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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'm no different to the people like me in Africa and I believe that they too can overcome their barriers and achieve their potentials if they are given the opportunity.
“Remarkably, the loss of a limb helped Dhuhulow, who came to Britain as a refugee, discover a talent for long-distance running”.
We spent four hours on the sea, bailing out water and praying to Allah. The waves had taken us far.
Amina from Afghanistan received a warning from herhusband’s family that her children weren’t safe. The cousins are still chasing them…
“Salim found refuge in Sweden after fleeing Syria to Lebanon. I met Salim a few weeks ago in Malmo, the most densely populated area in Scandinavia, but he wasn’t a mere Syrian refugee. …”
“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.”
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…
“The most rewarding is the smile of the children we teach, the grateful look of the hungry we feed, the blessing of the sick or elderly we attend to…”
I came to Kenya running for my life. Eleven years on, I still hold on to my dream of holding a diploma… I am sure I will attain that goal one day.
This silly baby, this sticky, sweaty, sick human humming and sucking on her fingers is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
It is as if I can hear this 1-year-old child’s thoughts: “I was named after a ‘Mzungu‘, a white person? This is Aimee?” When she sees my white skin, she presses her fat face into her mother’s breasts and shakes her head. She hides and waits. But I do not go away.
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.
“It was like hell, blood everywhere”. A personal account of the Rwandan genocide.
It was a nightmare that you cannot wake up from, and it will never leave me
I looked around and all I saw was the open sea. At that moment, I feared for my life. I had no air to breathe because the place was overcrowded, my legs started to feel numb from the way I was sitting. We had neither food nor water…
Journalist Penny Pryor recounts the inspiring story of 22 year old Landry Mugisha, hip-hop dancer and former refugee, now resettled in the USA.
I thought there was no second chance, I thought the end was near, I thought my kids would not live to see the future every human being deserves.
Isaiah Labai was born in Sierra Leone and spent years in refugee camps until he received a breath of freedom through resettled in Australia
Aduk Dau Duot fled from the civil war in South Sudan in 1983, and after spending time in Kakuma refugee camp was resettled to Australia. Despite losing her own family while fleeing, Aduk found herself caring for many unaccompanied South Sudanese children. Thanks to UNHCR Adut now lives in Australia and has been reunited with her family.
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.
‘As I watch, figures appear out of the darkness, bent double under sacks… moving past us like heavy ghosts”. AA Gill goes among the Syrian refugees in Jordan’s Zaatari Camp.
My own country is where kids wait and are excited for the morning to carry their bags, and go to schools, and where they found armed mens on the gate of the schools to stop them and where they see on their eyes when their schools are destroyed and blown up by Taliban’s.
She stole our hearts with her determination and bright eyes. It’s been touching to see how many people have reached out to help …
About a year ago I started as an enthusiastic volunteer for the Finnish Refugee Council (FRC) and immediately became a fan of the organization..
Although I was once upon the time a despairing refugee, but through UNHCR's support I am now an asset to my country's post-conflict recovery.
It was in 1994 in the provincial town of Yomou, Guinea. After few months of seeking refuge in one of the largest Liberian Refugee Camps, my father was picked up by security forces and incarcerated …
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
By the time he was found in a jungle in southern Thailand, this teenager was so weak he couldn’t even wave away the flies and mosquitoes that covered his body.
He saved 96 lives. One of them became his dear friend: “I still remember him crying ‘I finally found freedom!’ when we rescued them in the Indian Ocean.” …
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…
I am proud to live in a free country, and strive to welcome people from any background, to allow them the freedoms and self-actualisation we allow ourselves to have.
“In North Korea, I lived for Kim Jong Il. In England I live for myself”. This is a statement made by a student I was teaching English to, whilst training and developing myself as an English teacher.
Learn more about our work with refugees at UNHCR.org
