Refugee and migrant health - Personal stories

18 December 2016

International Migrants Day 18 December – Health and migration photo exhibit: Personal stories

With ever increasing numbers of migrants moving throughout the world, the United Nations General Assembly declared the 18th December as a day to celebrate the role of migrants and the positive contribution that migration brings to sustainable development. In this regard, WHO organized a photo exhibition in the WHO front entrance to raise awareness of Health and Migration.

The photo exhibit ran from 18 December 2016 to 13 January 2017.

Women in Western Africa, Diffa, Niger

A melting pot of different types of migration, the town of Diffa sits within the broader Diffa Region of Niger, a country among the lowest-ranked in the United Nations' Human Development Index. Bordering Nigeria, Diffa felt strong collateral effects from the activities of the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram in February 2015, when the country declared a 15-day state of emergency in the border region of Diffa, after a spate of attacks by the group.

Running from Rape in Burundi, Nduta refugee camp, Tanzania

Melanie was sexually assaulted at a border crossing, leaving Burundi. Her attackers kidnapped her eight-year-old daughter whom she has not yet found at the refugee camps in Tanzania.

Surviving in a failed state, Bulo Jawaanley IDP camp, Galkayo, Somalia

A Somali girl blinded in one eye from measles. Medical assistance for the 400 000 internally displaced Somalis in 2007 was available, though very primitive. Overall conditions for the civilians were extremely severe.

Finally free, Sayam Forage refugee camp, Diffa, Niger

Nigerian refugee children finally safe after fleeing Boko Haram. The children gather in the school yard, in the late afternoon, in the refugee camp, after attending their last class of the day.

Internally displaced persons, Caquetà, Colombia

Cenelia, aged 41, with her husband Oliver, aged 42. Cenelia and Oliver live with their children at Chami Puru, a settlement for displaced indigenous Emebera Chami people in Caquetà, Colombia.

Pressures from sexual orientation, Belén Shelter, Tapachula, Mexico

LGBT people fleeing violence and persecution in central America. 27-year-old Max has found shelter at the UNHCR-funded Belen Shelter in southern Mexico, after fleeing his home in Honduras. After being threatened by gangs and told to sell drugs or be killed, they used knowledge of his sexual orientation as a way to further pressure him.

Max is now applying for asylum in Mexico. “I miss the moments with my younger brothers and my family and worry they are facing reprisals, but in Mexico, people are more accepting of me as a gay man, and I at least feel safe here.”

Elsa's youngest son Billy, La 72 Shelter, Tenosique, Mexico

Elsa (aged 32) fled Honduras with her husband Eduan (30) and their five children – Carolina (15), Eduan (9), Violet (6), Billy (3) and Hilary (1) - after gang members threatened to kill them. They arrived in Mexico in early December and are currently awaiting the verdict on their asylum application. ”We had no choice but to leave. It was hard. We travelled at night carrying the children. Here we are safe but I hope we get asylum so that the children can go to school again and start to learn.”

Vira’s treasured possessions, Irpin, Ukraine

Vira, an 85-year-old retired teacher, adjusts to life in her fifth home in 18 months.

“I miss my apartment so much. It was always clean, spacious and white”.

Vira, 85, holds up the photographs she salvaged when she fled her home. She is an Internally Displaced Person uprooted from her life in Luhansk in 2015 by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. She currently rents this small house with her son Sasha but longs to return to her own apartment.

Swedish Somali dentist uses her experience to help new arrivals to Scandinavia, Norway, Oslo

"It wasn’t easy going through university to become a dentist, wearing the scarf, having my religion, praying five times a day, wanting to be a decent Muslim and at the same time be an excellent student,” Amal says.

"But you can do it. It’s difficult, but you can."

Amal Ali, a former refugee from Somalia, qualified as a dentist in her home town of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is proud to have overcome obstacles and become a professional. She believes there are opportunities for refugees in Scandinavia, and they should take them if they can. Ali aims to open her own practice in Gothenburg, knowing that many Somali Swedes will come to her. So early in 2015 she joined a practice in Oslo to learn about treating people from very different backgrounds.

IDPs get their eyes tested by Japanese optometrists led by Dr Akio Kanai, Barda, Azerbaijan

Sultan Ilyasova, who is 68 years old and far-sighted, is pictured after receiving her first pair of glasses after seven years without. She was overwhelmed to experience clear vision again after so long, crying out...

"Oh my God, he helped me to see!"

Syrian refugee children, Basirma refugee camp, Iraq

Manaa (13 years) pictured with her grandmother Maneera (around 70 years). Manaa fled with her seven sisters and brothers from Aleppo to Iraqi Kurdistan to escape the war. The children have been through a lot - they witnessed the destruction of their community and for the past three years have been unable to go to school. After finally reaching safety, the large extended family was struck with tragedy again when a beloved uncle died of a heart attack just two days after arriving.

Today, Manaa and her family live in one small tent in Basirma camp in Iraqi Kurdistan. Her family is here, including the grandmother and formidable matriarch of the family, Maneera, plus two uncles and their families. Manaa says she misses Syria and the life they once lived very much but at least now in Iraq they are safe and can go to school again - Manaa and her older siblings all attend second shift classes.

Refugee Health Clinic, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt

A Syrian refugee girl is weighed during a check-up at the Refugee Egypt health clinic in the Zamalek neighbourhood of Cairo in 2016.

Egypt is a traditional safe haven for refugees from Africa and the Middle East. In the last few years, it also became a major transit point for migrants attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, especially long-term refugees fleeing from Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. But in recent crises, migrant flows have come from Libya and Syria in the wake of military turmoil in those countries.

Unlike in many other countries, refugees and migrants in Egypt have tended to settle among local communities rather than in refugee camps. The majority are clustered around the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Government officials estimate that in additional to recent arrivals of several hundred thousand people, the total number of long-term displaced persons could be as high as three million.

Internally Displaced Persons camp, Khmer, Yemen

A group of children play near the edge of the IDP camp on a dirt road in Khmer, Amran. These are internally displaced people from the Sa'da and Jawf.

Abdu Salam, Myanmar

Abdu Salam, aged 75, was displaced from his village of Thagaung during the violence in October 2015. Abdu's family say he requires better sanitation and medical access.

Nomeh, Ban Mai Nai Soi Refugee Camp, Thailand

Nomeh is 70 years old and is a Karenni refugee from Myanmar. Along with her daughter and grandchildren, she now lives at the Ban Mai Noi Soi camp in Northern Thailand.

Anna, Nandinar Char, Sariakandi, Bangladesh

Anna (26) cooks food on a banana raft in front of her kitchen. They struggled with water for two weeks in the first phase of flooding and didn't move from their house. But they shifted to a new place in the second phase of flooding as their land was swept away by the storm surge.

Migrant workers, Janakpur. Nepal

Nepalese migrant workers living in different parts of India boarding a crowded train to return back to their country to celebrate the festival of Bibha Panchami.

Three generations, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia

Three generations of villagers pose for a picture along the shoreline on one of the Carteret Islands. Due to coastal erosion, the islands have progressively become uninhabitable as their homes have slowly become consumed by the sea over several decades.