How the UN Enriched Itself while Refugees Suffered
It took five years to uncover the full extent of the Red Cross's fraud and abuse following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. All told, billions in donations from rich countries were wasted by multinational NGOs, while more than one million Haitians suffered from illness, injury and homelessness.
We haven't learned much. The 2016 Greek refugee crisis, led by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), now stands as humanity's most expensive failed disaster response yet.
On average, around $14,000 USD has been spent on every man, woman and child refugee in Greece. The average apartment in Greece costs less than $300 per month. The refugees live in places like this:
How did this happen? The essentials:
1. In March 2016, the Balkan states to Greece’s north shut their borders. Tens of thousands of refugees fleeing war and traveling toward northern Europe were suddenly stuck in Greece.
2. In response, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) drew up a joint funding appeal asking for half a billion dollars on behalf of three dozen NGOs working in state-run refugee camps.
3. UNHCR awarded itself the majority of this funding, which came mostly from the European Union. By mid-August 2016, of €301 million donated, only 8% went to Greek organizations, while 54% went to UNHCR and the rest to international NGOs.
4. As winter approached, UNHCR had achieved little to weatherize the camps, besides distributing of thin blankets and flimsy tents (most of which had already been purchased). No one knows what happened to the tens of millions the UN had been granted specifically for winterization. The UN gets around this by implying that results achieved by the Greek government and and other NGOs are its own (see "achievements" on p. 46 here). One official has estimated that 70% of aid to refugees in Greece is wasted.
5. People who had narrowly escaped bombings at home continued to die from the cold, hunger and lack of medical attention.
6. The European Union has awarded the Greek government hundreds of millions more, with untold amounts squandered by abject corruption and incompetence. In the Serres camp, a local politician awarded his daughter the role of camp manager and himself the catering contract. At Softex, where a no-bid contract enriched friends of the government, the police stood by while children were raped and people died. At Skaramagas, Greek Minister of Migration Mouzalas admitted the camp coordinator he appointed was involved in a trafficking ring.
Epilogue: in early 2017, UNHCR asked for $525 million in new funding. It plans to keep half for itself. As the head of a Greek refugee camp once told me, "everyone is getting a cut but the refugees."
The situation in Greece for refugee families is dire. Doctors without Borders has a great track record in Greece and turns down funds it can't use efficiently. Tiny grassroots organizations like Together for Better Days are moving mountains on a shoestring budget. They deserve our support.