Tibo is a former refugee turned passionate fundraiser, making an inspiring impact at UNHCR, Dubai. Background: I was 13 years old when the civil war started in Sierra Leone in March 1991. My village was attacked in April 1991—a horrifying and traumatic experience I would not wish upon anybody. Before the war, the village was a…
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives’ Cash Assistance Offers Hope and Resilience to Earthquake Affected Families in Aleppo With over 8 million people affected by the February earthquakes, UNHCR Syria’s cash assistance promotes self-sufficiency by allowing the families to prioritize their most urgent needs. By Zeineb Marzouk After being forced to leave his house…
I often write to you asking for support either in helping refugee families, to inform you about an emergency or to share updates on the impact of your donation. But today is unlike any other day, as we mark World Humanitarian Day, and on this occasion, I wanted to share with you a message of…
There is a famous phrase that you must have seen at some point on the internet. It goes as follows: “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Over the years people had different interpretations of this message, but all with the same intention and one main message, “when life gives you challenges, create opportunities”. This…
“Tear gas, tear gas…close your eyes and get down.” Words uttered by my mother as we reached the Iraqi-Jordanian border while escaping from Kuwait during the first Gulf War. That moment, at the young age of 7, was the first time I had ever seen tears coming down my mother’s face as she screamed helplessly knowing…
It was a hot summer day in Baghdad in June 2018, Abdallah was coming home from school, he had high school final exams. When he reached home, he felt that something was wrong. From that day onward, nothing would be the same again, his grandfather had died. Abdallah was devastated and was unable to finish…
Some moments in life change you. To each one of us there is this second, that turn things upside down. The first day at school, the first time we fall in love, the first job we get. Mine, happened when I first went to a field visit with UNHCR. Before joining the team in Beirut,…
IN A COOL MUSEUM ON A HOT DAY, WE STAND SPELLBOUND BEFORE A SCREEN THAT SHOWS HOW HEAT IS RADIATING FROM OUR BODIES. “LOOKS LIKE ART, BUT IT IS SCIENCE,” SOMEONE WHISPERS. Members of the non-profit, self-help association Refugees for Refugees (R4R) have chosen Vienna’s Technical Museum for their latest group outing to a museum….
Dear brothers and sisters, My name is Firas Khatib. I worked with UNHCR for five years inside Syria and now I’m based in Bangladesh supporting our response to the Rohingya refugee crisis. I want to reflect here on our collective efforts to help refugees and to express my thoughts on what it means when war…