Millions mark World Refugee Day
GENEVA, June 20 (UNHCR) - As millions of people marked World Refugee Day across the world on Friday, the head of the UN refugee agency highlighted the "humanitarian disaster" in Somalia and said he was very concerned about the rise in the number of refugees in 2007.
Pictured above: Sydney-siders put their hands up for refugees at the Australia for UNHCR World Refugee Day breakfast, at the Westin Hotel, Sydney. MC Broadcaster and Journalist Tracey Holmes at the podium. © Australia for UNHCR
High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, who was marking World Refugee Day (WRD) in Kenya, also noted that the patterns of forced displacement in the world were changing and said UNHCR and the international community would face major challenges in determining who exactly needed protection.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, meanwhile, said that while June 20 was designated World Refugee Day, it would go unnoticed by the majority of the world. "Even those for whom the day is for, they have no access to newspapers to read the announcements, they have no televisions to see PSAs [public service announcement] on their behalf. Many are running for their lives on this day or dying on this day," she said in a short message.
"But whether it is noticed or not, today stands as one of the most important days of the year. It is a day of respect and remembrance for the most vulnerable people in the world," she added.
With "Protection" as this year's global theme, UNHCR and its partners, including governments, donors, non-governmental organizations, Goodwill Ambassadors and refugees themselves, have been taking part in a wide range of activities, including light shows, photography exhibitions, film festivals, lectures, panel discussions, food bazaars, fashion shows, concerts and sports competitions.
There have also been quizzes, drawing and essay-writing competitions, tree planting, seminars, workshops, speeches, public awareness campaigns and poetry recitals, while UNHCR has recreated refugee camp life in around 20 cities around the world with family tents flown in courtesy of partner UPS.
The High Commissioner spent the early part of the day at a World Refugee Day gathering on the sports ground of the University of Nairobi after meeting Somali refugees in the north-east on Wednesday and internally displaced Kenyans in the Rift Valley on Thursday. Guterres, who thanked the government and people of Kenya for welcoming refugees over the years, said he was worried about the continuing rise in the number of refugees.
"This is a moment of great concern for us worldwide. The number of refugees in 2007 went up to 11.4 million and the number of people displaced within the borders of their own countries went up to 26 million. That means that after a few years of the beginning of the century when the numbers were going down . . . we are now witnessing a new increase," he said.
Guterres said crises such as Somalia were among the reasons for that increase. "Somalia is for us, a situation of extraordinary concern. It is probably the most dramatic humanitarian disaster in today's world." There are an estimated 300,000 displaced people along a 30-km stretch of road between the capital Mogadishu and the town of Afgooye. There has, moreover, been a 450 percent increase in food prices since the beginning of the year and this is hitting these people hard.
Despite the massive problems in Somalia, some people were celebrating World Refugee Day in Mogadishu, which hosts refugees from Zanzibar, and elsewhere in the country. Speeches and a drama were scheduled in the capital.
The global celebrations started in the Asia-Pacific region, where Australia for UNHCR held its annual World Refugee Day Breakfast in a Sydney hotel. The event included politicians, business leaders, refugees and UNHCR supporters. In Canberra, Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans told a WRD event that the composition of Australia's offshore humanitarian programme would comprise refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for the year 2008/2009.
By Leo Dobbs in Geneva
