Refugees International, the organization that tries to alleviate the suffering of people displaced by conflicts or natural disasters, again last night drew the attention of donors and politicians to help. At a gala evening in downtown Washington, world-renowned actors, legislators and activists spoke. The Ambassador of Kosovo to the USA, Vlora Çitaku, was among the main speakers.
The world is in a historic refugee crisis, with 65 million people displaced, the largest number since World War II. This was the assessment of the organization Refugees International, which has been working for 38 years to increase the sensitivity of those who have the power and means to help.
Last year, a new refugee crisis was added to the world, the one caused by the bloody conflict in Syria, which was accompanied by the tragic images of the fall of Aleppo, VOA broadcasts in Albanian.
One of the main speakers, Kosovo's ambassador in Washington, Vlora Çitaku, said that exactly 18 years ago, she herself was a refugee, forced to relocate as part of the ethnic cleansing campaign:
"I will never forget how my mother used to call: 'Vlora, take care of your sisters and never forget your hometown. Today, millions of refugees from different countries of the world are forced to live with the same words in mind: 'Never forget where you came from'".
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Çitaku said that no one in the world wants to be a refugee and no one chooses to be a refugee.
"I remember how I left the house with my three sisters, holding the little one in my arms, not knowing where we were going, without an address, separated from everything we knew and loved. We lived in fear, but we held on to the hope that one day we would return home."
She said she had come to show not that she had been a refugee, but that she had been able to return home. The history of Kosovo, said Çitaku, shows that humanity is capable of miracles.
"But while politicians need time to deal with the world's problems, the rest of us just need to be humane and generous."
At the gala evening, Queen Noor of Jordan introduced a group of volunteers from Syria known as the White Helmets. She said that they had saved thousands of people's lives, trapped under the rubble of the bombings, and that hundreds of them had lost their lives saving others.
US Senator Chris Murphy called "very dangerous" the administration's decision that, as he said, "closes the doors to refugees to come to the United States." This, he said, aids the efforts of those who recruit terrorists.
House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi criticized the Trump administration's plans to massively cut US foreign aid funding. This, Ms. Pelosi said, will have a negative impact on refugees.
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The well-known guitarist from Kosovo, Taulant Mehmeti, who was a refugee himself, was also invited to perform:
"I think it is very important to help the millions of children and people around the world who are refugees, as they deserve all the rights like other people. I was a refugee myself, so I know the importance more than others.
