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Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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10 June 2003
Press Release No: L/14/2003
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
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MESSAGE ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY
20 June 2003
A refugee's life, regardless of age, is never
an easy one. But for many reasons, exile is particularly hard
on the young. In addition to the usual emotional strains associated
with coming of age, young refugees must often confront the torments
of war, violence, bereavement, sexual abuse and forced conscription.
This third World Refugee Day is dedicated to the
millions of young people whose futures have been jeopardized
by war, hatred and exile. At an age when they should be dreaming
of life's limitless possibilities and building up their skills
in preparation for adulthood, they are instead bound by the
harsh reality of poverty and displacement, and condemned to
what often seems to be a life without hope.
Many young refugees are also deprived of the protective
shield of the family, making them especially vulnerable to various
forms of abuse. In some parts of the world, boys as young as
15 are forcibly recruited to fight in somebody else's conflict,
often for reasons they cannot possibly comprehend. They are
among the more than 300,000 young people between the ages of
15 and 17 fighting in some of the world's most violent wars.
Even if they escape death or injury, they are traumatized for
life by the brutality of the experience. And while boys can
end up as cannon fodder, young female refugees are often the
prime targets of abuse, especially in areas where the social
position of women and girls is weak.
All of us want a brighter future for our children, and strive
to provide them with the means to build happy, successful lives.
Unfortunately, young refugees do not enjoy those same opportunities.
But visit any school in a refugee camp and you will see their
remarkable determination to learn and excel. Faced with enormous
odds and uncertain futures, young refugees know that education
is the surest way out.
Young refugees need our help. Much is already
being done by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
and other UN agencies, through educational and other youth-related
programs, to make their lives fuller, safer and more meaningful.
But while humanitarian involvement can help to ease the hard
lot of young refugees, it can never be a substitute for serious
and sustained efforts to find solutions for the problems that
cause displacement in the first place. On World Refugee Day,
let us reaffirm our commitment to saving future generations
from growing up without hope.
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