• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%

UNHCR chief visits emergency transit centre in Romania

News Stories, 28 May 2010

© UNHCR photo
High Commissioner António Guterres meets young Palestinian refugees at the emergency transit centre in Timisoara.

BUCHAREST, Romania, May 28 (UNHCR) – UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has visited Europe's first emergency transit centre (ETC) in Romania, meeting Sri Lankan and Palestinian refugees.

The emergency transit centre was opened in the city of Timisoara in late 2008 by the Romanian government, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It's formal launch was in March 2009.

It provides a temporary haven for refugees in urgent need of evacuation from their first asylum countries due to life-threatening conditions. They can stay for up to six months before being resettled in third countries. A second transit centre was opened in Slovakia last July.

Guterres, who is on a two-day visit to Romania, visited the ETC on Thursday and met some of the 152 refugees of Palestinian and Sri Lankan origin currently staying there and awaiting resettlement. One group of 99 had arrived at the centre earlier this week after an exhausting 26-hour journey to Romania from the desert camp of Al-Walid in Iraq, where they had spent years.

"This is a pioneering project which answers to a clear need shown by the Uzbek operation," Guterres said, referring to Romania's agreement in July 2005 to temporarily shelter 439 Uzbek refugees airlifted from Kyrgyzstan and eventually resettled. The operation helped pave the way for the establishment of the ETC.

"UNHCR was in need then, and you see who your friends are in times of need. I want to express my deepest appreciation to the Romanian government and people for hosting this emergency transit centre," said Guterres, who also planted a "tree of wishes" in the centre.

Among those at the centre, was an 80-year-old Palestinian man from Iraq whose energy belied his age. He said he craved stability. "I want any citizenship, just so I can visit my sons and daughters, scattered all over the world," he said.

A young Sri Lankan woman said she was forced from her home during the long struggle that ended last year between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. She made her way to India, Singapore and Indonesia before being flown to Romania. "Even though I hadn't heard of Romania before, I really like it here. I feel really good," she said.

More than 600 refugees have transited the ETC in Timisoara since it opened in 2008, the same year that Romania passed legislation making it one of the few countries ready to accept refugees for resettlement. A first group of refugees from Myanmar is expected to arrive in the country from Malaysia in early June.

In Bucharest on Friday, the High Commisioner held talks with top officials, including Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc.

By Claudia Liute in Bucharest, Romania

• DONATE NOW •

 

• GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

The High Commissioner

António Guterres, who joined UNHCR on June 15, 2005, is the UN refugee agency's 10th High Commissioner.

Sri Lanka: IDPs and Returnees

During Sri Lanka's 20-year civil war more than 1 million people were uprooted from their homes or forced to flee, often repeatedly. Many found shelter in UNHCR-supported Open Relief Centers, in government welfare centers or with relatives and friends.

In February 2002, the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed a cease-fire accord and began a series of talks aimed at negotiating a lasting peace. By late 2003, more than 300,000 internally displaced persons had returned to their often destroyed towns and villages.

In the midst of these returns, UNHCR provided physical and legal protection to war affected civilians – along with financing a range of special projects to provide new temporary shelter, health and sanitation facilities, various community services, and quick and cheap income generation projects.

Sri Lanka: IDPs and Returnees

Picking Up the Pieces in Sri Lanka

In an unprecedented response to a natural disaster, the U.N. refugee agency – whose mandate is to protect refugees fleeing violence and persecution – has kicked off a six-month, multi-million dollar emergency relief operation to aid tsunami victims in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Somalia. UNHCR has worked in Sri Lanka for nearly 20 years and has the largest operational presence in the country with seven offices, 113 staff and a strong network of partnerships in place. The day of the tsunami, UNHCR opened up its warehouses in the island nation and began distributing existing stockpiles – including plastic sheeting, cooking sets and clothing for 100,000 people.

UNHCR estimates that some 889,000 people are now displaced in Sri Lanka, including many who were already displaced by the long-running conflict in the north. Prior to the tsunami, UNHCR assisted 390,000 people uprooted by the war. UNHCR is now expanding its logistical and warehouse capacity throughout the island to facilitate delivery of relief items to the needy populations, including in the war-affected area. The refugee agency is currently distributing relief items and funding mobile health clinics to assist the injured and sick.

Picking Up the Pieces in Sri Lanka

Out of Harm's Way in Romania

Peaceful days and a safe environment is probably more than these Palestinian and Sudanese refugees expected when they were stuck in a desert camp in Iraq. Now they are recovering at a special transit centre in the Romanian city of Timisoara while their applications for resettlement in a third country are processed.

Most people forced to flee their homes are escaping from violence or persecution, but some find themselves still in danger after arriving at their destination. UNHCR uses the centre in Romania to bring such people out of harm's way until they can be resettled.

The Emergency Transit Centre (ETC) in Timisoara was opened in 2008. Another one will be formally opened in Humenné, Slovakia, within the coming weeks. The ETC provides shelter and respite for up to six months, during which time the evacuees can prepare for a new life overseas. They can attend language courses and cultural orientation classes.

Out of Harm's Way in Romania

High Commissioner Guterres Remarks on the resettlement of Refugees from Bhutan in NepalPlay video

High Commissioner Guterres Remarks on the resettlement of Refugees from Bhutan in Nepal

The UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) marked a major milestone: the resettlement of over 100,000 refugees from Bhutan in Nepal to third countries since the launch of the programme in 2007.
Turkey: World Refugee Day visitsPlay video

Turkey: World Refugee Day visits

On World Refugee Day the UNHCR High Commissioner, António Guterres, along with Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, travelled to southeastern Turkey, the home of hundreds of thousands of refugees from conflicts in Syria and Iraq. They were in the midyat refugee camp to see conditions for these people and to issue a warning to the world.
Kuwait donating money to UNHCRPlay video

Kuwait donating money to UNHCR

Kuwait has donated just over US$120 million to the UN refugee agency to assist its efforts in dealing with the humanitarian situation resulting from the crisis in Syria. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres warmly thanked and praised the government of Kuwait and its people for the extreme generosity when he received a cheque for the amount at a ceremony on Wednesday evening in Geneva.