New Zealand artist Dick Frizzell is one of the artists that have produced works for the auction tomorrow. Photo / Brett Phibbs
New Zealand artist Dick Frizzell is one of the artists that have produced works for the auction tomorrow. Photo / Brett Phibbs
We need you to help The Forgotten Millions. The Herald and World Vision are running a major campaign to raise funds and help the millions of children left homeless by war in Syria. With your help we can make a difference to the children and their families in desperate need throughout this region.
Work of Kiwi artists to be auctioned off for campaign.
Five top Kiwi artists have donated works for a fundraising auction inspired by a project that uses art to help Syrian children cope with the trauma of war.
Dick Frizzell, Max Gimblett, Sara Hughes, Reuben Paterson and John Pule have produced works for the auction tomorrow, expected to raise between $7500 and $15,000 for the "Forgotten Millions" campaign by the Herald and World Vision.
Auckland-born Gimblett, 79, whose works have sold for up to US$120,000 ($163,000), has contributed three works featuring red and black skulls superimposed on a map of Syria which were inspired by his Zen Buddhist faith.
"The skull is a Zen motif of humility," he said. "This is a report from the front, it's a war report. It's galvanising attention, it's galvanising consciousness, it's galvanising funds, it's galvanising people to come to the rescue of the people in Syria."
World Vision external affairs head Chloe Irvine said the auction was inspired by artworks by Syrian children in a psychological support programme for children. They had all fled their homes. "They use art because a lot don't feel they can communicate it verbally."
World Vision and 20 other non-government organisations (NGOs) working in a United Nations-led coalition supporting Syrian refugees issued a scathing report last week describing the Syrian crisis as "a stain on the conscience of the international community".
Artist John Pule in front of his work. Photo / Richard Robinson
John Pule's
Blue Kind
to be sold in the auction:
Despite three UN Security Council resolutions last year urging all nations to support the humanitarian appeal, the NGOs said the available funds were failing to keep up with the numbers of people fleeing from their homes - now estimated at 12 million people, including nearly 4 million who have fled into the surrounding nations of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.
"Over the last three years, humanitarian needs have increased 12-fold inside Syria (from 1 million to 12 million people in need of humanitarian assistance), while the funding received has increased less than three-fold, from US$639 million ($868 million) in 2012 to US$1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) in 2014," the groups said.
Max Gimblett has contributed three works. Photo / Jason Oxenham
They said the aid community now needed US$8.4 billion ($11.4 billion) to respond to the crisis.
"This is less than the UK Government spent on the London Olympics, a fifth of the price of the Beijing Olympics and a sixth of the cost of the Sochi Winter Olympics," they said.
They also called for countries to increase the number of refugees accepted for resettlement outside the region from 85,000 promised so far to 5 per cent of the refugees now in neighbouring countries, or about 200,000 people, this year.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees lists New Zealand as having promised to take only 100 Syrian refugees so far, compared with 5600 promised by Australia, about 10,000 by the United States and 30,000 by Germany. Norway, with a population of 5 million, similar to New Zealand's 4.5 million, has promised to take 2500 people.
Artist Sara Hughes in her home. Photo / Babiche Martens
Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said the Government would decide soon on the use of up to 50 places to resettle refugees from large-scale refugee crisis situations within the annual quota of 750 refugees for 2015-16.
To raise funds to support 12 million Syrians, including 5.6 million children, who have fled their homes to other parts of Syria and neighbouring countries since the Syrian civil war began four years ago.
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Partners:
The
New Zealand Herald
, broadcaster Rachel Smalley and World Vision, one of 21 non-government organisations (NGOs) working in a United Nations-led coalition in Syria and surrounding countries.
