News
Bureaucracy threatens the dream of enterprising refugees in Bulgaria
SOFIA, Bulgaria, January 8 (UNHCR) – Located beside a busy farmers market in the Krasno Selo quarter of Sofia, the “Persia” beauty salon is a cozy and inviting place where customers can be primped, pampered and groomed with Middle Eastern hospitality....
UNHCR report shows world’s poorest countries host most refugees
Wednesday 7, January 2015 GENEVA, January 7 (UNHCR) – Wars in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere caused 5.5 million people to become refugees or internally displaced in the first half of 2014, says a UNHCR report released today. Global displacement now stands at an...
Displaced families in Ukraine rely on the kindness of strangers
MARIUPOL, Ukraine, January 5 (UNHCR) – Vladimir, 41, casts an eye around the tiny room his family now calls home. Everything he sees – clothes, three beds, dishes, pots and pans, and a television set that entertains his young son – is a donation from fellow...
Human Stories
Partners in a new life
Thursday 5, December 2013 BUDAPEST, December 5 (UNHCR) – There are few challenges in life as daunting and rewarding as integrating into a new country as a refugee. But the challenges and rewards are not limited to those doing the integrating. Behind many integrated...
Syrians face tough conditions in Bulgaria’s makeshift camps
Friday 15, November 2013 SOFIA, Bulgaria, November 15 (UNHCR) – Civil war in the Middle East is reverberating on the borders of the EU as thousands of Syrians seek refuge in Bulgaria, Europe’s poorest country. The Bulgarian government has housed around half its...
Bulgaria’s asylum centres bursting at the seams as more Syrian refugees enter Europe
Monday 16, September 2013 SOFIA, Bulgaria, September 17 (UNHCR) – Increasing numbers of Syrians fleeing violence in their homeland are heading for Bulgaria and ending up in overcrowded and “dire” reception centres as the country on the edge of the European...