Shownotes

Dr Titilola Banjoko Chair of the Board of Trustees UK, IRC was my first guest on The Elephant in the Room podcast. I invited her back to talk about the humanitarian crises facing the world, with a record number of 274 million people expected to be dependent on humanitarian aid in 2022. 

The 2022 IRC Watchlist - a public report that warns global leaders, policymakers and concerned citizens not just where crises are deepening but why they are deepening and what can be done about it

The three C's: Conflict; Climate Change and COVID and its impact on the humanitarian crisis

The void in global leadership on the refugee crisis

UK's commitment on refugees 

The funding gap

The importance of changing the negative perception on migrants and what they bring to society

The refugee integration program, role of diaspora communities in supporting assimilation and her priorities for 2021

Want to learn more, listen on your favourite podcast platforms

Memorable Passages from the podcast

👉🏾 Good evening Sudha and may I say Happy New Year to you and your listeners. 

👉🏾 I think what's changed in the interim for me personally, is that we are beginning to see the structural instruments respond to racism. As you will recall, previous to that people would get away with a lot of things that otherwise they shouldn't have. And if you take some groundbreaking legal court cases in the States, as an example, where the expectation by a lot of people was business as usual, people could get away with things that were, wrong and that turned out not to be the case. So I think it does send a message to everyone there are consequences. And when people are aware there are consequences then there is consideration given to actions that are going to be taken by everyone on both sides.

👉🏾 So I think that has really been helpful because to me that was a landmark and I'm sure you're aware of the cases that we have seen, you know assume that they would not be found guilty and turns out actually they would be. And then also we have seen where lots of people who have, even here in the UK Cricket, it has given people the ability to come out and actually within our court structure, in parliament to ask questions of why things are happening and people now understand that actually what you used to do before is no longer acceptable. 

👉🏾 So for me, I think it's given boldness, it's given confidence to the BME community to come out and speak of things that they probably wouldn't have dared do before because you would assume there are no consequences. But now that there are consequences and people have confidence and assurance in the system, people are coming out and actually speaking of instances and incidences that have happened in the past and actually it's given its due consideration and process. I'll say it takes you on that journey where actually things are going to change and are already changing. 

👉🏾 It's been challenging. I mean, as everybody knows, the world has changed, the world is not what it used to be because of the pandemic. And the pandemic, is not a health issue, because it has consequences on everybody's life. And countries have become very insular in what they want because they are protecting their own citizens and we see that. So there are lots of things, when I took on the Chairmanship, I thought we will continue the journey, things will get better, but actually, things have got worse. So if you think about the space in which we operate as a humanitarian organisation, we now have in just 20 countries alone and the list is endless of countries that are faced with humanitarian challenges. You have over 274 million people in just 20 countries that are impacted and of those 80 million in some countries, when you add the total top 20 countries, actually, they're displaced globally and then you also have a considerable number of millions displaced internally.

👉🏾 When I spoke to you last, I don't think I don't think there was a coup in Myanmar, the fight in Ethiopia has gotten worse, there's the insecurity, Afghanistan that wasn't a change in the structure when I spoke to you. So the three C's, we're now calling it - conflict, which includes insecurity and decades of war; climate change; and COVID. So those three C's have actually really made an impact and if you think about it, Afghanistan is the crisis after the conflict. Ethiopia is climate change and conflict. Yemen, people forget that that is a cumulative impact of the war that has been going on and people have forgotten about that war. Nigeria has growing insecurity. South Sudan, tension, Democratic Republic of Congo there's conflict and there is disease because Ebola still happens regularly in DRC. Syria, it's a decade of war, I mean, can you believe that? And then Sudan has also had political tensions and then they have regional droughts and conflict. And I haven't spoken about the other countries like Honduras, where there’s violence and climate change impacting on that. Lebanon.

👉🏾 Sudha, can I just say, when you add all those three things together and what really has made it more challenging has been the fact that as I said if you take the impact of COVID. So the impact of COVID is either on the health, it's on the economic situations of the country and it has meant that countries have actually become more insular and I'm sure you've heard a lot about the vaccine inequities across the world.And that countries are actually more insular in terms of, what can I get for my own country, I'm not really interested in another you know, as much as what people say and therefore it has economic impact in countries that are already vulnerable before COVID and more people, therefore, want to move.

👉🏾So you have more refugees, you have more political asylum seekers and when I say refugees, I'm even talking about even those seeking better economic situations and that growing hunger and displacement, is even in countries that you might think are stable. So you will get people from Pakistan, you get people from Bangladesh, but they're still refugees for various reasons, whether economic or non-economic. And women and girls, and the marginalised groups always are the most vulnerable in any country, whatever that group or community is, they become more vulnerable to these impacts of climate change, conflicts, insecurities and Covid. And that really for me, has really been an eye-opener in terms of what people are facing. 

👉🏾 Obviously the resources will never be enough, but I think there are two key things that we've been doing. One is we have what we call annual watch list, which we publicise every year. And the 2022 highlights, I will say systemic failure. And it's broken into four key themes: First of all state failure, so most states are failing to actually fulfil their basic responsibilities towards their citizens. And as every country is accountable for its citizens and instead they're making things worse either through omission of what they should be doing or actually doing the wrong things. So if you give examples of the vaccine, as an example. In most countries, actually the people that are first in the queue are probably the elites, the ones in power, the government, whereas the communities where they're more vulnerable are not. And the same way, even economics when there is not enough, who gets the most. 

👉🏾 Then there is diplomatic failure, I mean as we all know, peacemaking is really not where it should be, instead it's dominated by geopolitics, rivalry. The global good is not really, I would say, being adhered to. So this last year or so, there's been reduction in aid that goes into countries and people are protecting themselves because of the economic impact on their own countries. But we live in a global society where actually, we are interconnected and the lack of peace in one country does have consequences for other countries. And that's why you see increasing people on the move, whether through legal or illegal channels. 

👉🏾 Then there is a legal failure. The system of international law has not really kept up with what it's responsibilities are. Growing crimes against humanity. There are people who are being killed in countries where we're operating and they're doctors. The idea that doctors, there are certain places that are sacrosanct under international law, that you should not be using war as a weapon. But in some countries now hunger is being used as a weapon. And that really is creating starvation and famine. And then of course there is operational failures, the system and the way we work together to be able to address the humanitarian crisis. 

👉🏾 So I think for us in IRC publishing that report really highlights to key decision-makers, the actions they need to take on those four areas, either as a state/diplomatic. So we have lots of multilateral organisations that is their role, making sure that the legal instruments internationally are being applied. So for me that's one thing, then the second thing is obviously, resources that is required. So one of the things we've done in IRC, it's not just the states and multilateral organisations or indeed private organisations, but even citizens of the world. Global citizens being aware of the humanitarian crisis. So we've done a lot of work either through: fundraising, mobilising individuals, either through targeted or even mass approach, so that people can do their collective bit.

👉🏾 So we're using instruments to ensure that people are aware. For some citizens globally, it's just the awareness of what is happening. Because as you will know Sudha, if I take the Afghan crisis, what we're seeing on the television, actually did move people. And when the recent unfortunate incident of migrants dying, when they're trying to cross the channel, grabs people's attention. But what we need to do is get people to understand that it's not until it's in front of you on the screen, these are things that are happening behind and they're things that can be done either through, global giving or indeed states playing their role.

👉🏾 I mean, for me on a personal level, I think there, first of all, has to be recognition that you might think you can close your borders. People will say, "Oh, we'll stop them from coming and we build whether they're physical walls or legal walls, and stop people from coming". Every citizen of the world would always want to aspire better than where they are. And when conditions that push them are greater than what is going to stop them, they will move. My personal view is people will die trying, people would prefer to die trying than not do anything and sit down and wait for death. So I do believe that there is something for us as UK citizens to understand our role in the global community, not our role as in UK and forget the rest of the world, it doesn't work that way.

👉🏾 And actually people find it very interesting that people want to come to the UK. And I'm sure you've heard jokes before Sudha, where people said, when you were all colonies, you spent half of the time telling everyone how the UK was the motherland and you trained people in English and you set up the English structures and, well Great Britain to some people means Great Britain. And therefore the ultimate goal, whether it's a fact or not, or is a perception, is Great Britain. And I've heard people say, well, that was years ago. No, it's not, the structures created in many of the colonial countries are so entrenched and deep, even into schools, the educational system, therefore people still see coming into the UK as the get-out card. 

👉🏾 So I do think there is something about the UK working with countries on how they can improve within those countries. Because guess what? 90% of the people actually do not need to leave if things were better in their countries, either economic or political. I gave the example of the COVID vaccine, and that just gives you an element of what's happening, where there are countries now where we're on the booster. While some people have not even had the first dose in some countries. And then people said, oh, they donated a lot of vaccines to many of these countries, but they donated vaccines with two, three weeks to ensure they give out the vaccines, that logistics doesn't work. So I don't know if you are aware, a lot of countries actually have had to more or less throw them away because there was no way they can mobilise infrastructure to deliver it in two weeks. And if it's use by date has expired, it is not a vaccine, it is dangerous. So therefore they've got rid of it. 

👉🏾 Those are things that we need to consider because you are dependent on these countries. A good example, is the Philippines is well-known in the UK as an exporter of healthcare workers and it's embraced by both the UK and the Philippine government. But what they've put in place is good infrastructure, legal infrastructure, and even support to the Philippine government. So it becomes a win-win the Philippine government relies on the remittances that its workers will send back and the UK government relies on the workforce both win. And that is what needs to happen.The challenge for the UK is, as we are not part of the EU, we now need to have bilateral agreements. 

👉🏾 Yes, it is actually. So at the IRC, we have what we call a 'refugee integration program' in Southeast England, which we call Rise, which is rapidly expanding. And that program offers resettled refugees, the knowledge and confidence to thrive, equipping them with skills, to be able to assimilate into their local communities as well equipping their local communities to be able to absorb them. And one of the tools, which has really helped, is also the countries they're coming from, the communities that are here.

👉🏾 One of the things that is really very good is the fact that we do have a very vibrant BME community in the UK. And they offer a resource and a tool to be able to support the refugees coming. And the beauty of working with the IRC, you then begin to recognise, and actually that there are many people who you might not assume to be refugees, had a refugee background, but they're so assimilated people have forgotten. They're doctors, they're nurses they're even politicians. So there are tools and their communities that do help them to absorb. And if we take the Afghan as an example, there are many Afghan doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals, some of them are consultants well established in the United Kingdom. And they're able to offer advice using their own lived experience.

👉🏾 So one of the things we have on the IRC, when I started we've now got trustees with lived experience as refugees or coming from crisis countries. So they're able to tell you their experience they've got what they went through, and how you can support them. But one thing I always say to people never underestimate the resilience of the refugees. And many of them have gone through unimaginable circumstances to get to the UK, either through the journeys they've taken or what has happened to them. So giving them the right tools and support and indeed using the advantage. And we've got the benefits in IRC of learning from Germany, as there were lots of refugees that went to Germany. They've got a massive program there, learning from Germany, learning from the US as a global organisation. What's best practice in integrating people within the society so they can thrive. 

👉🏾 I will say that we are on a journey and we have started moving the perception. Because what we didn't have before was platform for people who have been refugees to tell their stories. So when we take Afghan as an example, and I know doctors, nurses from Sudan, from Somalia, from Syria who were ex refugees and when they tell the story of how they've assimilated and what they're doing and using them as voices, even in our fundraising and our advocating, it begins to say to people,"Oh, I didn't know my doctor was an ex refugee; oh, I didn't know this minister was an ex refugee". And these are the sorts of things that in fact I remind people.

👉🏾 This is not new, what we had missed was the narrative. What people saw was the negative narrative, and we've got to elevate the positive narrative. During COVID, the number of ex refugee doctors and nurses that worked all throughout COVID, and are still working cause we're not out of COVID. It's just a testament to the fact that we have not given people that platform to air their voices. And that's what we need to continually do. So people can see that ultimately the society benefits when many of these refugees are successfully integrated. 

👉🏾 Well, actually the US with a change of government have changed, which is good. We now have the US stepping up a lot of their commitment that previously had more or less been put to the background and that is excellent and good. I think one of the challenges obviously is the impact COVID has had on the economy of most countries. And therefore that meant that many of them, especially the UK, reduced their donations and private companies are also impacted by COVID. And therefore we're not seeing it as something that actually was essential. And what we just need to do is shift that dial, so people do see it as essential because it is in everybody's interest. 

👉🏾 As an example that the whole world gets vaccinated or at least 70% of the world get vaccinated. We've learnt that all it takes is for one or two to travel. And they don't have to be refugees. If we want the economy to pick up again, that has to happen. It could be a business person from the UK traveling to another country to ensure that they bring investment into the country that comes back with the virus. It could be your citizen going to that country that brings it back, that is the way it works. So in that context it requires leadership. It requires global leadership, I mean I read a news article recently, which I thought was very impressed by, where a lots of shareholders of all the pharmaceutical companies are now saying that the CEOs will not get their bonus. If they haven't increased what they are giving to the developing countries and that they wanted to see those numbers. And I thought that was good, that shows to you, the demonstration of individuals, what they can do. Because guess what? They might not listen to everybody else, but they will definitely listen to their shareholders. That brings in accountability and when that brings in accountability and that's where it is. So it's accountability of the private...