Telling their story

China's first honorary patron of the UN's refugee agency finds meaning in sharing anecdotes of some of the world's most vulnerable people

After returning from visiting Syrian refugees in southern Lebanon in May, actress Yao Chen had a recurring nightmare. "On the way home from the grocery store, I find my house has been bombed. Everybody is running and crying. I cannot find my family. Then I survive alone in the ruins. Desperate, drinking rain water. I cry and cry and feel so much pain and then, I wake up all of a sudden.

"I hope I will never live that life and never suffer from war," Yao told China Central Television.

In 2010, Yao became the first Chinese honorary patron of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The 34-year-old actress and "Queen micro-blogger" has raised public awareness and support for refugees in the Chinese-speaking world.

With more than 71 million followers on Sina Weibo (a Chinese micro blog), she has shared her experience visiting countries such as Somalia and Sudan and told the stories of the refugees she met there, bringing a new understanding of refugee issues to the Chinese people.

In June 2013, she was named UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador in China. Yao sees the title as an encouragement of her work, and she says she will keep doing her job to the best of her ability. "Our visit can't change their fate or current situation but it will draw attention from others, and I can share the area's condition with more and more people," she says.

She pays for all her trips from her own pocket. However, she has faced a barrage of questions about her choices. Some Chinese netizens suggest her visits are no more than publicity stunts, and others ask why she traveled overseas to help refugees while neglecting Chinese people who need help.

These reactions initially made Yao feel "angry and wronged". Sometimes she even started to question herself.

"It's different now, and you can see the effect. It's comforting that more and more Chinese have started to pay attention to refugees, and more and more are answering those questions for me," Yao told the Beijing News.

Yao used to ask UNHCR's staff what else she could do for the refugees besides talking with them, but they said she has already done a lot. She had no idea what they meant until last year, when she noticed that UNHCR ranked fourth as the most searched word relating to charity on Chinese search engine, Baidu.com.

"I couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't even know the definition of refugees four years ago. I believe it's a gradual change in public awareness, and some people now know what refugees are," she told CCTV.

Yao says her husband supports her work. He drives her to the airport every time she travels, and sends her flowers when she returns. They want to take their 1-year-old son to visit refugees when he is older.

In May, Yao paid a three-day visit to Beirut. Lebanon's capital city was unsafe and car bombs were going off and gunshots were heard on the streets. Each time she went to the local UNHCR office, she had to undergo strict security checks and her car was swept for bombs.

In June, UNHCR announced that 1.092 million Syrians had fled to Lebanon to seek asylum. Many had to live in dilapidated or unfinished buildings, garages and storehouses, and 15 percent lived in about 1,000 unofficial refugee settlements established by international relief organizations including UNHCR. At the end of 2013, there were 51.2 million homeless in the world.

Yao says that even if she had known about the danger in Beirut, she would have gone. It scared her, but she felt it was her duty to visit.

"My visit is needed to regain the public's attention including some international organizations. Also, it will be very helpful if the Chinese know about the place," Yao says.

Her first overseas visit to promote the plight of refugees was in June 2010 in Manila, Philippines. She wanted to buy some candy for some children, but the staff at UNHCR told her not to do so. At the time she couldn't understand their objection.

"But they are right. The children have the yummy candy now, but what can they do when they can't have candy after we leave? We only consider our feelings, not the children's future," Yao told CCTV.

Every time she returns to her hotel after meeting with the refugees, she feels guilty, even though she knows the refugee situation is not her fault. She thinks her life is "luxurious" because she can take a shower and dine at restaurants.

"Each refugee's destiny is like a handful of sand, and they don't know where they will be taken by the wind tomorrow, let alone when they will disappear. Even our visits can't stop the wind," Yao says.

(China Daily European Weekly 08/01/2014 page28)