Displaced athletes make debut at Paralympic Games
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – To rousing cheers and a standing ovation, two para-athletes who faced the additional challenge of being displaced from their homeland made history on Wednesday leading the parade of athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games...
Refugee deaths in the Mediterranean have soared
GENEVA – A year ago today a photograph of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi’s small body washed up on a Turkish beach drew the world’s attention to the shocking danger and unfathomable loss experienced by thousands of refugees desperately trying to reach safety in Europe by...
Lesvos helper to refugees wins 2016 Nansen Award
Today is a rare morning off from Efi Latsoudi’s work at “PIKPA village”, on the Greek island of Lesvos, where Latsoudi has been helping vulnerable new arrivals – including children, pregnant women and people with disabilities – find sanctuary since...
Hellenic Rescue Team lands 2016 Nansen Award
The Hellenic Rescue Team’s (HRT) tireless efforts to rescue refugees across the Greek islands have earned the recognition they deserve, after the organization was named as one of two winners of UNHCR’s 2016 Nansen Refugee Award. When flimsy, dilapidated boats...
Winners of the 2016 Nansen Refugee Award Announced
Konstantinos Mitragas on behalf of the Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) and Efi Latsoudi, the human rights activist behind “PIKPA village” on the Greek island of Lesvos, are joint winners of UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award 2016. The award recognizes their tireless voluntary...
Historic Olympics come to an end in style for Team Refugees
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – In a dazzling celebration of life, Brazil has brought down the curtain on an Olympics which enchanted and inspired millions around the world with powerful stories of triumph over adversity. The Rio 2016 Games – the first-ever Olympics to...
Olympics reunites refugee family
Early one morning as he woke up in his room at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, South Sudanese runner Yiech Pur Biel answered a call from a number he did not recognize and a voice came on the line he had not heard for a dozen years. “It was my mum,” says Biel, who was...
Displaced athletes to make historic debut at Paralympics
GENEVA – Athletes with disabilities have vied for glory at the Paralympics since 1960. This summer, for the first time, para-athletes who have faced the additional challenge of being displaced from their homeland will compete in Rio de Janeiro as the Independent...