OFID commemorates World Refugee Day

In a world where violence forces hundreds of families to flee each day, the UN Refugee Agency believes now is the time to show world leaders that the global public stands with refugees, and it will launch its #WithRefugees petition on June 20th, World Refugee Day, to send a message to governments that they must work together and do their fair share for refugees.

The #WithRefugees petition will be delivered to UN headquarters in New York ahead of the UN High Level Meeting on Refugees and Migrants, scheduled for the 19th September.

Celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, OFID has dedicated the year to raising awareness of the plight of refugees, and welcomes the placing of migration and all its diverse issues in the international spotlight. OFID is especially concerned about the needs and rights of the world’s thirty million refugee children—the most innocent and voiceless victims of conflict and other emergencies.

For decades, OFID has reached out to the displaced and dispossessed—whether fleeing war, persecution or natural disaster—providing emergency assistance in the form of sustenance and shelter to ease the suffering of millions.

OFID has carried out various activities during the year to underline its commitment to these individuals. In March, the institution launched its 40th Anniversary Equal Dreams campaign. At the end of April, the institution showcased the difficulties faced by refugee children in realizing their dreams with the inauguration of the Equal Dreams Exhibition.

The exhibition was co-hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the near East (UNRWA), two of OFID's longstanding partners.

Read more about OFID's Equal Dreams campaign and other issues relating to refugees in the April 2016 issue of the OFID Quarterly: Migration and Development: A positive relationship?

Re-affirming its commitment to highlight its solidarity with the world's refugees, OFID conferred the 2106 OFID Annual Award for Development to 20 year-old Syrian refugee Doaa Al Zamel, survivor of a 2014 Mediterraean shipwreck tragedy that claimed nearly 500 lives.

The US$100,000 prize money will be used to establish a fund on behalf of Doaa to assist similar victims and raise further awareness. The award will also allow Doaa to complete her studies.

Learn more about Doaa's ordeal on the UNHCR website: The Death Boats: A Survivor's Tale