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Tuesday 11, October 2011
BUDAPEST, October 11 (UNHCR) – Norwegian explorer, diplomat and the first High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations, Fridtjof Nansen, was remembered at a special ceremony in Budapest today marking the 150th anniversary of his birth. The event included a special focus on the statesman’s role helping Hungarians after World War I.
Speaking at the event organised by UNHCR at the Central European University Colonel Dr Bonhardt Attila, Director of the Archives of War History, chartered Nansen’s role repatriating 55,000 Hungarians left stranded in Russia alongside another 400,000 prisoners-of-war from other countries.
Dr Bonhardt explained that the war had devastated the economic and transport infrastructure of Russia so Nansen – a man renowned for his persuasive and organisational skills – marshalled the funds and organised hundreds of ships to repatriate the PoWs.
“Nansen solved the repatriation of some 450,000 citizens from 26 countries within 18 months at relatively low cost, saving the life of many of them,” said Dr Bonhardt while showing old maps and photographs of the ships which brought people home.
Nansen also rallied aid for those who remained in Russia, distributing warm clothes, medicines and food. “The guiding principle of the Nansen Aid Fund was that the aid had to be provided without discrimination to nationality solely on the basis of need,” explained Dr Attila who said some aid was distributed through ‘charity trains’ on the Tallinn route from St Petersburg to Moscow and linked to the Trans-Siberian Railway.
UNHCR Regional Representative Mr Gottfried Koefner opened the event saying that while realism and vision are often seen as incompatible traits, their combination in Nansen was precisely what was needed in the troubled times at the end of the World War I.
“Nansen is most famous in humanitarian circles for the travel document issued to refugees. He recognised the importance of an identity document for those who have lost their links to a state which could safeguard their human rights,” explained Mr Koefner noting that many famous artists – March Chagall, Vladimir Nabokov, Igor Stravinsky, Sergie Rakhmaninov – were holders of the Nansen passport.
Koefner said that much of Nansen’s work was later codified in the 1951 Refugee Convention and that Central European governments were now signatories to that convention providing documents and other rights to refugees.
“Nansen made us realise that people forced to flee their home countries do not lose legal rights and fundamental freedoms,” continued Mr Koefner.
“But while great gains have been made in the area of refugee protection, almost a century since Nansen was appointed High Commissioner for Refugees there are still too many unfortunate incidents in which forced migrants and refugees are sometimes seen as a threat or even treated a potential criminals” he said.
The President and Rector of the Central European University, John Shattuck, paid tribute to Nansen at the event, saying his combination of idealism and realism remains a critical combination in facing the challenges of refugee issues in today’s world. As a tribute to Nansen, Shattuck offered a quote from a Central European human rights leader Vaclav Havel, who later became the president of Czechoslovakia. “Havel said: ‘I am not an optimist because I do not believe that all ends well. Nor am I a pessimist because I do not believe that all ends badly. Instead, I am a realist who carries hope and hope is the belief that human freedom has meaning and is always worth restoring.'”
In memory of Nansen, the Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy Siri Ellen Sletner launched a writing competition for Hungarian students on the legacy of Nansen and his fellow polar explorer Ronald Amundsen. Entries close on 15 November, and the winner will win a trip to Norway. “I hope the writing competition will be an inspiration to you all to keep the memory of these two men alive,” said Ms Sletner. Details about the competition can be found at www.norvegia.hu.
Nansen died in 1930 at the age of 69. UNHCR established the Nansen Refugee Award in his honour in 1954 for outstanding service in the cause of refugees. More information about the Nansen Award can be found at www.unhcr.org.
By Ariane Rummery in Budapest
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