REFUGEE BOOK COVER PROJECT

REFUGEE BOOK COVER
PROJECT
Creating World Peace
One Book Cover at a Time

The Refugee Book Cover Project seeks to provide current and potential
refugees a means to create income for themselves while congruently
preserving precious manuscripts of the world’s ancient wisdom traditions.
The Refugee Book Cover Project’s first initiative is to create book covers
for the 140,000 volumes of ancient Tibetan scriptures located at the St
Petersburg Institute of Oriental Manuscripts. Many of the Tibetan
manuscripts have been left exposed and damaged since World War II. To
preserve such a unique collection, book covers are urgently needed. We
have therefore offered to organize the manufacturing of such covers and
the fund raising has just begun.

However, we also realized that these covers
could be created by refugees.
We intend to provide help through the
following points of leverage:
- By providing refugees a sustainable source of
income.
- By preventing vulnerable populations from
becoming refugees in the first place.

Phase A:
Pakistan
Phase B:
Romania
and
Germany

Phase A: Pakistan
In Pakistan, we are making the covers thanks to The Sughar Women’s
Empowerment Foundation, a local organization which empowers tribal
women and brings awareness to the present condition of honor killings.
Sughar means “skilled, confident woman” in Urdu. These tribal communities
are very vulnerable economically and live well below the poverty line. By
providing them with an income, we will help create islands of stability that
will prevent them from becoming refugees themselves.

Phase B:
Romania
and
Germany
Begins soon in Bucharest, Romania where
we are collaborating with Noor Ibrahim, in
charge of refugee initiatives in Romania. We
plan to organize the manufacturing of
covers by Syrian refugees and therefore
empower them by creating a source of
income. Other options are under study with
our partners in Germany.

Former President Bill Clinton, left, talks
with Bono, Khalida Brohi, founder of the
Sughar Empowerment Society, and
Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating
officer of Facebook, at the Clinton Global
Initiative, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 in New
York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan).
Our Partner in Pakistan
Khalida Brohi,
Founder of the Sughar
Empowerment Society
Khalida Brohi is the founder and executive
director of the Sughar Empowerment Society, a
nonprofit social enterprise in Pakistan dedicated
towards providing tribal and rural women
opportunities to grow their skills as well as learn
leadership skills in an environment of growth and
development. Khalida Brohi has been named one
of Newsweek magazine's 25 under 25 and Forbes
’30 Under 30’ social entrepreneurs; one of the "100
Women Who Matter in Pakistan" by Newsweek.

Overview
of the
Refugee Crisis
While most of the focus is currently on the refugee crisis in
Europe, there is a bigger picture that needs to be painted.
What is taking place in Europe is only the visible part of the
iceberg. According to the New York Times (November 1st,
2015), with 60 million people on the move in the world right
now, the current refugee crisis is one of the worst of modern
history. Never in the world since World War II, has there
been such a massive migration in such a short period. More
than 800,000 refugees have tried to enter Europe this year.
Among them, Syrians and Iraqis but also Afghans, Pakistanis
and Bangladeshis coming from Central Asia, as well as
Nigerians, Somalis and Sudanese coming from Africa.
Human rights experts consider that it could get even worse.

53% 16%
6%
The three most represented nationalities

Syria
Out of a population of 18 million, there are probably 4 to 5 million Syrians
who have left their country. Most of them are now refugees in Turkey,
Lebanon and Jordan. Within Syria itself, it is estimated that another 6 to
8 million are displaced by the conflict.

Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, the Taliban regime is regaining strength. According to the latest polls, 25% of
Afghans want to leave the country, out of a population of around 37 million. Since the 1980s,
Afghanistan has endured the campaign against Soviet occupation, civil war after the Soviets
withdrew and the ongoing battle against Taliban insurgents since the hardline Islamist
movement was toppled in 2001. There are currently 2.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
The situation was made worse recently by budgetary austerity in Pakistan and the decision to
slash budgets usually earmarked for refugees.

Eritrea
Eritrea is the North Korea of Africa. Apart from a tiny elite, the rest of the population is
submitted to forced labor or lifelong military enrollment. With one of the most brutal and
corrupt governments, its human rights record is among the worst in the world. Mining is the
largest source of income for this $4 billion economy and it is believed that some mining
corporations are currently collaborating with the dictatorial government to provide them
with enslaved labor for the copper and gold mines.

The Silk Road
• Given that the whole refugee crisis is caused by war and armed conflicts, this book cover
initiative is also reuniting cultures and countries that have been normally at war or in
conflict for centuries.
• These book covers create powerful links by preserving a cultural heritage that belongs to
all the countries in that area (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Russia).
They also revive the tradition of the Silk Road, a flow of cultural and trade exchanges that
connected cultures for thousands of years. This group of countries are now representative
of 60% of the world population.
• More recently, climate change is triggering violent weather patterns that have a more
adverse effect on poorer countries than on wealthier populations.

Planting Seeds for World Peace:
If we can raise the awareness that there is much
more that unites all the cultures of the world
rather than divisions, then we will have planted
the seeds that will prevent further refugee crisis.
Goals of the Refugee Book Cover Project:
•To preserve ancient wisdom.
•To create the foundations of world harmony that will
prevent the very crisis we are witnessing.
•To revive a cultural heritage that reunites the world.
•To provide income to the citizens in regions affected by
conflict in order to allow them to send their children to
school and rebuild a promising future.

How can you help ?
•By raising awareness about the
topics we just described and
spreading the presentation herewith
•By visiting our blog here and by
providing your suggestions
•Take action by donating here