Chapter 730: The Philanthropist
The roaring sound of motors scared away countless animals, the bumpy wheels stirred up dust, and a long convoy of armed military vehicles galloped across the grassland, during which the scattered armed military vehicles discouraged many people from wanting to move, and in this land, heavy firepower equipment was much better than the United Nations flag.
Soon, the convoy was parked at the entrance of a large camping area consisting of tents and bungalows.
Matthew got out of the car first, and Emma Watson jumped out of the other side door, looking at the camp with no end in sight in a daze.
"What's wrong?" Matthew asked with concern as he walked up to her, "It's a bump." β
Emma Watson shook her head and said, "The first time I saw a refugee camp. She could see some of the ragged people walking around the camp, and only the nineteen-year-old girl was far more sympathetic than Matthew, "They all looked so pathetic." β
Matthew didn't answer, and he knew more about the situation than Emma Watson, a first-time visitor to Africa, who had donated a lot of supplies to refugees, women and children in Africa.
The real situation is far more complicated than it seems, but Matthew doesn't know how to talk about it for a while.
The accompanying media reporters were busy at this time, and not far in front of Matthew's side, a female reporter and her cameraman had already started filming in the background of the refugee camp gate.
"Across Africa, there are 2.4 million refugees living in some 200 camps in 22 countries. Many refugees have fled and arrived in camps without means of livelihood and are almost entirely dependent on international assistance......"
"So many people?" Emma Watson heard the reporter's words and couldn't help but ask Matthew, "Can international aid alone survive?
Matthew shook his head and said, "I don't know much about other places, but it's not just Somali refugees in the Dadaab refugee camp. β
"Huh?" said Emma Watson, curious, "Didn't you say that this is a place for Somali refugees?"
"Hmm...... It is said that there are still many Kenyans. Matthew shook his head slightly.
Emma Watson was even more bizarre, "Isn't Kenya the most stable and wealthy country in East Africa?"
Matthew was worried that his bias would affect Emma Watson, so he didn't elaborate, but said, "Let's go in and see it later, and you'll probably understand when you come out in a circle." β
Gutierrez's assistant came over to call Matthew, and someone from Women & UNICEF came to find Emma Watson.
The United Nations team is also divided into two parts, one for UNHCR and WFP, and the other for WHO and UNICEF.
Matthew, of course, followed the front part, and Gutierrez was the top leader of the team, and Matthew and he were always at the front of the team, followed by security guards and a large number of reporters.
The team entered the camp and walked along the road between the tents, which had been done well by the camp management and was at least fairly smooth.
GutiΓ©rrez is now UNHCR's High Commissioner, the top officer, and the camp is his immediate post, and as a would-be Secretary-General, he takes the field visit very seriously.
In the same way, Matthew needs identities and titles such as philanthropist and social activist, and Gutierrez is even more serious when he is by his side.
This kind of thing is too common for him.
When passing by a pair of grandchildren who were crying because of the food grabbing, Matthew specially asked the interpreter to come over, inquired about the situation in detail, and solved their problems in time.
Of course, all of this was captured by the camera's camera.
Even if those current affairs reporters are reluctant to shoot, there is no problem, Helen Herman hired a team that has long been mixed into the right side of the United Nations media team.
This is easy to do with UNHCR's help.
Matthew thinks that his consciousness is very high, and he must publicize good deeds, so as to attract more people to do good deeds, right?
Of course, you have to do a full set of plays.
Later, under the watchful eye of numerous camera lenses, Matthew burrowed into several more tents.
A group of children share a little bit of food, and the food is covered in dust and dirt......
A group of refugees waiting in line to pick up food, waiting for it to be distributed under the scorching sun......
Matthew and Gutierrez circled around a small area of the refugee area, focusing on asking about the lives of the elderly, children and women.
Matthew, in particular, took a notebook and wrote down what the translator had said.
The reporter named Lao Wang was quick-witted, and he took advantage of Matthew's bowed head to question a black child, raised a hand-held camera, and took a picture of the notebook in his hand.
"What did you shoot?" Xiao Li found out, leaned over and asked, "What top secret content?" β
Lao Wang opened the playback, looked at the various required materials densely recorded in the notebook in the picture, couldn't help sighing, and said to Xiao Li in a low voice, "Even if you know that people are putting on a show, you have to admire." β
Speaking of this, he handed the camera to Xiao Li, "Let's see for yourself." β
Xiao Li glanced at it and said, "He's not just putting on a show, he's really doing things." He pondered for a while, and then said, "Lao Wang, whether he is for fame or not, but what he does is ......."
He pointed to the gray and white tents in the camp, "Really helping these people." β
Suddenly, the advancing team stopped, only to see hundreds of black people in front of the line at the front of the line, the security personnel in the team increased their vigilance, and the interpreter also stepped forward to communicate.
"What's the matter?" Lao Wang quickly stopped, "Uncle Black is going to make trouble?"
He has worked in Africa for many years and knows that many refugees are not.
Xiao Li was also a little puzzled, stood on tiptoe from the crowd and looked ahead, and found that Matthew Horner suddenly walked in front of those black people, and after the translator said a few words, those black people seemed to be very excited.
Many reporters in front of them went to the front to take pictures and videos, and Lao Wang and Xiao Li also hurriedly followed, and soon figured out what happened.
It turned out that these refugees from Somalia had received a large amount of material aid from Matthew Horner's charitable foundation in recent years, and some of their children would have died if it had not been for the timely intervention of Matthew Horner's Women's and Children's Foundation.
These people came specifically to say thank you to Matthew Horner.
Watching Matthew Horner hug those black people one by one, and then pick up a black child, and talk to a few black elders without any guilt, Xiao Li unconsciously raised his camera and filmed all of them.
"That's what charity really is. He muttered as he patted it, "Even if it's a show, so many people can thank him from the bottom of his heart, he can be regarded as a real philanthropist." β
Lao Wang was also filming with a handheld camera, and nodded after hearing it, "This ghost old man is really impressive." β
Xiao Li said again, "Look at the people who do charity in China, the gap is too big. β
"You don't think that's good. Lao Wang disagreed, and said while patting, "It's a bit admiring foreign." β
Xiao Li turned his head to look at Lao Wang and said, "I'm telling the truth, is there any star in China who can be like Matthew Horner?
Lao Wang shook his head, "Why do you want to go to Africa to do charity?" he snorted, "We must first pay attention to our own people when we do charity, let the ghosts worry about the life and death of these black uncles." β
Hearing this, Xiao Li was stunned at first, then his brain suddenly opened, and he gave Lao Wang a thumbs up, "Makes sense!"
Then, he sighed again, "Some of these blacks are really ......."
Someone walked past the two, and Xiao Li was worried that he might understand Chinese, so he didn't continue.
Matthew stood in front of hundreds of grateful blacks and let reporters take pictures as much as they wanted, this was not arranged in advance, but his two foundations have indeed helped a lot of people in recent years, compared to the United Nations charities, his charitable foundation and the Women and Children's Charity Foundation have most of the time adhered to the principle of saving the emergency and not the poor, and helped many people on the verge of life and death, especially children.
These people thanked him from the bottom of their hearts.
Indeed, his purpose in doing charity is very strong, and his starting point is not pure at all, and he must be the object of contempt for many defenders, but no one can deny that a large number of funds from his foundation have helped a lot of people.
Now that he has paid, Matthew naturally wants to seek something in return.
Therefore, when he stood in the middle of a group photo of the people who were relieved, creating news explosions and accumulating halo effects, Matthew was not weak at all.
Because it's the result of a lot of work he's done.
At the end of the group photo, Matthew and Gutierrez waved goodbye to the men and continued their march deeper into the camp, which was much larger than the last time they came.
And he also saw a lot of special situations in the refugee camp, and heard the discussions of the people around him, but he didn't say much.
Even with the United Nations to maintain order, refugee camps are not a pure land.
"Identity", "implementing partner", "justified fear", etc., became the words Matthew often heard.
The Dadaab refugee camp is the largest in the world, and in 1991 the UNHCR began to integrate Somalis fleeing the civil war to establish informal settlements and form the camp.
Today, the bureaucracy in the camps is as suffocating as the heat.
Today, in addition to Somalis who are unable to return home, the camps are also filled with a large number of Kenyans, many Kenyans with legal status, who somehow become Somali refugees.
But such a problem is not something that Matthew can solve, and he will not be stupid enough to ask a few words and the problem will be solved.
Problems that even UNHCR struggled to solve, let alone him.
After a round trip, the group drove out of UNHCR and drove to a town very close to the Somali border to see children who had been displaced by the war.