Stories
The latest stories from UNHCR.
Photo: © UNHCR/Roland Schonbauer
We take special care to bring you the latest refugee news and stories of the men, women and children we help each day.
South Sudan: Ger Duany’s Independence Day message
On the occasion of South Sudan's independence day, 9 July 2015, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ger Duany visits Sud Academy in Nairobi, Kenya where 250 children struggle to earn an education.
The Whatsapp Wedding
Kept apart by war, two young Syrians fired up their smartphones and found love against the odds. With no end in sight to the human suffering inflicted by the war in Syria, it can feel like there is never any good news to tell. So when a colleague mentioned a young...
The Sea Route to Europe
A large majority of the thousands of people who made dangerous sea journeys across the Mediterranean into Europe in the first six months of 2015 were fleeing war, conflict or persecution. This makes the current Mediterranean crisis primarily a refugee crisis,...
Angelina Jolie Pitt on World Refugee Day 2015
"We are here for a simple reason: This region is at the epicentre of a global crisis. Nearly 60 million people are displaced from their homes. That is one in every 122 people on our planet. Our world has never been richer or healthier or more advanced. Yet never...
Helena Christensen gets to know Maribeth for World Refugee Day 2015
Helena Christensen wants you to get to know Maribeth's story, as part of World Refugee Day 2015. Helena Christensen is a supporter of the UN Refugee Agency, and recently visited Colombia to meet displaced people from their homes. "Maribeth is a loving mum. She sells...
UNHCR launches its 2015 World Refugee Day Campaign
Geneva, 02.06.2015 Global celebrities record films highlighting our common links with people forced to flee. Global The UN refugee agency UNHCR will launch its annual World Refugee Day Campaign on Tuesday with the release of several films featuring celebrity...
Lebanon: Little Omar Flies to Finland
“You know how children hit me now? When I start growing up, I can defend myself.” Omar and his sister Majid were born in Syria with a growth-hormone deficiency—the result of a dysfunctional pituitary gland. Neither can grow without continuous hormone and vitamin...
Burundian Refugees Find Solace on Familiar Shores
It’s 5 p.m. and the sunlight is fading in the Congolese fishing village of Mboko, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, when we spot two wooden boats on the horizon. Immigration officials and local residents tell us the boats carry refugees from Burundi, where political...
Rwanda: 50,000 Flee Burundi
More than 50,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring countries since mid-April. Many say they experienced intimidation and threats of violence linked to the upcoming elections.
A new start in Sweden
It has been just over a year since Mahmoud and his family were resettled in the small town of Torsby in central Sweden. Coming here was a dream come true for this young Syrian boy who, like so many of his generation, suffered the traumas of war only to discover...
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