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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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First Syrian refugees to start new lives in Wellington

First Syrian refugees to start new lives in Wellington

Article about the first Syrian refugees in New Zealand.

Enatha Musabe's story

Enatha Musabe's story

Story of Enatha Musabe who was born in Rwanda but fled to Kenya to escape the Civil War.

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...

Tsunami

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

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.

Neverland

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...

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.

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.

Naturalisation certificate

Naturalisation certificate

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

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. ...

World Refugee Day celebrations

World Refugee Day celebrations

Celebrations of World Refugee Day, Wellington, NZ. Photographed by Farah Omar, 2009

The refugee tide

The refugee tide

Cartoon by Garrick Tremain about the refugee tide.

Vietnamese boat people

Vietnamese boat people

Image of Vietnamese boat people.

Migrant and refugee organisations: Early migrant organisations

Article about early migrant organisations.

Ethiopian refugees reunite

Ethiopian refugees reunite

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

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...

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.

Refugees from Mexico

Refugees from Mexico

Newspaper article about American refugees, from 1912.

Climate refugees

Climate refugees

Climate refugee Ioane Teitiota sought asylum in NZ.

Somali refugee children,

Somali refugee children,

Somali refugee children playing in Lower Hutt, photographed circa 15 September 1995 by Craig Simcox. Shows two boys and a girl playing outside with a toy car and a toy motorbike. From left to right...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre

Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre

Bhutanese refugees pose outside a building at the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre in South Auckland in 2008. The centre started life as a Second World War military camp before becoming an immig...

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?

Taranaki refugees (Lyttelton Times, 15 August 1860)

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

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.

Peter, A refugee's story in South Sudan

Story of Peter, a refugee who first fled Sudan for Ethiopia when he was a child.

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.

Syrian refugee crisis

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

Environmental refugees

Climate change and environmental degradation are likely to trigger increased migration in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Negative views of minorities and refugees

Attitudes toward Muslims and refugees loom large in Europe, and this is reflected in current public opinion.

What happened to history’s refugees?

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

First World War inquiry guide: looking Back, Looking Forward Y 9 - 10

This New Zealand curriculum inquiry guide has a section on refugees.

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.

Syrian refugee camps

Syrian refugee camps are becoming established cities.

Refugee Olympic team

News articles about the Refugee Olympic Team.

Meet the world's first climate refugees

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

Joseph Kim: The family I lost in North Korea. And the family I gained.

A refugee now living in the US tells the story of his life in North Korea.

A Tour of 5 refugee camps

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

Figure.NZ: refugees

Presents figures on refugees granted New Zealand residency.

We walk together

A Syrian refugee family’s journey to the heart of Europe.

Running (Refugee Song)

A song that raises awareness for the more than 60 million who have been forcibly displaced.

Migration and refugees

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian network.

An overview of refugees

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

People on the move

Article about refugees by Amnesty International.

Refugees displaced by war

Syria Is the worst refugee crisis of our generation.

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.

Rohingya refugees from Myanmar tell of trauma

Article about Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar.

Digital cartoon by Malcolm Evans on political and social issue of refugees and the cost of living in Auckland.

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.

Eat Your Cake; I'm a Vietnamese Refugee

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

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.

The mixing room: stories from young refugees in New Zealand

Refugees use art, film poetry and new digital media to tell their stories.

Life in a refugee camp

A lesson plan on what it's like to live in a refugee camp.

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

A selection of lesson plans and ideas to teach about refugees

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.

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.

Displaced people worldwide

UNHCR presents statistics of displaced people from around the globe.

Refugee health & wellbeing

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

Inside the World's 10 Largest Refugee Camps

Visit this story and other refugee stories from this website.

Find more information on this topic on EPIC. School login required.

Many Answers has pages to guide you to reviewed websites and databases on refugees.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 (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 ...

Human Rights

Explore the history of human rights including information about human rights in New Zealand. SCIS no: 1923468

The 1944 Polish orphan refugees.

The story of the Polish orphan refugees who found sanctuary in Pahiatua.

Refugees and Covid-19

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

Syrian refugees and Europe

The European refugee crisis and Syria explained.

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

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.

Refugee figures at a glance

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

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.

Who are refugees?

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

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