Urmm… never knew or heard about World Refugee Day before now. What is a refugee ? The 1951 Refugee Convention establishing UNHCR spells out that a refugee is someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”
There seems to be alot of days celebrated by UN that should be put on every single one of us earthling’s calendar. Like everyone else, World Refugee Day came to my attention because of Angelina Jolie (must give credit where it is due).
“The refugees I have met and spent time with have profoundly changed my life.
Today I want to thank them for letting me into their lives.”– Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie
The United Nations’ (UN) World Refugee Day is observed on June 20 each year. This event honors the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.
People honor the spirit and courage of millions of refugees worldwide on World Refugee Day. It is a day to recognize the contributions of refugees in their communities. Organizations such as Amnesty International and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) often get involved in various activities for the day. They may include:
- Activist protests against using former prisons to detain migrants and asylum seekers.
- Screenings of films about the lives of asylum seekers living in a western country.
- Organization members visiting asylum seekers in detention to offer moral support.
- Letters or petitions to governments on the treatment of asylum seekers in detention.
Some communities dedicate an entire week that includes World Refugee Day to encourage people to think about the lives of refugees and the human right to a secure place to that one can see as “home”.
As an expression of solidarity with Africa, which hosts the most refugees, and which traditionally has shown them generosity, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 55/76 on December 4, 2000.
In this resolution, the General Assembly noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees, and that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had agreed to have International Refugee Day coincide with Africa Refugee Day on June 20. The Assembly therefore decided that June 20 would be celebrated as World Refugee Day from 2001 onwards. This day was designated by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to bring attention to the plight of approximately 14 million refugees around the world.
The UN Refugee Agency’s (UNCHR) logo is often associated with the day. The colors used are either white on a blue background or blue on white background. The logo features olive branches that symbolize peace surrounding or protecting two hands facing each other, and in the middle a figure of a person protected by these hands. The logo is sometimes featured with the words “UNHCR”, followed by “The UN Refugee Agency” in smaller text to mark the logo.
Who do UNHCR help?
* Refugees
* Returnees
* Stateless People
* Asylum seekers
* Internally misplaced people
* People with disabilities, women, children, older folks
Read more here.
To UHHRC and Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, everyone who has made a difference to all fellow human being on this day, wishing you all A great World Refugee Day 2009 and keep up the good work. You show us that there are still kindness and humanity in this world.
green witch
In Malaysia, WWF are trying to get people to pledge their support to save the turtles. For most Malaysian, we are used to seeing the turtle being use as mascot to represent Malaysia in sport events etc. Other than that, what have we done to see to the conservation of these turtle? I remembered the first and last time I went to Rantau Abang to see the turtle lay their eggs. You would not believe the number of people surrounding the turtle. Imagine everyone watching while you try to give birth. sigh. That was not the worst thing. After the turtle lay her eggs, she tried to get back to the sea. Some youngest climb on the back and started taking photos. It was really disheartening. I was in my teens then and I cried at the cruelty of some fellow human. My group of friends tried to advice them not to disturbed the turtle. But it was no use. We decided to get out of there. The incident make a huge impact on me. I saw how cruel we humans are. Not only to animals but to fellow humans as well.
Cycling keeps you healthy and the earth healthy as well. When you cycle, you burn FAT and not fuel.
Recycle all those plastic bottle that is been thrown around at landfill. Better yet reuse them as vase or containers.
Plant more trees to green the earth. Logging and deforestation are one of the biggest problems facing most country in the world. We need these tree to maintain a balance in the eco-system.
Use less paper. Since the introduction of computers, we kept talking about paperless office. Have we reach there yet ? Seems that we are using more paper than ever. I’ve cut down totally on writing on paper or even printing out anything. Don’t buy newspaper but read online. No snail mail but email. All documents are electronic unless needed. When I do need paper, usually reuse the other unprinted or written side of junk mail.
