Refugee Week June 20
June 20 has marked World Refugee Day since 2000 (download a pic of a balloon announcing the date here)
This slideshow is a meditation on the occupational implications of a refugee experience. Occupational therapists know that refugees & asylum seekers need opportunities to participate & opportunities for belonging, health, human rights - just the same as any other human!
For people in protracted refugee situations, refugee day is somber as no one chooses to become a refugee. Exiled journalists warehoused in Kenya's largest refugee camp report here and community views here
Occupational therapists were invited to Share a pic wearing an OOFRAS Tshirt or with organge balloons for Refugee Week 2012! and here is the photo collection as we affirm the occupational needs, occupational rights, occupational adaptation and occupational resilience of refugees all around the world!
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's 2011 message for World Refugee Day is still relevant:
"No one wants to become a refugee. No one should have to endure this humiliating and arduous ordeal. Yet, millions do. Even one refugee forced to flee, one refugee forced to return to danger is one too many."
Key resources. . .
The UNHCR's 2012 "State of the World's Refugees" here
Information from the United Nations about World Refugee Day here
The 1951 Refugee Convention was celebrated for it's 60th anniversary in 2011. Check to see if your country has signed the convention and protocol so you know how to engage your government.
|
