ID :
67340
Tue, 06/23/2009 - 20:25
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/67340
The shortlink copeid
SOME 200 REFUGEES OBSERVE WORLD REFUGEE DAY IN BOGOR
Jakarta, June 23 (ANTARA) - Some 200 refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Mynamar and Iran, observed World Refugee Day in a hotel in Cisarua, Bogor, here on Tuesday.
"This World Refugee Day commemoration is by refugees, for refugees and from refugees," Ibrahim (27), a Somalian refugee, said here on Tuesday.
Refugees organized art performance, film screening, poem reading, a bazaar and music performance on the occasion.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres in his message read out by UNHCR Program Officer Floribert Chinganggu said "on this World Refugee Day, let us remember that the millions of people cared for by the UN refugee agency and our partners are among the most vulnerable on Earth.
"Each and every one of them has a very human story to tell. Refugees are not faceless statistics - they are real people just like you and me who through no fault of their own have lost everything," he said.
"In these difficult times, those of us who work with refugees are struggling more than ever to meet even their most basic needs. The sobering reality is that there are substantial gaps in our ability to provide them with essentials such as shelter, health, education, nutrition, sanitation and protection from violence and abuse".
"As UN High Commissioner for Refugees, it's my job to do everything I can to ensure that those basic needs are met. But a recent UNHCR survey shows that a startling number remain unmet," he said.
In Cameroon, for example, refugee children from the Central African Republic suffer mortality rates in some areas seven times higher than the emergency level. Less than a third of refugee girls are in school, he said.
For the 42 million uprooted people around the world, a shortage or lack of the essentials of life - clean water, food, sanitation, shelter, health care and protection from violence and abuse - means that every day can be a struggle just to survive.
The theme for this year's World Refugee Day on June 20 is "Real People, Real Needs."***
"This World Refugee Day commemoration is by refugees, for refugees and from refugees," Ibrahim (27), a Somalian refugee, said here on Tuesday.
Refugees organized art performance, film screening, poem reading, a bazaar and music performance on the occasion.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres in his message read out by UNHCR Program Officer Floribert Chinganggu said "on this World Refugee Day, let us remember that the millions of people cared for by the UN refugee agency and our partners are among the most vulnerable on Earth.
"Each and every one of them has a very human story to tell. Refugees are not faceless statistics - they are real people just like you and me who through no fault of their own have lost everything," he said.
"In these difficult times, those of us who work with refugees are struggling more than ever to meet even their most basic needs. The sobering reality is that there are substantial gaps in our ability to provide them with essentials such as shelter, health, education, nutrition, sanitation and protection from violence and abuse".
"As UN High Commissioner for Refugees, it's my job to do everything I can to ensure that those basic needs are met. But a recent UNHCR survey shows that a startling number remain unmet," he said.
In Cameroon, for example, refugee children from the Central African Republic suffer mortality rates in some areas seven times higher than the emergency level. Less than a third of refugee girls are in school, he said.
For the 42 million uprooted people around the world, a shortage or lack of the essentials of life - clean water, food, sanitation, shelter, health care and protection from violence and abuse - means that every day can be a struggle just to survive.
The theme for this year's World Refugee Day on June 20 is "Real People, Real Needs."***
