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Refugees fleeing South Sudan pass one million mark
News & Stories
16 Sep 2016
![(L-R) President of the General Assembly #70 Mogens Lykketoft, President of the General Assembly #71 Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi attend UNHCR #WithRefugees petition handover at UN General Assembly Hall at United Nations on September 16, 2016 in New York City. ; UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today received a petition – #WithRefugees – from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, signed by more than 1.2 million people expressing solidarity with millions of people across the world driven from their homes by conflict and persecution.
Taking receipt of the appeal at the UN General Assembly in New York, together with Assembly President Peter Thomson, Ban noted the global scope of support for refugees.
The petition calls on representatives of the 193 governments attending the Summit to make sure all refugee children can go to school; that all refugees have a safe place to live and that all refugees can work and contribute to their local community.](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20161004081852im_/http://www.unhcr.org/hk/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/09/withrefugees-447x252.jpg)
UNHCR #WithRefugees petition heads to UN Secretary-General
News & Stories
16 Sep 2016
![resized_147340630063](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20161004081852im_/http://www.unhcr.org/hk/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/09/resized_147340630063-447x252.jpg)
Greek Volunteers share UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award
News & Stories
6 Sep 2016
![Ibrahim al-Hussein, a 27 year old refugee from Syria, during a swimming training session in the former 2004 Olympic sport complex in Athens. ; Ibrahim al-Hussein will carry the Olympic Flame in Athens as part of the torch relay for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The symbolic gesture is meant to show solidarity with the worlds refugees at a time when millions are fleeing war and persecution worldwide and an its an immense privilege for the a 27 year old refugee from Syria who once dreamed of competing in the Olympics and whose athletic career was interrupted by the war and an injury that cost him part of his right leg after a bombing in his home town of Deir ez-Zor.
"It is an honor," Ibrahim says of bearing the Olympic flame. "Imagine achieving one of your biggest dreams. Imagine that your dream of more than 20 years is becoming a reality."
Ibrahim commits himself to a rigorous training schedule. Three days per week, He swims with ALMA, a Greek nonprofit organization for athletes with disabilities. His training is held in the former 2004 Olympic sport complex in Athens. He is also part of a wheelchair basketball league that meets five times per week and travels throughout the country for games.
Ibrahim does all this despite working a 10-hour overnight shift at a cafe in Anthoupoli, an Athens suburb 30 minutes by train from his home.
"It's not just a game for me," Ibrahim says of his commitment to athletics. "It's my life."](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20161004081852im_/http://www.unhcr.org/hk/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/09/RF250060_AZ20160411-73425-447x252.jpg)
Displaced athletes to make historic debut at Paralympic Games in Rio
News & Stories
5 Sep 2016
![A young refugee from South Sudan cooks food at the reception centre in the newly established Pagarinya 2 camp in Adjumani District, in northern Uganda. © UNHCR/Will Swanson](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20161004081852im_/http://www.unhcr.org/hk/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/08/resized_147331048668-447x252.jpg)
Funding lags as more flee South Sudan
News & Stories
19 Aug 2016
![Ten refugees have been selected to form the first-ever Refugee Olympic Athletes team. ;](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20161004081852im_/http://www.unhcr.org/hk/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/06/RF257097_Olympic_hero_Pic-447x252.jpg)
These 10 refugees will compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio
News & Stories
15 Jul 2016