Happy new year to all, this being my first post of 2014. Hopefully those who took a break in December had a good one, and are feeling suitably refreshed to start the new year with renewed enthusiasm. Christmas in my part of the world – south-east England, to be specific – was a bit different this year. Thanks to the series of very severe storms (by British standards, I hasten to add!) and heavy rain that lashed many parts of Britain just before the ‘big day’, by the 25th of December we were on our third day-long power cut, with no heat or light, a leaking roof, and some other minor storm damage to add to our woes.
Once the children had unwrapped their presents in semi-darkness and it was clear we were not going to have any power until the 26th, we realised it was time to seek shelter elsewhere, falling on the sympathy of friends and family for a few days until we could return home to clean up and switch the lights back on. A Christmas to forget you might say, but in many ways we were the lucky ones; forty houses not half a mile from where we live had to be evacuated, as rivers burst their banks and flooded homes and businesses; a far more miserable prospect than losing all the refrigerated food to a three-day power cut. The whole experience was difficult, uncomfortable, at times damp and cold, but mercifully short term; – disappointed as the family was, we could get in the car and drive off somewhere warm and welcoming, and return when things were back to normal again.
As one does in these situations once the initial irritation has passed, you try to look for some positives, and perhaps consider the many people around the world in a far worse state than yourself. An obvious point, but it didn’t take a lot of thought to conclude that the temporary interruption to normal life I had just experienced gave me no idea, whatsoever, of what it’s like to be truly displaced. For the millions of refugees around the world, who cannot return to their homes like I could after a couple of inconvenient days on the road, and who instead wake up one morning to find their lives shattered by conflict or natural disaster, with some having lost loved ones in the process, I have the utmost respect.
Bearing these sobering thoughts in mind, and keeping with the key ‘how tech can help…’ theme of this blog, I’ve decided to usher in 2014 by focusing on some clever applications of technology being used to try to help those displaced by the civil war in Syria, who perhaps as recently as the start of 2013 had their own homes and normal lives, and who now have little or no idea of when they will be able to return.
Specialist SIM cards and Electronic Food Vouchers for Refugees
Two schemes utilising smart/SIM card technology are covered in an article in the UN-backed Integrated Regional Information Networks website.
The first looks at a UNHCR-run programme to produce specially designed mobile SIM cards, which are planned for distribution amongst inhabitants of the main refugee centres in Jordan, including Al Zaatari camp, home to over 120,000 people. The custom designed cards allow users to receive mass information messages, as well as make free calls to the UNHCR information line. According to the article, the SIM cards will not expire, even if no credit is added to the account.
The second scheme is being run by the World Food Programme in Turkey, in conjunction with the Turkish Red Crescent Society. This is an electronic food voucher scheme, providing refugees with electronic cards loaded with ‘credit’, with which they can purchase their own goods at local stores. As the article suggests, there appear to be many potential benefits to the scheme, such as reducing the need to manage large-scale food provision and eliminating the black marketization of ‘free food items’. Arguably, the scheme also restores a bit of normality and dignity to those it aims to help, as they have a degree of choice in the items they can buy, rather than relying on the traditional approach of whatever can be sought via mass food distribution.
The full article can be found here: http://www.irinnews.org/report/99127/syrian-aid-in-the-tech-age
‘Flat-Packed’ Solar Shelters
When we consider ‘flat-packed’ as a retail concept, the first brand most of us think of is the Swedish furniture retailer Ikea, who are best known for producing and selling affordable, easy-to-assemble flat-packed furniture, in a multitude of countries across the globe.
Early in 2013, as reported in an article in the Renewable Energy World website in November, the company announced plans to help the cause of refugees by developing solar-powered shelters. Known as ‘Refugee Housing Units (RHUs)’, the shelters have already been deployed to areas in Ethiopia and Syria, providing a more stable and secure shelter with the addition of power than existing tented solutions. Utilising USB ports to provide charging points for devices such as mobile phones, the shelters stick to Ikea’s tried and tested philosophy of easy-assembly, using a steel frame and plastic panels as the basic structure.
As the article explains:
‘…The new shelter also offers more insulation than the tents can, as well as more privacy for those living in them. The ability to use the solar panel to power a light at night or electronic devices can help the refugees live a better life, so children can read at night or adults can cook food more easily…’.
With reference to the practicalities of the long-term cost-effectiveness of the solution, the article continues:
‘…The shelters are still in prototype stages and cost about $7,000, but according to a Spiegel article earlier this month, “once they go into large-scale production, designers are aiming for a price of $1,000.” Thus far, the Ikea Foundation has donated about $4.8 million to the project…’.
The full article can be found at: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/11/ikea-shipping-flat-packed-solar-powered-shelters-to-refugees
Benjamin Smith 