Some 80,000 refugees arrive in Europe in first six weeks of 2016
GENEVA, Feb 12 (UNHCR) – Despite rough seas and harsh winter weather, more than 80,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe by boat during the first six weeks of 2016, more than in the first four months of 2015, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, announced today. In...
Calais – A way out
It is a cold and rainy day in Calais, the port city in northern France. For some 4,000 refugees and migrants living here in the makeshift camp known as “the Jungle.” Conditions are growing worse by the hour. As I walk down the muddy path which serves as the main...IKEA Brighter Lives for Refugees campaign raises 30.8 million euros for renewable energy sources for refugee families
GENEVA, 18.01.16—IKEA Brighter Lives for Refugees campaign raises 30.8 million euros for renewable energy sources for refugee families IKEA’s global campaign has raised 30.8 million euros for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to provide light and renewable energy sources...10,000th Syrian refugee arrives in Canada to rebuild life
UNHCR congratulates Canada on the arrival in the country of the 10,000th Syrian refugee as part of its humanitarian program to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees. The 10,000th Syrian refugee arrived on Canadian soil on 12 January. Reaching such a significant milestone in...
Driven by starvation, Syrians forage for grass
MADAYA, Syria, Jan 12 (UNHCR)—Starving civilians trapped in this besieged Syrian town foraged for grass and herbs in a horrifying humanitarian crisis only broken when an aid convoy arrived this week, the UN Refugee Agency said on Tuesday. UNHCR took part in a convoy...
Vital aid reaches starving Syrians in besieged towns
MADAYA, Syria, Jan 11 (UNHCR)—The UN Refugee Agency today took part in a convoy of trucks that delivered life-saving aid of food and blankets to thousands of people trapped in dire conditions in besieged Syrian towns on Monday. The first trucks in a convoy of 49...
Growing insecurity triggers new South Sudan displacement
GENEVA, Jan 8 (UNHCR)—The UN Refugee Agency is increasingly concerned at recent growing insecurity in South Sudan’s southern state of Western Equatoria and its serious impact on the civilian population there. UNHCR cautioned that localized fighting between armed...
Life begins as one in a million
Samar Alzayadi’s age is counted in hours. Yet she’s endured more than most people will in a lifetime. She also has the dubious distinction to have been born the millionth refugee or migrant to arrive in Europe by sea in 2015. Lying in her hospital bed, Ahlam, Samar’s...