São Paulo – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa) wants to make the aid Brazil has offered it in the last few years permanent. So says Filippo Grandi, the agency’s commissioner general, who is in Brazil to meet with local authorities and gave an exclusive interview to ANBA.
Grandi’s schedule in Brazil includes meetings with the minister of Foreign Relations, Antônio Patriota, the mayors of Porto Alegre, José Fortunati, and Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, and the governors of the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Tarso Genro, and Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral Filho. He will also meet with representatives of civil organizations such as the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital and the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, in São Paulo, and members of the Palestinian community in the Rio Grande do Sul capital Porto Alegre.
Founded in 1949, the Unrwa caters to 4.8 million Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. The agency has an annual budget of US$ 1.2 billion and is mostly funded by the United States, European Union, and Saudi Arabia.
During a visit to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce , Grandi discussed the role of Brazil in aiding Palestinian refugees, the situation of the Palestinian diaspora in the world, the work of the agency, and the effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and he gives a verdict: "Only when there is peace will there be a solution for the refugees.” Read below the main stretches of the exclusive interview to ANBA.
ANBA – Which topics will you discuss in your meetings with Brazilian authorities? How can Brazil assist the Unrwa?
Filippo Grandi – I believe Brazil can help by making the funding stable and foreseeable. What happens is that thus far, Brazil has allotted funds to help Gaza. This is what we have been benefiting from, two contributions, one for approximately US$ 1 million, last year, and another much larger one, for US$ 7.5 million this year. However, these contributions were linked to financing specific actions, which have completed. So, I will ask the government “Can you make this contribution to the Unrwa regular, so that we can count on it?” In that way, we want Brazil to become a stakeholder in the Unrwa, one of our leading partners.
Our organization is funded by governments voluntarily, and not by fixed quotas, but we would like to encourage that foreseeability. We are also interested in having stronger ties with the business community around the world. We are lucky that there is a community of Arab-descendent businessmen in Brazil who feel a closer connection with the Palestinian cause. Of course the businessmen do not give as much support as governments do, but there are other actions that can be taken, relating not only to financing, but also to technical cooperation, training, scholarship purses and others.
Do you believe that the increased financial aid from the Brazilian government means the country is stepping up its support to the Palestinian cause?
For many years now, Brazil has been a very strong supporter of the Palestinian cause at the United Nations, politically speaking. Now, another dimension has been added to that support, namely aid to refugees via the Unrwa. Brazil already supports Palestine via the Palestinian Authority, but that support is targeted at Palestinians who are non-refugees. If you want to reach out to the refugees, you must do it through the Unrwa.
I think [the increased support] is great and it reflects many things. It reflects the strong support to all aspects of the Palestinian cause in Brazil, and it also reflects Brazil’s growing role in the international scenario.
Brazil is one of the world’s leading economies right now, and I think it wants to make its voice be heard with regard to Palestine and other issues. We are very receptive to that, both financially – because that is an important aspect – and politically.
Personally, I believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a global, not a local conflict. And the refugee issue is a part of that conflict. It is an element of that conflict. Therefore, we are glad that a country which is becoming a global power such as Brazil is embracing and funding the cause.
How does the Unrwa cater to refugees?
We carry out several activities for these millions of people. The most important is what I call public services of a social nature: education, healthcare, and poverty relief. We have 700 schools with 500,000 children in them. They attend school from the first through the ninth year, even more in some countries. This is our main program. We also provide full coverage of basic healthcare. All Unrwa-registered refugees have free access to our healthcare services in the Middle East. We provide some support to more complex treatments as well.
We also help the poorest: approximately 250,000 people, such as single women with several children, disabled persons, or people affected by conflicts. We provide them with financial aid and food.
That is our regular program, but we perform other activities as well. Some regions are war-ridden, such as Syria right now and Gaza two years ago. We provide humanitarian aid to these areas, including food distribution and medical assistance.
Approximately one third of refugees, maybe a bit more, are living in camps. After 60 years, the camps are no longer made of tents; they are slum-like camps surrounding cities. We provide infrastructure to the houses, sanitation, garbage collection etc. We also have a micro-financing program, which is great because it gives economic opportunities to the people.
What can you say regarding the situation of Palestinian refugees in Brazil?
There is a Palestinian community in Brazil, especially in Rio Grande do Sul. They have been here for a long time now and are not exactly refugees, they are immigrants, and I believe many have achieved success here. We have no concerns regarding them.
There is a small group, of approximately 180 people, who came to Brazil circa 2007. These people are Palestinian refugees from Iraq, so their relocation to Brazil was not organized by the Unrwa, because we do not operate in Iraq. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Unhcr) organized their resettlement. I know it was not easy for all of them. For some it went well, others had problems. That happens whenever you relocate people too far from their homes. I understand that the Unhcr and the [Brazilian] government are working to help these people, especially the most vulnerable ones.
What is the general situation of Palestinian refugees worldwide?
Palestinian refugees have a big problem, which is the problem of all refugees if you think about it. The political issue which originated the problem – in this case the conflict between Israel and Palestine – has not been solved, therefore the refugee issue has not been solved. The issue of refugees is closely linked to the conflict. Only when there is peace will there be a solution for the refugees. They have been living away from their homes for over 60 years now.
Remember that their homes are in Israel. That is the big problem, because Israel refuses to allow them to return. They (the Israeli) claim that if these people return, then Israel will no longer be a Jewish State. The countries they are in don’t want them to stay for good, and they (the refugees) don’t want that themselves, so it’s a very complicated situation in which the solution seems blocked from all angles.
Even though it’s not our job, we keep calling on Israelis, Palestinians, and the international community to not forget the peace process. If you check the news today, Egypt and Syria are there and no one talks about Israel and Palestine anymore, but this is the most important conflict, because it entails many other aspects that need solving, such as the refugees, Jerusalem etc.
Another problem refugees have is that unfortunately, they wait and wait and still find themselves in places where other conflicts are underway, such as Syria. The Syrian conflict does not involve Palestine, but there are 500,000 Palestinians there. This is terrible because they have their own problem and are caught in the middle of another problem.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
