Refugee athlete Cindy Ngamba secured the first-ever medal for the Refugee Olympic Team, after she triumphed in her quarterfinal bout and guaranteed herself a bronze medal. 

In Renk, South Sudan, nearly 52,000 refugees face dire conditions in overcrowded transit centres as they escape the ongoing war in Sudan, with limited resources and harsh living conditions.

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.

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.

The Northern Crisis Recovery Project is focusing on humanitarian aid and infrastructure reconstruction to support internally displaced persons and enhance community stability amidst ongoing conflict.

“Somebody who lived in an IDP camp … [is] suddenly back home, in dignity, self-reliant and thinking, ‘I want to reimagine what life means for me’ … Yes, I'm very proud.”

A former child refugee, Mohamed Yahya knows the life-long pain of yearning for a lost home. That’s why some of his most emotional experiences with the United Nations have involved helping displaced people return to their towns years after they fled a brutal conflict.

Until recently working with internally displaced communities in northern Nigeria, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Pakistan is a life-long champion of community-led development.

In this episode, Mohamed Yahya reflects on the challenge of rebuilding scattered communities, on his experiences of being a refugee twice, and on the lasting allure of home.

“There's always a sense of something missing. Because you're deprived of going back to where you were born.”

Photo credit: ©UNDP

“[...] yet we are here seeing unfolding under our watch, our eyes, one of the fastest evolving looming famines, which has been completely fabricated. It's man-made. And which can easily be reversed through political will and political decision. It is deeply frustrating, but it's outrageous and makes me very angry [...] ”

Philippe Lazzarini holds one of the most challenging positions in the whole of the United Nations. As head of UNRWA, he is leading the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza. Following the devastating terror attacks by Hamas and others on 7 October, Israel’s military operations in Gaza have brought unspeakable death and destruction. 2.2 million Palestinians are in the midst of an epic humanitarian catastrophe. In this episode, Philippe Lazzarini reflects on the trauma of the past months and the human cost of war.

“Ceasefire, ceasefire, ceasefire. If we have a ceasefire and the opening of the crossing, and we can flood assistance to the Gaza Strip, we would be able to prevent this catastrophe.”

Photo credit: ©UNRWA/Hussein Owda

Amidst Yemen's conflict, community-led water projects are revitalizing communities and providing essential access to clean water, transforming lives and easing burdens for millions.

Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Svetlana and her family had to leave their home in Odessa and seek refuge in the coastal town of Zatoka. When the bridge across the Dniester Estuary was attacked, they decided that Svetlana had to take the children to Moldova while her husband Ruslan stayed behind due to martial law. They have now been separated for 20 months and share how they maintain their family life and love across the border.Throughout Ukraine and neighboring countries, the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) Safe Spaces provide expert psychosocial support to people coping with the effects of war and displacement.

Months of escalating conflict have turned the Gaza Strip into the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Every child across Gaza has been exposed to deeply distressing events, witnessing horrors that no child should. Around 1.7 million people are estimated to have been internally displaced by the violence, half of them children. Families desperately searching for shelter are being pushed into tiny, overcrowded areas without adequate water, food, or protection. The little food that is available isn’t enough to meet children’s nutritional needs. As a result, thousands of children are malnourished and sick. The lasting impact of this violence will be felt for generations to come.

“Missiles hit the perinatal centre, the maternity ward – everything,” remembers Maksym, a doctor from Mariupol. “They fired directly at the windows: we saw pieces of human bodies flying out.” Immediately after the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Maksym began treating patients in the basement of a gymnasium that had been turned into a makeshift hospital catering to the needs of the 4,000 people sheltering there. For them, Maksym was a pediatrician, surgeon, nurse, and psychologist combined in one, working for 14 hours per day or more. Read more about Maksym and others in the war-affected communities that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is helping.

Following the Türkiye and Syria earthquakes, the number of child-headed households surged, prompting initiatives like AHF's family reunion programme to address the needs of these vulnerable households. 

The conflict that began on October 7 has not only displaced Hala, a mother of four and humanitarian worker from Gaza, but has also resulted in over 22,000 casualties, nearly 2 million displacements.

"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