21/06/2021
UN Agency Says Cameroon Harbours Half a Million Refugees.
On June 20 which marked World Refugee day, the United Nations Refugee Agency(UNHCR) said, Cameroon is a home for half a million refugees mainly from Nigeria and the Central African Republic.
The UNHCR called on host communities to show more love, empathy for those fleeing crises in their home country and who are now even more threatened by COVID-19.
Portraits of famous refugees were displayed on the walls of the annex building of the United Nations Refugee Agency in Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé. Legend such as Somali-American supermodel Iman, who became a refugee in 1972, Jamaican singer Bob Marley and Hong Kong-born film actor Jackie Chan.
These portraits were displayed to encourage refugees and make them understand that they can be successful even in a foreign land if they work hard.
The UNHCR added that the total number of refugees in Cameroon sums up to 2 million adding to the list those who have been internally displaced.
Olivier Guillaume Beer, the UNHCR representative in Cameroon encouraged Cameroonians to live in peace. He said “This is a day where we would like to have people understand that behind these figures, you have women, you have children. Each of them with his or her own story of violence, of persecution. People lost everything. Children lost their school, they lost their friends, parents lost their jobs and they need to restart a new life in a very difficult context. On World Refugee Day, we show empathy, solidarity to these people."
Refugees if given the chance in their host communities will continue to contribute towards a safer, stronger and better world reasons why, the years celebration had as theme “Together We Heal, Learn and Shine”.
