Growing up as a refugee in Burundi, Juliette Murekeyisoni dedicated herself to helping others from an early age. In her recent role as UNHCR’s deputy representative in South Sudan, she continued to keep hope alive by encouraging refugees to focus on their education and long-term perspectives.

“For me, every time I meet them, I tell them: “Don't lose hope, you are not going to be a refugee forever. One day you'll go home, and you can use the skills you have learned here. So, any opportunity you have, learn.” 

South Sudan hosts around 330,000 refugees as well as 2 million others internally displaced due to conflict, insecurity and the impact of climate change. In this episode of Awake at Night, recorded on 20 June 2024, Juliette Murekeyisoni reflects on improving prospects of those forced to flee, on her own traumatic experiences during the Rwandan genocide, and on a life touched by the kindness of strangers.

Perina Nakang, an 800-meter runner, is among the 37 athletes representing the International Olympic Committee Refugee Olympic Team at the Paris Games. Fleeing conflict at age seven, she found refuge in Kenya’s Kakuma camp, where she also discovered her passion for sports. Now, Nakang is set to compete with the aim of achieving her personal best, embodying the resilience and determination of athletes overcoming adversity.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants risk their lives on routes that extend from the East and Horn of Africa and West Africa, towards North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. Much attention is focused on the dangers they face attempting the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing. But before they reach the shore, many endure extreme and repeated violence and abuse on land. A new data visualization ("Death in the Desert") draws on interviews with more than 31,000 refugees and migrants to map those routes and the most common dangers refugees and migrants face on them. 

UNHCR issues stark warning as forced displacement reaches alarming levels, urging global action to prevent apathy and inaction.

"Thread of Hope" is an animated short film showcasing the resilience and creativity of refugee women, emphasizing empowerment through craftsmanship and cultural heritage.

Refugee entrepreneur Raphael transforms Kakuma camp in Kenya through plastic recycling, creating jobs and fostering environmental sustainability.

Since 2014, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced by war. Yana Liubymova fled the city of Kadiivka in 2014 and settled in the city of Starobilsk, where she co-founded "The Effective Community" to help displaced people integrate into new communities. In 2020, she became the head of the Council for Internally Displaced People in the Luhansk region. However, on 24 February 2022, she had to flee again as Starobilsk came under Russian occupation. Yana helped others fleeing to find accommodation and access needed help, and after 4 months, she moved to Kyiv for a job at the Ombudsperson’s Office. Her focus remains on those displaced from the Luhansk region and on creating conditions for voluntary return after the Ukrainian government regains control over occupied areas. 

"Volunteers from all areas of society have helped people who have been directly impacted by the war. They're cooking meals, giving clothing, giving money, opening their homes."

Karolina Lindholm Billing was posted to Ukraine less than a year before the full-scale Russian invasion. As the UNHCR Representative in the country, she draws hope from witnessing the power of community volunteer networks in supporting displaced people in their hour of need.

In this episode, Karolina reflects on Ukrainian resilience, the drive to rebuild, and why people long to stay in their own homes, even in a war zone.

“What I’ve seen so clearly during these last 600 plus days of the war in Ukraine, is how quickly people want to recover…So when we can be a little enabler of that recovery, I think that feels meaningful”

Photo: ©UNHCR/Oleksii Barkov

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett and Ke Huy Quan opened the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva with a performance of JJ Bola’s stunning poem “Refuge.”

The world’s largest gathering on refugee issues closed with over 1,600 pledges of action and financial commitments worth an estimated $2.2 billion. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi praised the "determined unity” shown by participants, who – in the face of global division and crises – pledged transformative action on behalf of refugees and the countries hosting them. The 2023 Global Refugee Forum came as the global refugee population has reached a record level of 36.4 million, with a total population of the forcibly displaced of 114 million people.

Abdullahi Mire's foundation has supplied over 100,000 books donated by education charities and former refugees living in the diaspora to support schools in Kenya's Dadaab camp and to establish three public libraries. 

Honoring individuals, groups and organizations who excel in protecting refugees, displaced and stateless people is the main mission of the Nansen Refugee Award given out by the UN Refugee Agency. Established in 1954, the award celebrates the legacy of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian scientist, polar explorer, diplomat and first High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations. Since then, more than 60 individuals, groups or organizations have received the prize for their service to refugees. The 2023 Global Laureate is Abdullahi Mire, a journalist and former refugee from Somalia.

Erasmia Roumana’s job requires extraordinary strength. Working in Greece as a protection associate with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, she interviews refugees who have survived devastating shipwrecks at sea after embarking on desperate journeys in search of a better life.

“I have seen some very horrible situations. And I always wonder at that moment, how can people survive this? How can people move on after this?”

One tragic story stood out over the years. In 2014, Syrian refugee Doaa survived three days at sea following a shipwreck which killed 500 people, including her fiancé. In this episode of Awake at Night, Erasmia Roumana shares the latest fateful twist in Doaa’s story and reflects on the courage and resilience of the survivors she meets.

The climate crisis and human displacement are increasingly linked. Not only did climate-related disasters cause more than half of all new displacements reported in 2022, but nearly 60 percent of refugees and internally displaced people now live in countries that are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Our understanding of these connections is growing, but the ways in which our rapidly changing climate is forcing people to move and making life harder for those already displaced, are complex and evolving. This situation has led to a proliferation of myths and disinformation. Here are five of the most common myths related to the climate crisis and displacement, followed by what the UN Refugee Agency knows.

The intense fighting in Khartoum has created a humanitarian emergency inside Sudan and the wider region. Here is how the humanitarian community is responding.