UNHCR Greece has released a video with two children modelling the way forward in the country in solidarity with refugees.
The video, produced for World Refugee Day, observed on Sunday 20 June, shows a Greek-born boy and a refugee boy glancing hesitantly at each other initially, before taking small steps toward each other’s direction.
The boys’ enactment of forming a team ends up with both smiling, with the short video script captioned with the following message:
Even a small step can make us a team.
Even a small step can bring us closer.
We stand with those who found in Greece their neighborhood,
but also with those who walk by their side.
Because together we can do things better.
The international day designated by the United Nations aims to serve as a reminder to politicians of the need to do more to prevent and resolve conflict and crises that force people to flee their home country.
But also, to honour the strength and courage of refugees.
For 2021, Greece’s UNHCR has centered the World Refugee Day around the theme of taking “Steps” forward for communities to “heal, learn and sign” together.
This year’s message by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is framed around the pandemic.
Grandi points out that “while the rest of us spent much of the last year at home to stay safe”, more than 82.4 million men, women and children “had to run from their homes just to stay alive.”
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“Over the past several months, a time dominated by the pandemic, we have seen that refugees – while needing, deserving, and having the right to international protection, safety, and support – also give back to each other and to their host communities.
When given the chance, they have run to the front lines of the COVID-19 response as doctors, nurses, cleaners, aid workers, care givers, shopkeepers, educators, and many other roles, providing essential services as we collectively battled the virus. We have seen them and their hosts selflessly share meagre resources and help lift those in the greatest of need.
So on World Refugee Day, as we pause to express solidarity with refugees in our communities and around the world, I hope each of us will also acknowledge and admire the drive, determination, and contributions made by people forced to flee. My colleagues and I have the privilege of witnessing their tenacity and achievement every day, which – especially today – should be a source of inspiration for everyone, everywhere.”