Throwback: The key events of our 2019 actions
Looking forward to the year ahead, Première Urgence Internationale draws up its 2019 balance, through a selection of the key events of this year. From France to Nigeria, going through Ukraine, Lebanon and Iraq, the past year appeared to be a pivotal year for some of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Ukraine: “A silent war” resonates in Paris
For more than 4 years, the civil population in Eastern Ukraine has been facing a silent war. In order to highlight this alarming humanitarian crisis, at Europe’s doors, Première Urgence Internationale organized a photo exhibition “A silent war”. In January 2019, pictures from the French photographer Sadak Souici were exhibited in the town Hall of the 10th arrondissment, in the hearth of Paris.
France: Committed solidarity in the Paris region
In 2019, Première Urgence Internationale launched a new sponsorship program: “Tandem-sur-Seine”. The purpose is to combat loneliness resulting from uprooting of foreigners living in the Paris region. Tandem-sur-Seine facilitates people coming together and encourages multicultural exchanges. Given the success of the first edition, Tandem-sur-Seine’s program restarts in 2020 for the second consecutive year.
DRC: Constant vigilance in fighting against the Ebola outbreak
On the 14th of July, for the first time, a confirmed case of Ebola has been reported in the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Goma is the city where Première Urgence Internationale had been implementing prevention activities for several months. The arrival of the pandemic virus in such a large urban center (1 million inhabitants), bordered with Rwanda and Ouganda, confirms the threat that the outbreak is still spreading in the area. Première Urgence Internationale continues its disease prevention and control’s work, at community level. Since this case in July, no other confirmed case of the virus has been reported in Goma.
Nigeria: Look into horror “through the eyes of Maiduguri”
In September 2019, Première Urgence Internationale organized a photo exhibition in Paris with portraits of Nigerian civilians, Boko Haram survivors. The exhibition “Through the eyes of Maiduguri” is the fruit of work carried out by the Nigerian photographer Adah Clarence Ugbede (Gottay Photography), in the city of Maiduguri, a place of refuge for displaced persons, in the north of Nigeria. Around 20 faces of children, women and men, marked by a traumatic past, were exhibited in the town hall of the 2nd arrondissment of Paris to share these testimonies with the general public.
Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Restoring health care services for refugees
Autumn 2019. The ongoing military operations in North East Syria lead to a massive population displacement towards Iraq. In the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI), Première Urgence Internationale is supporting the reopening of Bardarash’s camp, where 15,500 Syrian refugees took refuge. The NGO is revitalizing health, where humanitarian teams provide primary and free health care services to more than 150 patients a day, since December the 1st.
West-Bank: Supporting Palestinien farmers during the olive harvest
Every year, in the occupied West Bank, autumn is the harvesting period for olive trees. A time that exacerbates tensions between Palestinian and Israelis. Première Urgence Internationale supports Palestinian farmers, with cash distribution and supply services of temporary staff, to help along the harvesting process on these occupied lands.
Lebanon: A message of solidarity conveyed by comic strips
As part of its intervention in Lebanon, Première Urgence Internationale realised a full comic book with two famous French authors: Wilfrid Lupano and Rémi Zaarour (also known as ‘Pozla’). The comic book highlights the cohabitation between Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians in the country, through various characters and individual stories. Upstream broadcasting in bookstores, Première Urgence Internationale organised an exhibition as launching event on the comic book “Making it work”, in December, hosted in the Espace Niemeyer in Paris. You will be able to download the comic on our site soon.
