Since 2014, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced by war. Yana Liubymova fled the city of Kadiivka in 2014 and settled in the city of Starobilsk, where she co-founded "The Effective Community" to help displaced people integrate into new communities. In 2020, she became the head of the Council for Internally Displaced People in the Luhansk region. However, on 24 February 2022, she had to flee again as Starobilsk came under Russian occupation. Yana helped others fleeing to find accommodation and access needed help, and after 4 months, she moved to Kyiv for a job at the Ombudsperson’s Office. Her focus remains on those displaced from the Luhansk region and on creating conditions for voluntary return after the Ukrainian government regains control over occupied areas.
UNHCR
"Volunteers from all areas of society have helped people who have been directly impacted by the war. They're cooking meals, giving clothing, giving money, opening their homes."
Karolina Lindholm Billing was posted to Ukraine less than a year before the full-scale Russian invasion. As the UNHCR Representative in the country, she draws hope from witnessing the power of community volunteer networks in supporting displaced people in their hour of need.
In this episode, Karolina reflects on Ukrainian resilience, the drive to rebuild, and why people long to stay in their own homes, even in a war zone.
“What I’ve seen so clearly during these last 600 plus days of the war in Ukraine, is how quickly people want to recover…So when we can be a little enabler of that recovery, I think that feels meaningful”
Photo: ©UNHCR/Oleksii Barkov
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett and Ke Huy Quan opened the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva with a performance of JJ Bola’s stunning poem “Refuge.”
The world’s largest gathering on refugee issues closed with over 1,600 pledges of action and financial commitments worth an estimated $2.2 billion. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi praised the "determined unity” shown by participants, who – in the face of global division and crises – pledged transformative action on behalf of refugees and the countries hosting them. The 2023 Global Refugee Forum came as the global refugee population has reached a record level of 36.4 million, with a total population of the forcibly displaced of 114 million people.
Abdullahi Mire's foundation has supplied over 100,000 books donated by education charities and former refugees living in the diaspora to support schools in Kenya's Dadaab camp and to establish three public libraries.
Honoring individuals, groups and organizations who excel in protecting refugees, displaced and stateless people is the main mission of the Nansen Refugee Award given out by the UN Refugee Agency. Established in 1954, the award celebrates the legacy of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian scientist, polar explorer, diplomat and first High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations. Since then, more than 60 individuals, groups or organizations have received the prize for their service to refugees. The 2023 Global Laureate is Abdullahi Mire, a journalist and former refugee from Somalia.
Erasmia Roumana’s job requires extraordinary strength. Working in Greece as a protection associate with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, she interviews refugees who have survived devastating shipwrecks at sea after embarking on desperate journeys in search of a better life.
“I have seen some very horrible situations. And I always wonder at that moment, how can people survive this? How can people move on after this?”
One tragic story stood out over the years. In 2014, Syrian refugee Doaa survived three days at sea following a shipwreck which killed 500 people, including her fiancé. In this episode of Awake at Night, Erasmia Roumana shares the latest fateful twist in Doaa’s story and reflects on the courage and resilience of the survivors she meets.
The climate crisis and human displacement are increasingly linked. Not only did climate-related disasters cause more than half of all new displacements reported in 2022, but nearly 60 percent of refugees and internally displaced people now live in countries that are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Our understanding of these connections is growing, but the ways in which our rapidly changing climate is forcing people to move and making life harder for those already displaced, are complex and evolving. This situation has led to a proliferation of myths and disinformation. Here are five of the most common myths related to the climate crisis and displacement, followed by what the UN Refugee Agency knows.
The intense fighting in Khartoum has created a humanitarian emergency inside Sudan and the wider region. Here is how the humanitarian community is responding.
While armed conflicts, rising food insecurity, and the climate emergency have pushed displaced people around the world to the brink, refugees are finding ways to contribute to their host communities, as educators, entrepreneurs, advocates, climate activists and health-care workers, among others. During the upcoming Global Refugee Forum, an opportunity to mobilize action for positive change in the lives of refugees will be appreciated as the 17 goals collectively known as the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be fully realized without their inclusion. Being a refugee is not a handicap and they are living proof that their power of perseverance is towards a better future no matter the obstacles that stand in their way.
Over 50 people who fled conflict in Sudan have found shelter in Fatna Hamid’s home. Many Chadians like Fatna are opening their doors to Sudanese refugees arriving in Chad. Over 320,000 refugees have crossed into the country’s east since conflict began in April. Information for media form UNHCR.
"I have seen, firsthand, the toll that the violence in Sudan is taking on people across the region." UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett is calling for donations to help those fleeing their homes. Every act of kindness makes an impact. Please help us to continue responding. Information for media: If you would like to use this video to communicate refugee stories or require B-Roll, transcripts, stills or much more information, please visit our media page.
Exiled Afghan women’s football teams scores goals in Australia in hopes of making a future in their new country, facilitated by UNHCR.
UN Refugee presents the new video by singer-songwriter K’naan, who fled Mogadishu as a child. “I wanted the song to feel ‘like a home for those of us made homeless by conflict’”.