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Strasbourg is hosting the 4th ‘Refugee Week’
The 4th edition of Refugee Week is being held in the French city of Strasbourg from June 13 to 20. It is organized by the City of Strasbourg and the Association Foyer Notre Dame.
Mayor of Strasbourg Jeanne Barseghian stated on social media: ‘’Refugee Week, co-organised with the Foyer-Notre-Dame Association, is starting in our city, with some forty cultural, sporting and culinary events. So many opportunities to discover each other, to mix and to gather around the same plea of unconditional welcome for all displaced people without any discrimination.’’
‘’There are currently 82.4 million uprooted people in the world, due to violence, war, poverty, disasters… Climate change will force millions more to leave their region, their country. Fleeing is never a choice; it is a heartbreak, an imperative for survival,’’ the mayor of the French city also stated.
This year’s edition of Refugee week in the city which is considered one of EU’s de facto capitals will include various exhibitions, workshops and other similar projects, with the goal of encouraging people to get to know each other and break the stigma which is often associated with refugees.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 82.4 million people were forcibly displaced around the world by the end of 2020 as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or events that gravely disrupted public order.
Refugees trying to reach Europe are facing numerous dangers on their journeys, especially on some parts of the routes, with many dying along the way. Mayor of Strasbourg Jeanne Barseghian also stated that the Refugee Week in the French city was a ‘’week to fight against prejudice, to shed light on journeys, lives, perilous paths.’’
According to a report released by UNHCR in April, over 3,000 people died or went missing attempting to cross the Central and Western Mediterranean, as well as the Atlantic, to reach Europe last year. (photo credit: Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE/Unsplash)
