10,000th Syrian refugee arrives in Canada to rebuild life
Press Releases, 14 January 2016
UNHCR congratulates Canada on the arrival in the country of the 10,000th Syrian refugee as part of its humanitarian programme to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees. The 10,000th Syrian refugee arrived on Canadian soil on 12 January. Reaching such a significant milestone in less than two months after announcing the initiative in early November last year is an important achievement in the programme, which will ultimately give thousands of vulnerable Syrian refugees the opportunity to start a new life in Canada.
The rapid implementation of this humanitarian initiative could not have been achieved without efficient coordination, and the dedication and commitment from all involved. UNHCR works closely with Canada and the International Organization for Migration, which is providing transport and other support to the refugees to ensure the successful and timely completion of this programme. We look forward to continuing our collaboration in other programmes as well, aiming at providing Syrian refugees with very much-needed humanitarian support.
As the resources of the host countries surrounding Syria are being increasingly stretched, the living conditions of the over 4.3 million Syrian refugees in the region are deteriorating. UNHCR calls on other states to follow the Canadian example and show solidarity with the refugee hosting countries in the region by giving Syrian refugees legal opportunities to move to another country. On 30 March, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi will convene a high-level meeting in Geneva on global responsibility sharing for Syrian refugees, at which countries will be invited to pledge to admit more Syrian refugees from the neighbouring countries, either through resettlement or other humanitarian programmes. UNHCR estimates that at least 10 per cent of the registered refugees in countries neighbouring Syria are vulnerable and are in need of resettlement or other ways to be admitted to a third country.
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Thousands of desperate Syrian refugees seek safety in Turkey after outbreak of fresh fighting
Renewed fighting in northern Syria since June 3 has sent a further 23,135 refugees fleeing across the border into Turkey's southern Sanliurfa province. Some 70 per cent of these are women and children, according to information received by UNHCR this week.
Most of the new arrivals are Syrians escaping fighting between rival military forces in and around the key border town of Tel Abyad, which faces Akcakale across the border. They join some 1.77 million Syrian refugees already in Turkey.
However, the influx also includes so far 2,183 Iraqis from the cities of Mosul, Ramadi and Falujjah.
According to UNHCR field staff most of the refugees are exhausted and arrive carrying just a few belongings. Some have walked for days. In recent days, people have fled directly to Akcakale to escape fighting in Tel Abyad which is currently reported to be calm.
Thousands of desperate Syrian refugees seek safety in Turkey after outbreak of fresh fighting
Cold, Uncomfortable and Hungry in Calais
For years, migrants and asylum-seekers have flocked to the northern French port of Calais in hopes of crossing the short stretch of sea to find work and a better life in England. This hope drives many to endure squalid, miserable conditions in makeshift camps, lack of food and freezing temperatures. Some stay for months waiting for an opportunity to stow away on a vehicle making the ferry crossing.
Many of the town's temporary inhabitants are fleeing persecution or conflict in countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Sudan and Syria. And although these people are entitled to seek asylum in France, the country's lack of accommodation, administrative hurdles and language barrier, compel many to travel on to England where many already have family waiting.
With the arrival of winter, the crisis in Calais intensifies. To help address the problem, French authorities have opened a day centre as well as housing facilities for women and children. UNHCR is concerned with respect to the situation of male migrants who will remain without shelter solutions. Photographer Julien Pebrel recently went to Calais to document their lives in dire sites such as the Vandamme squat and next to the Tioxide factory.
Cold, Uncomfortable and Hungry in Calais
Abdu finds his voice in Germany
When bombs started raining down on Aleppo, Syria, in 2012, the Khawan family had to flee. According to Ahmad, the husband of Najwa and father of their two children, the town was in ruins within 24 hours.
The family fled to Lebanon where they shared a small flat with Ahmad's two brothers and sisters and their children. Ahmad found sporadic work which kept them going, but he knew that in Lebanon his six-year-old son, Abdu, who was born deaf, would have little chance for help.
The family was accepted by Germany's Humanitarian Assistance Programme and resettled into the small central German town of Wächtersbach, near Frankfurt am Main. Nestled in a valley between two mountain ranges and a forest, the village has an idyllic feel.
A year on, Abdu has undergone cochlear implant surgery for the second time. He now sports two new hearing aids which, when worn together, allow him to hear 90 per cent. He has also joined a regular nursery class, where he is learning for the first time to speak - German in school and now Arabic at home. Ahmed is likewise studying German in a nearby village, and in two months he will graduate with a language certificate and start looking for work. He says that he is proud at how quickly Abdu is learning and integrating.
Abdu finds his voice in Germany
![Za'atari oldest man](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20160218135626im_/http://img.youtube.com/vi/7wxe3P2YCao/0.jpg)
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Za'atari oldest man
At 113, Yousef is a very old man. Until conflict forced him to flee Syria two years ago, his life was spent peacefully with his farm, his shop, his three children and 160 descendants nearby. Now, he is perhaps the oldest resident of Za'aatri refugee camp in Jordan.
"He was sad when we told him we wanted to leave," says his daughter Nejmeh. "He tells me he wants to go back to Syria…He made me promise, if he dies, to bury him in Syria."
![United Kingdom: High Commissioner calls for more funding for Syrian Refugees](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20160218135626im_/http://img.youtube.com/vi/qXwzpogjGhk/0.jpg)
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United Kingdom: High Commissioner calls for more funding for Syrian Refugees
Speaking at the London Syria Conference, the head of the UN Refugee Agency Filippo Grandi called for a significant increase in pledges to offer much-needed stability, opportunities and hope to Syrian refugees, who are becoming more vulnerable as a brutal war has raged for five years
![Lebanon: Newborn Boy Spends First Winter In A Warehouse](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20160218135626im_/http://img.youtube.com/vi/tYNvFydojT4/0.jpg)
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Lebanon: Newborn Boy Spends First Winter In A Warehouse
Just ten days old, Syrian infant Mohammed is already experiencing the harshness of refugee life. Living with his family in a warehouse without furniture, natural light or permanent heat, he is already battling his first cold.