As millions of refugees face hardships and uncertain future, the United Nations has appealed to countries including the United States to keep reaching out to people in need because “we will all be stronger” by building bridges instead of walls.
“Have hope […] I have faith in you,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said addressing young people gathered last night for a back-to-school event.
The event was hosted by the International Rescue Committee, the Annenberg Foundation and the UN Foundation, and the UN Chief spoke after a visit to resettlement center, where he met refugees, including from Guatemala and Syria, and other countries from Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
He assured the gathering that he is working hard for other refugee families around the world, and noted that on 19 September, at UN Headquarters in New York, the General Assembly will convene a Summit on Refugees and Migrants where, among other proposed commitments, governments will agree that refugee children should go to school as soon as possible after arrival in the country that gives them asylum.
UN Chief attends refugee resettlement event in Los Angeles. UN Photo/Mark Garte
“I encourage countries like the United States to continue to demonstrate leadership by providing safe haven to more refugees – including Syrian refugees,” said the Secretary-General, according to a UN statement.
“Let’s keep reaching out a helping hand to people in their time of need. Let’s never give in to the forces of fear and division. Let’s welcome people into their new communities as neighbors and friends. Let’s build bridges, not walls. We will all be stronger for it.”
Ban Ki-moon recalled how he himself had been displaced as a young boy. “I did not flee my country, but my family and I were driven out of our village by war – the Korean war. I was only 6 years old. Everything was destroyed. The United Nations came to our rescue. They gave us food. They gave us shelter. They gave us school supplies,” he said.
“Now I am here as the head of the United Nations to give school supplies to you. If I could do it, you can do it,” he said.
