Stateless for 20 years, a filmmaker becomes an Uzbek citizen at last
Ali Choriev sits in his office in central Bukhara and struggles to hold back tears. “I wasted a lot of time and missed many opportunities. I had a lot of amazing offers. Believe me, you can always find money for bread, but if you don’t have human dignity, a voice,...
UNHCR supports enhancing referral mechanisms for refugees and asylum seekers in Kyrgyzstan during COVID-19
On 17 February, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) handed over 33 information stands to the State Border Service as part of the ongoing cooperation to enhance referral mechanisms and ensure protection and preserve the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in the Kyrgyz...
UNHCR 70 Anniversary
December 14, 2020 marks 70 years since the UN General Assembly adopted the Statute of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Since 1951, our mission has been to protect people forced to flee, providing humanitarian assistance and solutions to millions...
Nothing is impossible: the story of a future surgeon and a successful businessman
Armin Talebi, along with his parents, refugees from Afghanistan, moved to the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan in 2006. Armin was only six years old, but he still remembers how difficult the move was. His parents could not find a job and permanent housing, Armin had...
Long road to happiness: the story of a stateless family with four children
Long road to a happiness: the story of a stateless family with four children. Natalia Gulyak has a large and close family, together with her husband they raise four sons. The happy life of Natalia and her husband Vladimir was complicated by one circumstance: Natalia...
Right on a birth registration is the right of every child
On 26 March 2020, a joyful event happened in the family of 19-year-old Nina: she gave birth to her first child, son Radomir. The happiness of young parents was tampered by only one circumstance: Nina could not register the birth of her child, because she did not have...
Ilonna lived without citizenship for many years
Ilonna Pozharskaya, a 30-year-old mother of two children, lived without a passport for most of her life. “My mother moved to Kyrgyzstan when I was a child. I didn’t ask her why we had moved from the Amur Region. We settled in Issyk Kul region. At the age of 17, when...
In Vahdat, a refugee single mother makes and distributes 600 COVID masks for free
Shahrbonu, a young single mother from Afghanistan, arrived with her children in Vahdat city one year ago. This city hosts the majority of Tajikistan’s refugee community with approximately 4,000 residing there, mostly from Afghanistan. The move to Tajikistan was...
Refugee nurse on the front lines in Tajikistan’s battle against COVID
In 2006 Diyono and her family fled Afghanistan when she was still a teenager. Her family of six was granted refuge in Tajikistan and lives in the north of the country in Sughd Province. After finishing high school in Khujand, Diyono enrolled in medical college and in...