UN World Refugee Day

                       

 

                       

 

 

 

Did you know that every minute of the day 20 people leave their homes to escape war or terror? World Refugee Day is a day when we can support and celebrate the strength and courage of millions of refugees worldwide.

Across the world there are currently over 65 million people who have had to leave their homes. Some have settled in new ｃountries; many more are living in refugee camps, waiting for it to be safe enough to go home or to be resettled in a different ｃountry. The United Nations decided that refugees should have a special day, when we think of them and show our support. The first World Refugee Day was on 20 June 2001 and it’s been celebrated every year since then.

Sixty-five million people means that nearly one in 100 people in the world is a displaced person or refugee. We are now facing the worst refugee crisis in history. The number of refugees has doubled in the last twenty years. The situation is clearly worse in some ｃountries than in others. Fifty-five per cent of refugees worldwide come from Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan. Since the start of the war, more than 5.6 million Syrians have escaped the ｃountry and 6.1 million are still living in Syria but have had to leave their homes. Around half of these 11 million people are children.

A refugee crisis on this scale is difficult to deal with, but the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, reminds us that ‘the problems are war and hatred, not people who flee.’ World Refugee Day is about raising awareness of the situation and showing the refugees that together we can work to end the crisis and help displaced people to find safe and happy homes.

There are a lot of events on 20 June in different ｃountries. Many famous landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Empire State Building in New York, are covered in blue lights, the colour of the United Nations. In Glasgow, Scotland, people hold hands to form an enormous human chain around George Square, in the city centre, to ‘show the world that Scotland welcomes refugees’. In many places there are film showings, exhibitions and various fundraising events.

A few years ago, the United Nations started a petition, #WithRefugees, for people worldwide to ask their governments to support refugees. So far nearly 2 million people have signed the petition. Many people also write letters to their governments or make a donation to a charity that supports refugees. So, what will you do?

 

 

Article Source:https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/un-world-refugee-day

Image Source:"https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/sites/podcasts/files/styles/article/public/RS7822_ThinkstockPhotos-921339356.jpg?itok=w5qqL9Ki" width="655" height="368" alt="">

 

 

 

VOCABULARY WORDS

1.Refugee/noun: refugee: a person who has been forced to leave their ｃountry in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

2.Crisis/noun: a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.

3.Fundraising/noun: the seeking of financial support for a charity, cause, or other enterprise.

4.Petition /noun: a formal written request, typically one signed by many people, appealing to authority with respect to a particular cause.

 

 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.What is the aim of World Refugee Day

2.What happens on World Refugee Day?

3.What you can do to help?

4.About 50 per cent of Syrian refugees and displaced people are under 18 years old  is this true?