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| Aerial View of SOS Gammarth in Tunisia. From SOS Archives |
February 10, 2011: Egypt’s current street revolution, inspired by that of nearby Tunisia, is a reminder of the civil strife that occurs in many nations where SOS Children’s Villages works to raise and protect children. As families and children across the Middle East and North Africa face uncertainty about government stability, SOS remains squarely focused on protecting children left vulnerable by factors beyond their control.
Since opening its first Children’s Village in the Palestinian Territories in 1968, SOS has spread its family-based system of care across the region. SOS began raising needy children in Lebanon in 1969. Next came Egypt (1976), Sudan (1978), Algeria (1981), Israel (1982), Tunisia (1983), Morocco (1985), Jordan (1986), and Turkey (1992). SOS runs a total of 27 Children’s Villages in these countries, plus a complement of schools, clinics, and family strengthening programs for local children and families in need.
Below is an update of the SOS Children's Villages in some of the region’s current hotspots.
Tunisia. The mid-January overthrow of Tunisia’s longtime president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, led to a security breakdown, school closings, and food shortages. SOS Children’s Villages in Tunisia are safe, according to SOS-Tunisia National Director Nacer Haj Salem. The SOS children and youth living in the SOS Villages in Gammarth, Siliana, Mahres, and Akouda continue their daily lives. However, the larger chaos in Tunisia has been cause for alarm. The New York Times reports that the army was brought in to improve security after incidents such as gangs rampaging through schools in Tunis, the capital. Some 219 people have been killed and 510 injured.
Egypt. In the face of ongoing protests demanding that President Hosni Mubarak step down after almost three decades in office, daily life in SOS-Cairo and SOS-Alexandria is slowly returning to normal. The children and SOS Mothers are doing well. The Director of the Children’s Village in Alexandria, injured on February 1 when beating back intruders from the premises, is out of the hospital and back on the job. Schools and universities were shut down due to the unrest but are expected to reopen on February 20 after the mid-term break. With continued food shortages in many parts of Egypt, the government is providing extra food supplies to stabilize prices. Shops and banks have reopened but many are operating at reduced hours.
Sudan. Violence in southern Sudan following its vote to secede from northern Sudan continues to occur, despite President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s official acceptance of the recent referendum results. One of the two SOS Children’s Villages in Sudan is in the south, in Malakal. The children there are safe, though gunshots were recently heard, and one bullet reached a house sheltering SOS adolescents. SOS-Malakal is fortunate to have its own generator. The town of Malakal has no power, and fuel is now rationed. Supply routes have been severed, and SOS-Malakal is growing concerned about the water supply.
Jordan. To preempt challenges to his regime spurred by changes in Tunisia and Egypt, Jordan’s King Abdullah II replaced his government on February 1. According to The New York Times, four weeks of demonstrations attacking government corruption, lack of democracy, and high food prices prompted the king to act at a time of an economic crisis. King Abdullah replaced Prime Minister Samir Rifai with 63-year-old Marouf al-Bakhit, a former prime minister, general, and diplomat who is considered a clean official. SOS has been raising children in Jordan for 25 years. Its Villages there are currently safe. Queen Noor, wife of King Hussein, was instrumental in bringing SOS to Jordan in the 1980s.
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| Siblings at SOS Cairo in Egypt. Photo by Katja Snozzi |
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