UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visits Iraq, calls for international leadership to end suffering
DOHUK, Iraq, January 25 (UNHCR)– The UN refugee agency’s Special Envoy Angelina Jolie is in Dohuk, Iraq, visiting Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqi citizens in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to offer support to 3.3 million displaced people in the country and...
Building a Camp: a measured response to Iraqi displacement
AL WAND 2 CAMP, Iraq, January 15 (UNHCR) – Chris Nixon takes measured, large strides across the swathe of desert that has been flattened and pushed into something resembling a sandy football pitch. “Sixty meters is the length of a plot,” he calls over his shoulder,...UNHCR study shows rapid deterioration in living conditions of Syrian refugees in Jordan
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres says large numbers of Syrian refugees are sliding into abject poverty, and at an alarming rate, due to the magnitude of the crisis and insufficient support from the international community. He made the statement at...
More than 7,000 flee to western Chad to escape attacks on key town in Nigeria
DAKAR, Senegal, January 9 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday reported that some 7,300 Nigerian refugees have arrived in western Chad in the past 10 days, fleeing attacks by insurgents on Baga town and surrounding villages in north-east Nigeria. A spokesperson...
The Snow Storm
Aisha, a mother of four from Syria, wraps a blanket around her shoulders as the wind beats against the walls of the tent. Outside, snow is piling up and soon the family’s food will run out. “We are really scared of the storm,” she says, shivering as she hands some...
The Sound of Peace
Every morning, Ahmad gently wakes his six-year-old son, Abdu. Then he places hearing aids over the boy’s ears and asks him what he can hear. It is a ritual they cherish, a moment when they remember just how much their lives have changed. Ahmad and Abdu are Syrian...
Try this 75-second visualization exercise
It’s hard to imagine what a group of 1.5 million children looks like. Or what it would be like if they all had to run from their homes, in need of food, shelter, care and protection from harm. The numbers that describe today’s refugee crisis are often hopelessly...
Thank You for Supporting Refugees
At a time when the number of refugees and displaced people around the world reached more than 50 million—the highest since WWII—you gave generously and thoughtfully to UNHCR. Thank you. It would be easy to become overwhelmed by that number, but we’re not and we know...