Refugee Newsletter - unhcr

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Kiwis Celebrate CourageWorld Refugee Day is a day to recognisejourneys and trials and generosity butmost importantly it’s about hope for thefuture, Somali community leader AdamAwad told those celebrating atWellington’s Multicultural Services Centrein New Zealand.“Young people make up the majority offormer refugee communities and they arethe people on whom so many hopes anddreams depend. We need to support themso they can be proud of who they are andso that they can walk in two worlds atonce, the one that their parents camefrom, and the New Zealand world to whichthey now belong.“If we want to be strong Kiwis, werefugees and migrants must also continueto be strong in our original cultures andidentities. Those are almost all we wereable to bring with us. They are what wehave to carry to the future.”Adam Awad was one of around 180people who gathered at the MulticulturalCentre to celebrate the launch of itsexpanded services, timed to coincide withSam Manzanza (second left) and hisdrumming group.Photo: RMSWorld Refugee Day. The MSC is apartnership of seven agencies offeringrefugees and migrants services such asEnglish language tuition, job mentoring,counselling and interpreting services.The NZ Minister of Immigration, PaulSwain, the MP for Wellington CentralMarian Hobbs and the Mayor ofWellington Kerry Prendergast all took partin the ceremony. The speeches werefollowed by Cambodian and Sri Lankandance, African drumming, traditionalChinese music, songs by adult Englishlanguage learners and refreshments.In Auckland the Director of the Office ofEthnic Affairs, Mervyn Singam, addressedthose who gathered at Kings College tomark the occasion. He applauded thecourage of refugees likening it to “a lampthat illustrates the way forward for us if onlywe could see”. He urged host communitiesand refugee communities to share theirstories for greater understanding. “Youbring with you to this country your journeysof strength and endurance. You teach usand remind us about what is important inlife. You are like the strongest threads in abeautiful tapestry of different peoples thatmakes the entire fabric more durable.”In Hamilton refugees, friends ofrefugees and staff members gathered atthe Waikato Migrant Resource Centremarking this important day in the refugeecalendar with speeches from formerrefugees and the local Member ofParliament followed by a morning tea.Tsunami Thank youA tsunami-displaced family move into a newtemporary home built by UNHCR in AmparaDistrict, Sri Lanka. Photo: UNHCR/C. FitchUNHCR Regional Office Canberra wouldlike to thank everyone in the region whohelped the agency respond to the IndianOcean Earthquake-Tsunami Emergency inSri Lanka, Indonesia and Somalia where weprovided emergency relief and shelter.Regional Representative Neill Wright wassent on an emergency mission to Sri Lankato manage UNHCR’s response to thedisaster for the month of January, just a fewmonths after he had left his previous postthere to take up the one in Canberra.Seeing first hand the devastation in SriLanka and also the positive impact of quickand effective response, Mr Wright extendsparticular thanks to all those in our regionwho helped UNHCR to respond.• Australia for UNHCR raised over Aus$750,000 for UNHCR’s Tsunami operations• AUSTCARE contributed Aus $50,000 toUNHCR’s emergency operations in SriLanka.• NZAID donatedNZ $3million toTsunamioperations.• AusAID donatedAus $1 million toUNHCR operations in Sri LankaA Progress Report on UNHCR’s responseto the Indian Ocean Earthquake TsunamiEmergency January-June 2005 is availableonline at www.unhcr.org.au/pubinfo18 Refugee Newsletter No. 2/2005
New Youth Representativesfor Australia for UNHCRAustralia for UNHCR has appointed twonew Youth Representatives, Adut DauAtem and Sophie Weldon, to educate theirpeers about the work of the UN RefugeeAgency and to raise funds for itshumanitarian programmes for refugees.Nineteen-year-old medical sciencestudent Adut Dau Atem spent eight yearsin a refugee camp in Kenya after fleeingher village in southern Sudan during thecivil war.“It is very special for me to have thishonour, to talk to young people about whatit is like to be a refugee, about the work ofUNHCR. I have experienced first hand,what it is like to be saved by UNCHR, tobe given food or shelter when you aredriven from your home and family. Now Iwant my voice to keep alive the plight ofthe refugees still in camps so they are notforgotten,” said Adut.Year 10 student Sophie Weldon, fromSydney’s northern beaches, drew attentionto Adut’s compelling story by entering aUNCHR writing competition in 2003.Through a family friend she wasintroduced to Adut who had recentlyarrived in Australia from the Kakumarefugee camp in Kenya. Sophie’s story ofAdut’s refugee experiences won the 2003Jack Thompson with Special Youth Representatives Adut Atem Dau and Sophie Weldon .Photo: Australia for UNHCRCompetition and in the meantime a specialrelationship developed between the girlsand their families that has had anenormous impact on both their lives.Wanting to do more to promote the workof the UN Refugee Agency, Sophieapproached Australia for UNHCR with aproposal to engage young Australiansresulting in both girls’ appointments asSpecial Youth Representatives.“I have come to understand the value ofthe work of UNHCR from the inside fromAdut’s story. Who would’ve thought thatnow, our lives would interweave in such asa way. I am honoured and grateful for theopportunity to talk to young people aboutthe work of UNHCR, in the hope that theymay come to understand that the wordrefugee is not an issue, but a real person,”said Sophie.WATER FOR LIFE APPEALAustralia for UNHCR has launched it 2005Mid Year Appeal – Water for Life – whichaims to provide safe clean drinking water torefugees and communities in Africa.Lack of clean drinking water is one of themajor causes of death and diseases,such as cholera and dysentery, for somany people in Africa and especiallychildren.What your money can buy:• $117 can provide jerry cans for 35refugee families• $243 can provide sanitation facilities for alarge school, reducing the risk of disease• $360 can sink a well to provide clean,safe water for a village• $1146 can provide a hand pump usedfor up to 300 people• $8536 can drill a borehole to provideclean water for up to 500 peopleTo donate to the Appeal, call 1300 362 288Refugee Newsletter No. 2/200519
Page 1 and 2: United NationsHigh Commissioner for
Page 3 and 4: Australia’s ResettlementProgramme
Page 6 and 7: Asylum seekers in the waiting room
Page 8 and 9: Refugees from Kosovo at the East Hi
Page 10 and 11: Outside Baxter detention centre, ne
Page 12 and 13: Asylum seekers from various countri
Page 14 and 15: Asylum seekers arriving in Nauru. P
Page 16 and 17: It Takes Courageto be a RefugeeThe
Page 20 and 21: Alen O’Hran with Queensland Premi
Page 22: Telling Refugee StoriesLatest writi

Refugee Newsletter - unhcr

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?