Jun20

on world refugee day.

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*refugee rescue, painting by stephen burgess, winner of the 2017 ms amlin world art vote

 

Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution, or terror. World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20th and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

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“refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions as us—

except that a twist of fate has bound their lives to a global refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale.”

-khaled hosseini, author, the kite runner

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*  Stephen Burgess, a driving instructor from Buckinghamshire in the UK, won the 2017 MS Amlin World Art Vote organized by National Open Art,  for his stunning painting of Libyan refugees being rescued at sea.

Burgess was inspired to create his picture, Refugee Rescue, after watching a TV documentary about refugees crossing the Mediterranean to try and reach Europe.

His painting is based on an image taken by a photographer on board an Italian Navy helicopter and vividly captures the moment hundreds of Libyan refugees were rescued at sea.

 

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source credits: united nations, separatedchild.org, evening standard

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54 responses »

  9. I volunteer at a local food pantry and many of our clients are refugees, Spanish is the most common language spoken but I hear Ukrainian, Russian, and even African languages. I see flags and stickers from Guatemala, Mexico, and Ukraine in car windows when I load the groceries. They come here because of the hope they have for a future knowing we will welcome them and the hope and possibility of a better life.

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  10. It is sad that there are so many places in the world where people feel the need to flee, believing that ANYWHERE they go is better than where they are leaving from. Thank you for sharing this little known (or spoken about) tragedy and the day to remember it.

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  17. This is beyond heartbreaking to know of all these people who are so desperate to leave their homeland that they will risk their very lives to do so. It was also heartbreaking to listen to and watch the story of the missing vessel with the 5 ultra rich people on a joy ride over and over again and hardly a mention of the 500 refuges assumed drowned trying to reach Greece.
    This is what’s most important to us?

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  19. We can’t even begin to understand the trauma, the pain, the grief, the struggles, the challenges, faced by refugees. But we can show compassion and offer help and hope. There’s so much work to be done in this area. Thank you for spotlighting this, Beth.

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  22. The first refugee I knew in my life was Mr. Baer, my piano teacher. From him I learned how it is to be exiled from home, from a home that doesn’t even exist any longer, unable to return. Over the years I heard that story many times from many people. When I see some politician refer to them in a pejorative way, I am instantly livid. Chances are very good that any one in this country has refugees in his/her ancestry.

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