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“It was like hell, blood everywhere”. A personal account of the Rwandan genocide.
Actress and model Chermarn Boonyasak shares a refugee story that really moved me. This is the story of May Toke…
Awad is 78 years old. Until the civil war and its brutality reached his home town of Al Mazerab, he had never considered leaving his country…
Zoan’s role as an activist in Africa cost the lives of his father and uncle due to political repression and he was imprisoned for four years where he was tortured…
We drank sea water to survive. Then, in the middle of the sea the boat’s GPS broke down…
On World Refugee Day, Nathaniel is not only reminded of the years he spent in a refugee camp, but also of great achievements…
As soon as I got the letter, I opened it, read it and I just couldn’t control my emotions at the time.
“For me to able to get into the program was an objective that I had to achieve to help my family for a better life.” Arash, refugee from Afghanistan, tells his story and how he met Jessie… a video by the World University Service of Canada
I was born in a refugee camp in the forests of Burundi. Becoming victims of genocide, my parents died when I was only…
"The light at the end of the tunnel is what Guelor chooses to see."
Guelor is determined to find his brother, the only family he has left. He won’t give up until he is reunited with him and they can rebuild their lives together.
Saleh was able to secure his higher education in order to have better options for his future. But not everybody in the Sahrawi camps has this chance…
“Return is the only thing that the IDPs wish for. But the main condition to achieve return is disarmament, so that everyone can sleep quietly at night.”
Mohamed endured a grueling 5 months in prison, eventually he was freed and he fled the country to find work to support his family.
Kandara is eager to learn Greek and immerse himself in Greek culture in an attempt to create conditions for a better life…
Aliyah appeals to the UNHCR to ensure that all the children in the world receive the help they deserve.
"I was an active member of the Movement of Democratic Change in Zimbabwe. There was a great deal of violence..."
There was a great deal of violence orchestrated by state security forces, against opposition and civil society activists. Due to my daunting task of advocating for the rights of people, l became an enemy to many in 2008 before the national elections.
“I was just 11 when they came to arrest my brother for demonstrating against the regime. I still can’t forget how he was screaming to stop the beating of our father…”
"We were looking for any country that was safe, somewhere we could live. We planned to stop the first time we saw land. We landed in Thailand. We were caught by men in uniform and pushed back to sea."
Despite the trauma Abdul has been through, he would do it again…
“Being stateless is like being an alien. Anywhere you place me… everyone will still say, ‘You are not from here’.
“Uniting and joining forces with so many other refugees on a day like this makes almost feels like being home.”
I am thankful for the helped we received, but being uprooted marks you for life.
My mom was a union leader and an activist for indigenous rights in Guatemala. Her fight against injustice and corruption resulted in her kidnapping…
Deogratias is an orphan. He first lost his mother in 2009 and later in 2012 his father passed away. He wrote a heart moving poem saying no to violence.
Kwa Kyi became a landmine victim in 1986, but has since dedicated himself to advocating for those with disabilities and who have suffered a similar fate.
“Tell me, what is the purpose of my life, if I cannot even look after my family?”
“I will think about my options, but I’m certainly not going at sea again. I left for the future of my kids; I’m not going to die with them in the sea. Life is not over.”
Journalist Boglarka Balogh tells how Ahmed lost eight members of his family at sea, when their boat sank with hundreds of Syrian refugees on board…
Although Guliver has been displaced for so many years, he longs to build a house for his family and be able to call it home.
Yasser fled Damascus after bombs killed 400 people one night in his neighbourhood. In Harmanli camp he and his friends started a daytime school for children.
Fred is a pillar of strength, he encourages his family to never lose their sense of hope and to remain positive about the future.
“It is weird how one can pass from covering the turmoil in his country to being a victim of the violence.”
Learn more about our work with refugees at UNHCR.org
