children uprooted by conflict can find themselves alone, without family and in grave danger. No child should be alone. Many of the children I've met in Iraq have been forced to flee their homes, risking their lives on dangerous journeys and have been exposed to unimaginable horrors," said UNICEF Ambassador Ewan McGregor.
"The world is facing an unprecedented refugee crisis and we must do more to protect the extraordinary number of children who have been torn from their homes by violent conflict."
"One girl I met called Mirna told me how her family slept in a disused, half-constructed shopping mall for over a year. The community donated food, clothes and supplies to her family and really came together to welcome displaced people. This act of humanity should be replicated everywhere, especially on our own doorsteps. It's up to us to tell our friends, our neighbours and our governments that refugees are welcome."
This September world leaders will meet to discuss the global refugee crisis at two crucial summits in New York. UNICEF is urging leaders to be strong, compassionate and bold in their commitments to protect children on the move.
McGregor witnessed how UNICEF is reaching families fleeing the Mosul area with lifesaving food and water, child protection services and healthcare. Many of the people he met, who had been previously trapped, had not had access to healthcare, education or basic services for over two years.
UNICEF is working to protect children across Iraq and Syria, delivering life-saving food, clean water and vaccines, as well as providing education and psychological support. However humanitarian aid cannot keep pace with the tremendous needs of children.
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About UNICEF
UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization. We work tirelessly to help children and their families, doing whatever it takes to ensure children survive. We provide children with healthcare and immunization, clean water, nutrition and food security, education, emergency relief and more.
UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps children regardless of race, religion or politics. As part of the UN, we are active in over 190 countries - more than any other organization. Our determination and our reach are unparalleled. Because nowhere is too far to go to help a child survive. For more information about UNICEF, please visit www.unicef.ca.
SOURCE UNICEF Canada
Image with caption: "UNICEF Ambassador Ewan McGregor walks with Mirna, 10, inside an abandoned mall that she and her family used to live in, in Erbil, northern Iraq on July 29, 2016. McGregor travelled to northern Iraq to see how the conflicts sweeping Iraq and Syria are devastating the lives of children, tearing them from their homes and destroying their futures. © UNICEF/UN026964/Modola (CNW Group/UNICEF Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160802_C2454_PHOTO_EN_746008.jpg
To arrange interviews or for more information please contact: Stefanie Carmichael, UNICEF Canada, 416-482-6552 ext. 8866; 647-500-4230 (mobile), [email protected]
UNICEF is the world’s leading humanitarian organization focused on children. We work in the most challenging areas to provide protection, healthcare and immunizations, education, safe water and sanitation and nutrition. As part of the United Nations, our unrivaled reach...
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