Celebrating Canada History Week, with a look to the past
Edited by Anaheh Ghookassian Khoygani, Ottawa, Canada To celebrate Canada History Week, from 18 – 24 of November, UNHCR is bringing you four inspiring refugee stories of people who came to Canada before the year 1950, when UNHCR was created. This year’s theme,...
National Youth Dialogue finds that Canadian youth believe Canada can do more for refugees
By Anaheh Ghookassian Khoygani in Ottawa, Canada Last fall, a group of high school students from across Canada came together to discuss the issues facing refugees in Canada and globally. The conversation was guided by the Centre for Global Education in collaboration...
Persecuted and uprooted, a young Yemeni finds safe haven in Canada
Mohammed arrived in Québec through Roxham Road, fleeing the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. By Emmanuelle Paciullo in Montreal, Canada “I was welcomed in Canada with much respect and dignity. I felt a strong emotion, a mixture of fear and relief – unsure what lay...
Statelessness in Canada: UNHCR Canada releases new study
By Anaheh Ghookassian Khoygani in Ottawa, Canada 2019 marks the mid-point of UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign to End Statelessness. The #IBelong Campaign was launched in November 2014 with the goal of ending statelessness within 10 years. Together with States, civil society...
Technology connects Somali refugee with Canada’s York University
Despite being thousands of kilometres away, a group of refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp are studying at Canada’s York University. From seven master’s students, the programme is now expanding to 60 learners. Abdikadir Bare Abikar, 29, is on the verge of...
Mo Amer brings humour and heart to refugee experience in Netflix stand-up special
By Lauren La Rose in Toronto, Canada Long before he was touring the world, starring in his Netflix special “The Vagabond, and counting superstars like Will Smith among his famous fans, Mo Amer first honed his stand-up skills on an unlikely stage: his high school...
New Mediterranean boat tragedy is worst this year: UNHCR
Yesterday’s boat disaster off Libya, with reports of some 150 lives having been lost, underscores once again the terrible urgency of our repeated pleas to European and other governments for restoring sea rescues and help with alleviating the suffering of the thousands...
Refugees are good for Canada
As we mark World Refugee Day, we recognize the struggles and celebrate the contributions of millions of refugees and the communities that host them. The theme this year is inclusion. This theme could not be timelier. As public headlines and political discourse are...