Elderly Rohingya rely on families to carry them to safety
The old and sick are among the most vulnerable of the estimated 370,000 Rohingya who fled violence in Myanmar. Many are carried to Bangladesh by relatives. This is not how Mabia Khatun, 75, imagined she would spend her old age: as a refugee, cocooned in a blanket and...
“A promise is a man’s honour” – The Procyk’s Journey to Canada
A daughter describes her father’s journey from Polish immigrant to successful farmer in Wilsonville, Ontario. By Christine Wheeler My father William Procyk was six years old when his family made the journey from Poland to Canada, but he can still distinctly...
Khaled Hosseini Visits a Refugee Camp in Uganda
By Khaled Hosseini, award-winning author and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Looking over the shoulder of Gladys, a young South Sudanese refugee flicking through a frayed album of old family photos, my mind flashes back to my own younger self. In 1983 I was in high school....
Mother Opani and daughter find safety in Uganda
When Opani Lilias was met by UNHCR aid workers at the Ugandan border, she had been walking for a week straight with her daughter Brenda swaddled to her chest. Carrying only a small suitcase, Opani and Brenda arrived exhausted, having travelled without food or water,...
Shelter urgently needed for Rohingya fleeing Myanmar violence
Officials warn of ‘true crisis’ as an estimated 73,000 Rohingya seek safety in already strained Bangladesh refugee camps. KUTUPALONG CAMP, Bangladesh – Barefoot and running for her life, Rohingya Dilara, 20, reached Bangladesh in recent days clutching her young son,...
Freed Iraqi Yazidi boy settles into new life in Canada
After three years in captivity, 13-year-old Emad is reunited with his mother and siblings in Winnipeg. Winnipeg, Canada: Annie Sakkab, August 2017. Thirteen-year-old Emad Tammo sits in his new home surrounded by his mother and siblings, his smiling face unrecognizable...
Freed Yazidi boy joins his mother in Canada
After being held captive by armed groups in Iraq for three years, 13-year-old Emad reunites with his mother in Winnipeg with UNHCR help. Iraq: Cathy Otten, August 2017 Emad was kidnapped three years ago when armed groups attacked the town of Sinjar, 100 kilometres...
Remembering Alan Kurdi: we must do more to protect refugees
Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR Representative in Canada, writes on the second anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi with a question; as the world moves on and the headlines fade, have we done enough to protect refugees who are most vulnerable? On 2 September 2015, we all...