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Refugees

Disasters, climate change and war force people to flee and resettle in other countries. Explore refugee survival stories and the resettlement programmes of the United Nations, and New Zealand Red Cross for these displaced people. SCIS no. 1808408

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New Zealand has a strong history in accepting refugees

Refugees (worldwide)

Refugees (worldwide)

When people are unsafe in their home country and leave to find safety (or refuge) in another country they are known as refugees. Refugees have been escaping war, famine, and persecution because of ...

2022 World Refugee Day

The theme for World Refugee Day 2022 is 'Whoever. Wherever. Whenever. Everyone has the right to seek safety'.

Crowd greeting Polish refugees

Crowd greeting Polish refugees

Crowd of men women and children standing next to railway line to greet Polish refugees on their journey from Wellington to Pahiatua. Location is unidentified, signage in background advertises Mauri...

Ukraine Refugee Situation UNHCR

The latest information data compiled by United Nations Refugee Agency on the Ukraine Refugee Situation.

Unidentified refugees from Canton at railway station, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Unidentified refugees from Canton at railway station, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Photograph taken by Whites Aviation. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Cellulosic film negative, ¼ plate

Chinese refugees arrive at Auckland (Manawatu Times, 5 September 1939)

Article from Manawatu Times reporting on the arrival of the first group of Chinese refugees to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1939. Manawatu Times, volume 64, issue 209, 5 September 1939, Page 4

Kea Kids News: ‘Nobody knows what will happen’ – a refugee child’s view of the war in Ukraine

Tamara, a 12-year-old refugee from Ukraine, talks about leaving her home, her dad and her pets to flee to the Czech Republic.

The refugee tide

The refugee tide

Cartoon by Garrick Tremain about the refugee tide.

Our stories: Refugee histories

This A3 poster provides examples of histories-related texts from the School Journal and School Journal Story Library. The poster links the texts about the histories of refugee peoples to the Aotear...

Sam's story - a sense of belonging

Sam's story - a sense of belonging

This is the story of Sam’s journey as a refugee from Cambodia to Aotearoa.

Growing Roots Chinese Refuge

Growing Roots Chinese Refuge

Seventy five years ago several hundred Chinese women and children arrived in New Zealand, fleeing the Japanese invasion of China. These were the wives and children of the Chinese men already here. ...

Refugee and Protection Statistics - May 2022

Refugee and protection statistics pack from New Zealand Immigration. Contains data from 2011 to 2022 in the format of a PDF document.

Eat your cake: I'm a Vietnamese refugee

Eat your cake: I'm a Vietnamese refugee

This documentary follows refugee Mitchell Pham from a Vietnam War prison camp to New Zealand.

Don't sit on the roof of our house. School Journal Year 4: Part 01 No. 1: 2004

An account of Niusha Rezaie and her thoughts as she settles into a new country.

Refugee Quota Protest, Parliament, Pipitea, Wellington

Refugee Quota Protest, Parliament, Pipitea, Wellington

Photographs taken by Dylan Owen on 20 June 2017 of the Refugee Quota Protest outside Parliament, Pipitea, Wellington. Shows people participating in the protest, which marked World Refugee Day, many...

This graphic text is a memoir of Rez Gardi’s life, refugee to NZ from Pakistan and Young New Zealander of 2017.

Naturalisation certificate

Naturalisation certificate

This naturalisation certificate was issued to Polish refugee Aleksander Niedaszkowski at Petone, Wellington, in 1959.

Climate refugees

Climate refugees

Climate refugee Ioane Teitiota sought asylum in NZ.

Teaching materials on refugees, asylum, migration and statelessness, including a section on professional development and guidance for teachers on including refugee children in their classes.

New New Zealanders

This article introduces readers to a family who have escaped war-torn countries in the Middle East fort he freedom and safety of NZ.

Migration and Refugees Lesson Plans

Lesson plans on forced migration and refugees from the Pulitzer Centre of Education.

Ukrainian refugees near 1.5 million as Russian assault enters 11th day

US President Biden has spoken to Ukrainian President Zelensky, as refugees pour across Ukraine's borders on day 11 of invasion.

Rohingya crisis: Reporting from the world's largest refugee camp

Asia Media Centre article: In September 2018, a three-person team from TVNZ’s Sunday programme travelled to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh to report on one of the biggest refugee crises in the world.

Who are refugees?

At New Zealand Red Cross, we're often asked about where refugees come from.

Boys' dormitory at Polish children's refugee camp

Boys' dormitory at Polish children's refugee camp

Interior of boys' dormitory at Polish children's refugee camp, Pahiatua. Shows boys lying a row of beds, with an unidentified woman standing at far end. Photograph taken by John Dobree Pascoe, 1945...

Cartoon referring to World Aid’s response to the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.

Digital cartoon by Sharon Murdoch depicting Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, holding a refugee infant in his arms, and singing a lullaby about her being resettled to the remote island o...

Refugee stories

Read stories about New Zealand Red Cross and the work that they do to support refugees.

Pahīatua's 'Little Poland'

Pahīatua's 'Little Poland'

Dubbed 'Little Poland', a camp outside Pahīatua was home to over 700 Polish children displaced by the Second World War. The young refugees, mostly orphans who had survived the harsh conditions of c...

New Zealand's first refugees: Pahiatua's Polish children

A book about New Zealand's first Refugees.

Refugees: New Zealand as a haven

An article about refugees coming to New Zealand.

Evacuees from Vietnam, at Whenuapai aerodrome

Evacuees from Vietnam, at Whenuapai aerodrome

Evacuees from Saigon, Vietnam, arriving at Whenuapai Aerodrome, Auckland, 23 April 1975. Shows a group walking from a RNZAF Hercules. Includes Peter Scott and his wife. Photographer unidentified. ...

Ethiopian refugees reunite

Ethiopian refugees reunite

Ethiopian refugees reunite at Wellington Airport after being apart for 15 months.

Vietnamese boat people

Vietnamese boat people

Image of Vietnamese boat people.

Migrant and refugee organisations: Early migrant organisations

Article about early migrant organisations.

Somali mother and son reunited in New Zealand

Somali mother and son reunited in New Zealand

Somalian refugees, Maryam Sugulle and her eight year old son, Mohamud who had just arrived in Wellington after two years separation from his family. Photographed by Evening Post photographer John ...

UN profoundly concerned by Australian boat people ban

UN profoundly concerned by Australian boat people ban

The UN says it is profoundly concerned by Australia's proposed ban on boat people.

Asian refugees from Uganda arriving at Wellington airport

Asian refugees from Uganda arriving at Wellington airport

Original Evening Post caption reads: "Jasmine, held by her father, Mr Jagdish Patel, and Kamal, carried by Mrs Patel, with Mr and Mrs Mahendra Thaker, New Zealand's first Government-sponsored Asian...

Cambodian refugees learning to ride bicycles in Waikanae

Cambodian refugees learning to ride bicycles in Waikanae

Cambodian refugees photographed learning to ride bicycles in Waikanae on 29 November 1995 by Evening Post staff photographer Melanie Burford. Original Evening Post caption reads: "Three Cambodian ...

Refugee and migration teaching resources

British Red Cross teaching resources to explore refugees and migration

Meet the world's first climate refugees

This is a story about people who stand to lose everything.

Refugees or migrants: What's in a word?

When 71 people are found dead in a parked truck in Austria, and on the same day, dozens are feared drowned after a boat capsizes off Libya, do semantics matter?

Belgian refugees in the First World War

Belgian refugees in the First World War

A Belgian woman and two children sitting amongst ruins of Malines after the German occupation of the town, December 1914.

Taranaki refugees (Lyttelton Times, 15 August 1860)

Reports on families are being removed from the Taranaki province for military reasons.

Syrian refugee crisis

These are the most powerful photographs of the Syrian refugee crisis In 2015.

The UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency) works to protect and assist all refugees.

What does it mean to be a refugee?

Video about what does it mean to be a refugee.

What happened to history’s refugees?

People have been forced to leave their countries since the very notion of a country was created.

Don't demonize refugees, U.N. says, as poll reveals negative attitude

A global poll revealed 60 percent of people thought Islamic extremists were posing as refugees.

Refugee Olympic team

News articles about the Refugee Olympic Team.

An overview of refugees

An overview of the global refugee situation, with specific reference to New Zealand’s role.

A Tour of 5 refugee camps

Take an interactive tour to see how refugees in Greece are making homes in surprising places.

The small African region with more refugees than all of Europe

Hunger follows displaced people around north-east Nigeria, as Boko Haram and climate change drive millions from their homes.

The mental health and human rights of refugees

An article about the mental health and human rights of refugees by Amnesty International.

Refugees displaced by war

Syria Is the worst refugee crisis of our generation.

The story of seven-hundred Polish children

This 1967 documentary tells the story of 734 Polish children who were adopted by New Zealand in 1944 as WWII refugees.

New Zealand Refugee Quota Programme

New Zealand is one of around 37 countries that take part in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regular refugee resettlement programme.

Ali and the Long Journey to Australia

Thirteen pupils from seven countries have drawn on their imagination and personal experiences to create the story of a 10-year-old and his family and their search for safety.

Emigrating to a new country is always hard enough, but for refugees it can be devastating.

Refugee health & wellbeing

RASNZ promotes programmes and policies that respect and advance the health, wellbeing and human rights of people from refugee backgrounds.

Refugees International

Refugees International focuses on displacement, humanitarian and human rights issues of displaced people.

New Zealand's climate refugee debate grows louder

The debate over New Zealand's immigration agreement on climate refugees with Kiribati.

Child in a Japanese refugee camp, China

Child in a Japanese refugee camp, China

When people can no longer live in their country due to violence, persecution or natural disaster they often flee and stay in refugee camps. These camps are mostly run by NGO organisations such as t...

Julia Gillard's in difficulty out there...

'Julia Gillard's in difficulty out there...

Australia has one of the strictest refugee and asylum seeker policies. Refugees are required to stay in offshore detention centres before being allowed into Australia. In 2016 there were approximat...

A Somali refugee family

Somalian refugee family

The first Somali refugees came to New Zealand in 1993. Over the last 15 or so years, many refugees entering New Zealand (like Abdi Mohamed, his wife and 11 children in the above photograph) have be...

Polish refugee children

Polish refugee children

Peter Fraser (then Prime Minister) and Countess Wodzicka (far left) greet Polish refugee children who have just arrived in Wellington on board the ship General Randall in 1944. These World War II r...

Life can be very tough for refugees as they are forced to leave their homes and everything they are familiar with. This change can be very difficult, so there are organisations that aid refugees. ...

Refugees and Covid-19

How the world’s largest refugee camp is dealing with the threat of Covid-19.

Digital cartoon by Malcolm Evans on political and social issues in New Zealand and internationally. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

When we were refugees

On World Refugee Day, New Zealanders of forced-migrant backgrounds share their memories of persecution and displacement, and their journeys to New Zealand.

Refugee figures at a glance

Up to date statistics on people around the world who are forced to flee from where they live.

The 1944 Polish orphan refugees

The Polish WWII refugees who created a “Little Poland” in New Zealand

Roads to refuge

Resources and suggestions to develop lessons to help raise awareness about refugees, and their experiences and perspectives.

Refugee stories: mapping a crisis

Maps, data, videos, and news articles to understand the refugee crisis, their experiences and how to respond to the situation.

Largest refugee camps in Africa

A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations.

Haitian migrants

US expels thousands of Haitian migrants from Texas town on Mexico border

Palestinian, millennial, and jobless

This is life for young refugees in Lebanon.

Journey in the death boat

A photo essay on making a perilous sea-crossing with refugees.

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