Human Stories

Despite having found safety in Lebanon, Alaa continues to be haunted by unspeakable loss and tragedy in her hometown of Aleppo.

“I burn plastic and cardboard in order to get some warmth during the winter,” says 70-year-old Aisha, who fled her home in rural Damascus five years ago.

Just over a month since the start of the Mosul offensive, the UN Refugee Agency and its partners have been intensifying life-saving, emergency assistance for tens of thousands of displaced Iraqis.

When forced displacement becomes the topic of conversation, rarely does talk of climate change become part of the discussion.

The heroic efforts of Greek volunteers during the 2015 refugee crisis were honored today by giving them the Nansen Refugee Award.

Konstantinos Mitragas, on behalf of the Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT), and Efi Latsoudi, the human rights activist behind PIKPA village on the Greek island of Lesvos, are joint 2016 winners of UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award.

For the first time, a team of refugee athletes with disabilities will compete on the world stage.

UNHCR warmly welcomes today’s announcement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of the refugees who will compete as a team in the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in our world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis.

“I don’t know what would happen if I went back to Damascus,” a doctor from Damascus said. For now, he is dependent on the kindness of others. But he vows to find a job, any job, once he is given Greek asylum.