The Nun and the Bakery
For nearly a decade, the small and dusty town of Dungu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been under attack. But while many women and girls throughout the region have been kidnapped and terrorised by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), others have survived...
Acclaimed photo-journalist and refugee records his harrowing sea journey to Australia
As he stepped onto a boat on the Indonesia coast, Barat Ali Batoor knew he might not survive the voyage to Australia. But it was a risk he says he had to take. “It was not an easy decision for me,” says Batoor, 31, who proved luckier than many who brave the high seas...
Treacherous Crossings
Most refugees undertake a perilous journey to escape persecution, violence or death. But escape by sea is particularly dangerous as people confront unpredictable weather, unsafe and over-crowded vessels, unscrupulous human traffickers and smugglers. And even if they...
Four Generations on the Run
As the ferry anchors near Kagunga village, on the Tanzanian shores of Lake Tanganyika, 60-year-old Foibe Ndikumana sits patiently on the sand, yearning to hear her name called. She is eager to leave behind the crowded lakefront village and the haunting memories of...
#WorldRefugeeDay: Student. Brother. Poet.
“I left my home because of the war.” Hany, 21 years old: “Two years ago, I arrived with my family in Lebanon because of the war in my country. All I brought with me from Syria was my high school diploma and memories of happiness, friends, fun times, our...
#WorldRefugeeDay: Interpreter. Sister. Fashionista.
Pabi, 24 years old: “For the past two years, I have been working as a Deaf Asian interpreter. I am so proud of what I have been able to accomplish for myself since coming to Canada. As a Deaf interpreter, I make an effort to provide great sign language translation to...
A New Home and a Helping Hand
Time seems to have stopped in Dilingala, a sleepy farming village in southern Chad. But for many local residents, including 40-year-old Nicolas, life is forever changing. The violence ravaging the Central African Republic, just 50 kilometres from here, spilled over...
A Syrian Family Counts its Blessings
I meet a lot of refugees in the course of my work with UNHCR. Some open right up, cataloguing the hardships of life in exile, sharing concerns about their children’s future and even revealing marital problems. Once a woman dragged me to her tent and asked me to shout...