 |
| Yemen: No Relief in Sight Life is desperate for those who flee |
| Somalia: Urgent need for relief - A growing circle of suffering |
| In person with Abraham ABRAHAM |
| Angelina Jolie: UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador |
|
|
|
|
  |
Allessandra Morelli and Loutfi Beldjelti in Northern Yemen
While our Emergency Response Team is there to help people survive an immediate humanitarian crisis, the rest of our work focuses on assisting refugees build a new life. Here are just a few examples of how we are helping people to start again.
In this issue, we focus on UNHCR's successful activities in the following 2 countries: Malaysia, and Ecuador.
|
Love of Learning: A group of ethnic Chin girls studying at the school. © UNHCR/M Liboiron |
Malaysia 
Refugees Run Their Own School
Urban refugees, ethnic Chin from Myanmar, are denied the right to education in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, where they have come to seek safety from violence. So they have organized a school of their own to make sure the children learn to read and write in hopes of a better life some day. While the lessons are important to 14-year-old Sui, she also loves playing softball. “It feels very good when I beat the boys – I feel like I can do anything. And what do I hope for in my future?” asked Sui. “Peace. I just want a life of peace.”
Read the full story on the UNHCR International site.
|
The remote border villages of Darién are accessible only by boat and only when there is enough water in the Rio Tuira. But UNHCR staff memebers manage to frequently visit the refugees sheltering here. © UNHCR/B.Heger |
Mobile Teams Register Colombian Refugees
In northern Ecuador, special enhanced registration teams are seeking out and registering thousands of Colombian refugees as asylum seekers, so that they will have access to protection for their human rights. In recent months, members of these brigades, travelling by boat into remote areas, have issued some 11,000 refugee visas to Colombian refugees here. The teams carry out interviews, registration and determine refugee eligibility all in a single day. Previously, navigating the regular asylum process could take years.
Read the full story on the UNHCR International site.
Angelina Jolie: American actress Angelina Jolie has become one of the most prominent humanitarian supporters of UNHCR, visiting the displaced in more than 20 countries and making generous financial donations through the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. Angelina Jolie was deeply moved by the plight of refugees she met while filming an adventure film called ‘Tomb Raider’ in Cambodia. In 2001, she was named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and since then, she has become a tireless fund raiser and advocate for refugee causes. A Donor and a Caring Spokesperson for Refugees With her partner Brad Pitt, the Oscar-winning actress has donated one million dollars to UNHCR for the displaced in Sudan’s Darfur region. She helps fund education for children displaced by conflict, and lobbies governments on behalf of refugees. Recently, she visited the earthquake victims in Haiti, the overcrowded Dadaab Camp for Somali refugees in Kenya, and Chad. An excerpt from her Chad Travel Journal: “Kids smile and say, “HAWADJIA, HAWADJIA.” It means white person. I am told, “Remember the word TAMAN means ‘wonderful’ or ‘cheers.’ Say it to the children. They will be happy to hear it.”
|
