Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations (MANSO) member agencies and private sponsors devoted to assisting refugees will come together on World Refugee Day to hold various events that shed light on the resilience and strength of people who have escaped conflict and are rebuilding their lives. MANSO encourages its members and the public to celebrate the World Refugee Day by participating in one or several events organized on this occasion.
See our CALENDAR OF EVENTS here.
In Manitoba, we are focusing on four themes:
1. To bring public awareness to the difficult situations faced by the millions of refugees scattered across the globe. 44,400 people are displaced every day, which is about 1 individual every two seconds
2. To honour the strength and courage of refugees. The stories of refugees in Canada are as unique as the individuals, but they share a common path: forced displacement, their endurance and drive to build a future for their families, and the need to work hard at overcoming barriers to resettlement and integration.
3. It is a day to honour the sprit, courage and kindness of Canadians who have been involving in private sponsorship and sponsoring refugees across the globe. Canadians and permanent residents work in groups to provide living expenses, emotional supports, practical settlement, and resettlement support to privately sponsored refugees (PSRs) for 12 months. Thousands of Canadians stepped up to respond to the Syrian initiative and we encourage more people to get involved in private sponsorship. We encourage donors to follow in the footsteps of the Shapiro Foundation, an American Charity that donated funds to help welcome up to 150 refugees to the city of Ottawa and a total of 1,000 nationwide. Private sponsorship often forms incredible life-long friendships beyond the one year commitment required by the private sponsorship program.
4. To raise awareness of global responsibility and a call to action:
- The Government of Canada should step up to increase the allocation of Government Assisted Refugees (GARs). Canada is among the worlds most generous nations for immigrants and earning a global reputation for an “open arms” attitude. In 2018, almost 1400 refugees arrived in Manitoba (847 PSRs, 469 GARs and 68 Blended Visa Office Referred). With the refugee crisis growing and migration policies changing, it can be hard to keep up, but the number of displaced people in the world is staggering and the trends of the global refugee crisis are at the highest level, 68.5 people displaced by the end of 2017. Canada has the capacity to do more.
- Private donors, faith groups and community groups can contribute financially and through volunteer efforts to help welcome refugees.
- For all of us to to counter anti-immigrant and anti-refugee rhetoric in the media and public conversations. Immigration policy is often hotly debated for a variety of reasons. These debates are often not based in a careful assessment of the evidence but are politically motivated. Check out the Canadian Council for Refugee’s Positive Opinion Toolkit for great resources.
World Refugee Day is a time when the world focuses on trying to help these people and on reducing the number of people who become refugees in the future.
There are World Refugee Day events held in various different places and there are numerous ways to take part in the day.
