From top: Refugees arriving in Farmakonisi; ABR’s weekly report; Injured man at Polish-Belarus border
One night last month, a group of 21 asylum seekers—11 men, 5 women, and 5 children—stepped off a boat from Turkey and onto the uninhabited Greek Island of Farmakonisi. In photos, their faces blurred for privacy, you can see toddlers and an infant, plus an elderly man with a gash on his head. Because they arrived in the dark, the group spent the night near the shore, then made their way across the rocky terrain to a Greek military outpost.
How do we know any of this? Because Humanity Now’s partner Aegean Boat Report keeps track of boat crossings and shares this data, becoming an essential source of information for journalists, human rights attorneys, and humanitarian aid organizations. Importantly, asylum seekers benefit, too, because lives are saved when ABR informs rescue teams of boats in distress.
Many media outlets, including The New York Times and The Guardian, rely on information from ABR, but the Norway-based NGO struggles with unstable funding. Earlier this year, a Humanity Now grant allowed ABR to upgrade its aging computer system. “Today I have equipment that I can rely on, that works perfectly and makes my work more efficient and productive,” ABR’s Tommy Olsen told us, calling Humanity Now’s grant, “an enormous help in a very hectic environment.”
ABR is not the only information-gathering team that your donations support. We also work with the Polish organization We Are Monitoring, which compiles data along the Poland-Belarus Border. Every month, We Are Monitoring publishes statistics on border crossings, updates on government policies, and troubling stories about the challenges faced by people on the move. This information can potentially increase humanitarian support for vulnerable individuals.
A recent grant from Humanity Now covered office rent for four months, during which time the team published four reports, trained 10 volunteers, conducted 16 in-depth interviews with people on the move, advocated for the Polish government to follow international law, and offered support to 1000 people. “All this and more was possible because your donation allowed us to keep our office space for work, meetings, training and more,” WAM’s Marysia Czuchnowska told us, adding that Humanity Now’s grants “always comes when most needed!”
Because we take the time to work with our partners to identify effective ways to use our funds, Humanity Now grants make a real difference. Can you support this effort with a donation today?
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