LETTER FROM THE REPRESENTATIVE
Welcome to REFUGE
We’ve all felt it. After a long, hard day out in an increasingly stressful world, we return to what feels like our own personal refuge—our home.
Oxford Living Dictionaries defines refuge as “the state of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or difficulty.” Refuge is what over 25 million people (of the 68.5 million displaced) seek around the globe, fleeing from dangers we can only imagine, including persecution, violence, war and disaster.
REFUGE is also the new name of your UNHCR Canada magazine, now home to more stories and photos on refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people in Canada and around the world. You’ll read about how your support allows UNHCR to help the most vulnerable.
While our format is new, our mission remains the same—to inform, engage and hopefully inspire you to change the world for the better—not just for refugees, but for everyone.
We hope that our cover story does just that: on page 8 we bring you the untold stories of Rohingya refugees one year since the mass exodus of more than 700,000 from Myanmar.
Our mission remains the same—to inform, engage and hopefully inspire you to change the world for the better—not just for refugees, but for everyone.
Jean-Nicolas Beuze UNHCR Representative in Canada
Many readers are familiar with Syrian refugees’ efforts to resettle in Canada, working incredibly hard to adapt to a completely new language, culture and life. But many more, including millions of Syrian children, are facing another winter in desperate circumstances around the world. What is that like for a child? On page 6, we bring you difficult stories that must be told, and how UNHCR is there to help.
Harry Leslie Smith, at 95 years young, is pleased that Canada has accepted almost 55,000 Syrian refugees since 2015, but feels passionately that the world has turned its back on refugees.
I’m deeply inspired by Harry’s story, found on page 4. This British-Canadian war veteran is highlighting the plight of refugees and advocating for humane treatment and global solutions through his astonishing multi-country tour.
One of Harry’s stops was Roxham Road, an irregular border crossing straddling Quebec and New York State that has attracted asylum seekers hoping to find refuge in Canada. I have also spent time at Roxham Road, speaking with asylum seekers, local community members and government officials. I invite you to read my opinion piece on page 14 where I address the current rhetoric suggesting the number of people entering Canada at these irregular crossings represents a refugee “crisis.”
Welcome to REFUGE. There is much more to discover within this issue and we are so grateful for your interest and support of UNHCR Canada’s work. R
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