To highlight child refugee crisis

Eddie Izzard has travelled to Iraq to report on the crisis facing Syrian refugees in the country.

The comedian made the journey to Domiz camp in the north of Iraq – originally designed for 15,000 and now crammed with 45,000 people – with Unicef.

The number of people entering the country has tripled over the past six months and it is likely to double again by the end of the year to 350,000. 

During his first day in the camp where temperatures reach 45C, Izzard said: ‘Syrian children across the region have lost everything. I’ve heard refugee children in Iraq tell how they fled horrific violence and how they lost loved ones, their homes and their schools.  They arrived here with only their clothes on their back.

‘These children have experienced things that no child should – and now they are being forced to struggle as refugees, rebuilding their lives in a country that most Brits would still remember as a war zone, not a place of safety.’

Izzard has just become an ambassador for Unicef, and travelled to highlight the child refugee crisis.

 The number of children fleeing Syria for neighbouring countries will soon hit 1 million, and Unicef are fundraising to send specialist psychological support, safe drinking water and vaccinations - as well as getting children back to school. However, the agency has raised only around a third of the money needed this year.

To donate £5, text the word DONATE to 70099 or visit unicef.org.uk

• Julian Clary is to appear on Amnesty’s Secret Comedy Podcast during the Edinburgh Fringe – his only performance at the festival – the human rights charity announced today.

Published: 8 Jul 2013