WORLD REFUGEE DAY is a salute to the indomitable spirit and courage of the world’s refugees, not just in enduring the dangers and violence of the crises that made them refugees, but also in the courage they show in rebuilding their lives and contributing to society in difficult or unfamiliar circumstances.

It is celebrated on 20 June every year, all over the world.

Refugees show incredible strength in their oftentimes dangerous journeys to find sanctuary for their families and themselves. In every step of their journey, refugees carry with them an unshakable, unrelenting hope for basic survival, sustenance and protection.

By hanging on to hope that they can, one day, rebuild their lives, refugees defy all odds. On World Refugee Day, we celebrate the hope and courage of refugees for a safe life and better future for themselves and their families.

Learn more about how World Refugee Day is celebrated worldwide.

World Refugee Day in Malaysia
World Refugee Day in Malaysia is celebrated in many different ways by a variety of individuals and organizations.

Read more about the events organized in Malaysia by UNHCR for World Refugee Day.

In conjunction with World Refugee Day, the Second Refugee Carnival was held on 15 June 2007 to provide a day of fun and treats for some 230 refugee children and 100 refugee adults. It was organised by volunteers and UNHCR staff, and completely funded through private sector and public fundraising.

World Refugee Day was launched on 20 June 2007 through a mini concert, celebrating the spirit and strength of refugees. For the first time, over 50 refugee children of various ethnicities jointly performed traditional songs and dances. The event was attended by some 200 invited guests, including Government officials, the diplomatic community, NGOs, private sector, academia, law enforcement authorities, media and volunteers, while the venue was sponsored by the Ministry of Arts and Heritage.

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1. Official World Refugee Day Launch event
   An official launch ceremony was held on Tuesday, 20 June 2006 at 10.30am, at the UNHCR office. Some 150 guests attended the ceremony, and various refugee communities were invited to participate in the ceremony through the welcome and farewell dances, and in a sharing session.
2. World Refugee Day Carnival
   In conjunction with World Refugee Day, a Carnival was held to provide a rare opportunity for refugees to enjoy a day with their families, while interacting among themselves and with UNHCR and NGOs; and to create a safe space for refugee children to play outdoors. This was the first time such a Carnival was held in Malaysia for the refugee communities. This was held on Tuesday, 20 June 2006, from 8.30am - 1.00pm, at the UNHCR premises.

It was attended by almost 250 refugee men, women and children from the various refugee communities living in Malaysia. More than half of this number comprised children aged below 14 years.

Activities implemented at the Carnival:

• Inflatable bouncy castle and Velcro wall
• Tele-matches
• Movie screening
• Fairground games
• Face painting
• Nail painting
• Clowns
• Henna tattoos
• Painting and colouring competition
• Photo booth (memento portraits for each person)

Each person received:

• Food and drink packs for breakfast
• Assorted snacks throughout the morning
• Cakes and sweets
• Take-away pack from McDonald’s at the end of the event
• Free-flow mineral water
• Party packs and gift packs for adults and children
• Prizes for games

Sponsors:

• Allianz General Insurance Malaysia Berhad
• Benny Tan, Managing Director of Property Trend
• Danone Malaysia Sdn Bhd
• Fitness Concept - Largest Fitness Specialist Chain Store
• Fun Expresso
• Horeb Sdn Bhd (Drs Tong, Leow, Chiam and Partners)
• Marslim Movers Sdn Bhd
• Mc Donald’s
• Picture This and That & The Photographers’ Gallery
• Prince Hotel
• Pure Water (KL) Sdn Bhd
• Rann Consulting Sdn Bhd
• Razneil Resources Sdn Bhd
• Renaissance Hotel
• Secret Recipe
• Tetra Pak Malaysia and Singapore
• Tones Entertainment
• Yellow House Society of Malaysia
• Friends and Volunteers of UNHCR

The successful implementation of the Refugee Carnival would not have been possible without the benevolence of the above mentioned private sector and individuals in Malaysia.

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For the first time, World Refugee Day was celebrated this year in Malaysia with a series of public advocacy and awareness programmes.

As an inaugural event, the World Refugee Day activities aimed to create awareness among the Malaysian population at a basic level. The objectives were to create compassion and empathy among Malaysians on the challenges faced by refugees and to destigmatise refugees by putting a human face and giving a voice to them

The activities held were:

1. Launch of WRD in Parliament on 21 June 2005
   The Office launched the Bahasa Malaysia version of the IPU-UNHCR Handbook on Refugee Law for Parliamentarians, in collaboration with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of parliamentary affairs. This was held in Parliament, with the attendance of some 100 guests including the head of the Opposition Party and several Opposition Members of Parliament, the President of the Back Benchers Club and several Members of Parliament of the Ruling Party. This event was also significant because NGOs working in refugee issues were provided the opportunity to speak with political leaders and advocate their work. At this event, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department publicly declared his support for refugee issues and announced that the Government in principle will allow refugees to work legally in the country.
2. Photography project “Face To Face: Confronting the Humanity of Refugees in Malaysia”.
   This 3-month long project begun when the Office recognised that Malaysians’ apathy towards refugee issues were because of the difficulty in humanising the statistics that appeared in the media. Thus, faces and stories of refugee were captured. The first tranche of the project was the official unveiling of a selection of the photos at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center, by the Regent of Perak. Some 100 guests attended, including refugees. This was an important project because never before had images and stories of refugees been documented in Malaysia for public consumption. The launch event was significant because it was the first time the Office publicly brought refugees into the public sphere through the photos, and through their traditional performances at the launch event. This event marked the first time many Malaysians had seen a refugee’s face as a human being with feelings - a mother, a lover, a child - and not just as a fugitive in fear and flight.

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