Fighting has resumed in Gaza after a temporary humanitarian truce that allowed desperately needed assistance to reach people displaced by the war. The temporary halt provided some respite for residents who endured constant shelling, repeated displacement and sleepless nights. One of them is Asmaa Marouf. A UN Volunteer, Asmaa was working as a geographic information systems specialist with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). When the war began, she was forced to flee her home along with her children. Asmaa shares her experience, her fears, her hopes and her belief that the current war is different from the previous escalations she has lived through. Her words underscore the need for a full humanitarian ceasefire.
Displaced Persons and Refugees
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.
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.
A funding crunch has sharply curtailed WFP’s response to two top hunger crises: Somalia and Haiti. WFP spoke with Hibo Ahmed, who has survived on WFP cash assistance programmes at a dusty camp for internally displaced people, and Herman Petitfrere who, after fleeing gang violence in the neighborhood where he lived, in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, now lives in a makeshift shelter built from wood and iron sheeting, located in a camp, where hundreds of other people have also taken refuge. Both are surviving day-to-day in homelands roiled by violence and climate change — which together help to drive some of the world’s highest hunger rates.
UNRWA met with Malak, a Palestinian refugee in Jenin, who shared her memories of her cousin Sadeel. Sadeel was killed following an Israeli Security Forces operation in Jenin camp. Malak wants to become a doctor, be happy and live safely.
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.
El Paraíso – or “Paradise” in English – a once-tranquil Honduran department close to Nicaragua has seen the arrival of an unprecedented number of migrants en route to North America. Between 2010 and 2021, just under 2,000 migrants made the crossing. But in 2022, that number ballooned to 141,290 – more than 70 times as many migrants as in the previous 11 years combined. More than 229,100 migrants have already crossed into El Paraíso in the first half of this year. UN Humanitarian reports on the work of the Honduras government, UNICEF and other organizations assisting refugees.
The 40-year-old father of four sits under a canopy in his freshly built compound in Eastern Chad, where the population has spiked in recent months due to the arrival of people displaced by violence in Sudan. That night, Daoud fled with his wife and children with nothing but few personal belongings. Like thousands other Chadians living in Western Sudan, he had become a casualty of the deadly violence that engulfed the country since mid-April 2023. “Chadian returnees are returning to communities that are already fragile,” says IOM’s Anne Schaefer.
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’”.
The UN refugee agency anticipates a significant rise in global refugee resettlement needs for next year. According to the 2024 assessment, over 2.4 million refugees will be in need of resettlement, marking a 20 per cent increase compared to 2023. With a deepening refugee crisis and the emergence of new displacement situations, urgent action is required to address the challenges faced by millions of refugees and displaced individuals. UNHCR continues to advocate to allocate more places for emergency and medical cases and ensuring timely processing.
Rahama looked through the window, amid a raging armed conflict in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, and all she saw was smoke and guns firing in from every direction. She feared for her family and her unborn third child. Going back home to Ethiopia offered better survival chances for the entire family. She had a successful delivery soon after arriving in Metema facilitated by IOM and its partners. IOM’s Migration Response centers have provided life-saving services including health screening, protection services and provision of water and sanitation facilities to families escaping the conflict in Sudan.
Refugees and migrants face significant threats to health, and significant barriers to accessing the health services they need. The adoption of the Rabat Declaration will strengthen and reaffirm the global commitment to improve the health of refugees and migrants. One in eight people globally is either a migrant or is forcibly displaced by factors including conflict, persecution, environmental degradation, or the lack of human security and opportunity. WHO emphasizes this goal cannot be realized without political commitment and a whole-of-government approach.
What would you bring if violence or persecution forced you to flee your country? The UN Refugee Agency has worked with photographer Brian Sokol on a refugee portraiture project called The Most Important Thing. Through images and interviews, it reveals some of the anguished decisions refugee families face when they are forced to flee their homes. The most important object Dowla was able to bring with her is the wooden pole balanced over her shoulder. She used it to carry her six children during the 10-day journey to Doro refugee camp in South Sudan.