Today (20 June 2014), on World Refugee Day, Handicap International is voicing serious concerns about the situation facing disabled and vulnerable refugees worldwide.
According to the UN, the number of people forced to flee their homes because of war or persecution exceeded 50 million in 2013, the first time since World War Two. The overall figure is six million higher than the year before, an increase fuelled by conflicts in Central Africa, South Sudan and Syria.
Over 2.8 million people have now fled the fighting in Syria and sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Lebanon has already taken in almost one third of the total number of Syrian refugees, over one million people in the last three years. Despite the best efforts of humanitarian organisations, including Handicap International, the refugees’ living conditions remain appalling. Handicap International denounces the risks the most vulnerable populations are exposed to and the threat to a country which is struggling to cope wit...
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