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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
Being resettled himself meant Abdi could help others. “One lady refused to enter her house,” he says. “I spoke to [her] over the phone – she said ‘I can hear you’re speaking in the Somali language but are you really a Somali person?’"
“I said, ‘calm down, I’m from Dadaab like you, this is how life here starts’. I went to reassure her [and] she began crying, saying she didn’t think she would see someone there like her.”
In Burma, I lived in a small village. I am part of the Karen people – an ethnic minority in Burma. We were persecuted by the Burmese authorities. The village had Christian and Buddhist people who separated and started fighting.
At the end of 1994, the authorities told us to leave within two weeks. My family fled over the border to Thailand…
I turn to see a pair of sad eyes looking up at me through the barbed wire fence. In that moment, I feel like I’ve learned the true meaning of complete heartbreak…
“I never imagined this could happen to us! We are just normal people minding our own business.”
Anna-Carin Öst, UNHCR Poland Representative tells the story of Ishaq, a special friend of her who sold his shop and house, took his family and fled besieged Damascus.
Those days were very tough yet were blessings too. Among all the privileges, the education opportunity was the best gift ever.
There was severe poverty, very casual medical support, extreme lack of sanitation, and lack of food which caused a lot of pain and suffering for many. Despite all of this, the place where I grew up and spent my entire childhood I will always treasure and cherish those memories in my heart.
"I want to finish school and get a good job in order to support my relatives in Africa, because I know that the life that they are living is not easy in the least. I know because I lived it."
Ushindi has a bright future ahead in Canada where he attends school for free and never has to go hungry. He has expanded his horizons and has found new hope.
Egzona is so grateful for the opportunities Canada provides from schooling to jobs as well as allowing him to express himself artistically.
Living a refugee life is hard. It’s dark with no future, no hope, no dreams and no destiny. But I thank God that he had a plan for me.
He gives me strength to face my daily struggle. And thankfully he brought me here in the land of opportunity to explore the world. I am renewed again.
When Mr. Karel finally returned from his emigration to Canada he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Yet, he was glad he had come back.
Getting refugee status is like getting a new birth certificate. You have to start your life again and it’s not easy.
For me, the most frustrating thing is being on financial benefits and not being able to find a job. But that’s made me even more determined to re-qualify in my profession. I’ve now passed all my exams. I’m hopeful that I will be able to work here as a doctor soon.
Marzia considers a letter from a refugee as one of the most rewarding moments in her work…
I grew up in a beautiful region of Democratic Republic of Congo. My country has a lot of political problems and this has made life very difficult for Congolese people like me.
I fled to Kakuma refugee camp; someone told me my sister-in-law was living in the same camp too.
Life has been difficult for me, but my experiences have made me stronger. Being young and a woman, it isn’t easy to find your place in a new community.
But I’ve learned to be proud to be Eritrean. Until you are aware of it, you don’t realize how important it is to belong to something
On World Refugee Day, Nathaniel is not only reminded of the years he spent in a refugee camp, but also of great achievements…
Learn more about our work with refugees at UNHCR.org
