Aid worker as hostage: Why 317 days must not be forgotten
It was 17 years ago that Vincent Cochetel, a UNHCR aid worker, was held hostage for 317 days in a dark Chechen basement, tortured and alone. For the first time, he tells his story of terror, but also of insight and inspiration. A TED Talk like no other, this video...
Thousands of Nigerians flee across Lake Chad with harrowing tales
DAR ES SALAM CAMP, Chad, January 28 (UNHCR) – Thousands of Nigerian refugees have been arriving in western Chad by canoe this month with harrowing tales of the situation in north-east Nigeria, and UNHCR is preparing for a further influx of people amid the continuing...
Three Baby Brothers
“How do you tell them apart?” I ask Jalila, the grandmother of newborn triplets in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. “I just know,” she replies confidently. The baby boy in her hand, she notes, looks different from his two brothers, who are identical. I take a closer look, but...
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...