My search for safety
At an art event attended by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, Mexican artist Karina speaks about her experience of becoming a refugee after fleeing domestic violence in her home country. ©UNHCR/Michelle Siu In her own words, Karina recounts what she...
Guatemalan network welcomes those fleeing gang violence
By UNHCR Staff in El Ceibo, Guatemala For nearly a decade, Andrés Toribio and his wife opened their home on the Guatemala-Mexico border to provide shelter and protection for people fleeing violence in Central America, knowing that the route to safety can be dangerous....
Racing to avert a monsoon catastrophe in Bangladesh
By Tim Gaynor in Kutupalong refugee settlement, Bangladesh Their few belongings packed into rice sacks, Momena Begum and her husband Mohammad Harez squat on a damp plot of sand just above the waterline, waiting to move out. Almost surrounded by a chest-deep stream,...
From refugee camp to McGill student: Canadian sponsorship program makes a dream come true
Thanks to the Student Sponsorship Program (SRP), Amelie Fabian will be able to create the life she wants for herself By Fatima Muneer in Ottawa, Canada “There’s no need for girls to just get a degree and then get married. We’re in a position where we can go for things...
Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett calls for Rohingya aid
After recent visit to Bangladesh, Blanchett says more international support for displaced and host communities is urgently needed ahead of monsoon rains. COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett today warned of a “race against time” to...
UNHCR Press Release: Syria conflict at 7 years is “a colossal human tragedy”
The relentless suffering of Syrian civilians marks a shameful failure of political will and a new low in Syria’s long-running conflict, which this month reaches a depressing seventh anniversary, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Friday....
Shaped by Syria’s war, 7-year-old finds new path in exile
By Rima Cherri and Charlie Dunmore in Beirut, Lebanon Mohammad was barely two months old when war broke out in Syria. At first, life was much the same as before in the sleepy village near the ancient ruins of Palmyra, where his family lived. But before long the...
UNHCR’s Grandi appalled at suffering of civilians in Syria
By Charlie Dunmore in Beirut, Lebanon UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has described the suffering of civilians in Eastern Ghouta as an appalling example of the human tragedy resulting from the conflict in Syria, which has now been raging for seven...