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| ‘We went outside to find out what it was ...’ |
| Thank goodness for the roof over our heads |
| Thank you from Afghanistan |
| The Untold Stories: Protracted Refugee Situations |
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UNHCR is busy helping refugees all over the world. Find out more about what we're doing in countries like Liberia, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
UNHCR's partner, Earth Water, makes a unique offer to help support projects for refugees. |
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Tina Ghelli, Community Services Officer for the UN Refugee Agency in Uganda describes the most pressing needs and her most rewarding experiences. 
UNHCR is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. Today, a staff of around 6,540 people in 116 countries continues to help 19.2 million persons.
In this issue, we focus on UNHCR's successful activities in the following 3 countries: Liberia, Somalia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.
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UNHCR trucks gather at Liberia’s VOA camp in preparation for the last convoy back to Sierra Leone. |
Liberia 
On October 1st, 2004 the UN Refugee Agency launched the Liberian repatriation operation, following the end of the 14-year civil conflict in Liberia. As the nation gradually pulls itself up from years of devastating strife, we are funding repair of shelters, roads, schools and water points, and kick-starting vocational training programmes to help thousands rebuild their lives. Over the next three years,we expect to help approximately 340,000 Liberian refugees return home.
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Registering to repatriate from eastern Ethiopia's camps. |
After more than a decade of nothing but bad news from their homeland, October brought hope to some 140,000 Somali refugees in Kenya. Their country has a new president – the first real sign that their return to southern Somalia may one day be possible. Rival warlords have been battling for control of the region since 1991. When the time comes, the UN Refugee Agency looks forward to helping people return home in safety and dignity, as we have already done for more than 467,000 refugees returning to northern Somalia.
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Mixed groups of returnees in Bu Kve village, Bosnia and Herzegovina, live together peacefully. © UNHCR/R.Chalasani |
More than two million terrified people fled war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992-95. We spearheaded a huge relief operation including the Sarajevo airlift, the longest-running airbridge in history. Now the number of people making the courageous decision to return has passed the one million mark. Many of these returnees are minorities. Thanks to your generosity, we have delivered practical help to people facing a multitude of social and economic difficulties. Continued support is essential to consolidate this success and ensure that these returning refugees can restart their lives.
The Untold Stories: Protracted Refugee Situations Most refugees just want to go home. However, there are 6.2 million refugees who have been caught in a state of limbo for more than five years. The options for these refugees are limited. They may seek to be integrated into their host country, although in many cases, the host country is unwilling or unable to grant refugees permanent residence. They may seek to be resettled to another country altogether, but only a fraction of the refugee cases are accepted for resettlement. This impasse leaves many refugees living in temporary camps for years, without any rights of citizen or permanent resident. Many of these refugees' stories may not appear in the headlines, but their need is great. They rely on the UN Refugee Agency to provide for their welfare and safety. Myanmar: Refugees from the country formerly known as Burma fled into Thailand, and now reside primarily in nine camps along the border where there are now an estimated 120,000 refugees granted temporary asylum. Bhutan: More than 103,000 Bhutanese refugees are living in Nepal, where they fled in the early 1990's when Bhutan imposed cultural reforms that the predominantly Hindu group of refugees feared would lead to further persecution.
Somalia: An estimated 400,000 Somali refugees, most living in camps in Kenya, Yemen, Ethiopia and Djibouti have been living in exile for more than a decade. Some are choosing to return to northern regions of Somalia, but returns to the south of Somalia are still not possible as the peace negotiations continue. Burundi: There are 320,000 refugees from Burundi living in Tanzania. UNHCR is providing assistance to this group, but a further 170,000 remain living without assistance, and without the possiblity of returning home. Democratic Republic of Congo: After five years of conflict in the DRC, Tanzania is also hosing 150,000 refugees and another 130,000 Congolese refugees are living in Rwanda, Burundi and Zambia.
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PHOTO CREDITS:
TOP: Nasim Khatun, a 55 year old widow who returned to Maungdaw, Myanmar in June 2003, sits with her grandsons in front of the house that UNHCR, through a loan program, helped her to build. © UNHCR/C.Schwetz
ABOVE: A young Somali refugee girl, Hartisheik refugee camp, Ethiopia. © UNHCR/ L.Mefeau
