NYU Abu Dhabi Honours World Refugee Day In Collaboration With UNHCR

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 19th Jun, 2019) In recognition of World Refugee Day tomorrow, 20th June, the Office of Social Responsibility at New York University Abu Dhabi, NYUAD, and Gulf Multi Sport, in collaboration with UNHCR- the UN Refugee Agency, is hosting a 12-hour indoor relay from 7 am - 7 pm in honour of Eva, a nine-year-old refugee who travelled 409km as she fled from South Sudan to Ethiopia on her own.

When Eva’s mother, father, and brother were killed by armed forces, she was forced to walk for twelve days, alone, until she found help and the critical assistance of the UNHCR. The relay, which recognises Eva’s 12-day journey, will be followed by the screening of two short documentaries 'Desperate Journeys' and '4.1 Miles' from 7 - 9 pm and a presentation by UN Refugee Agency on the 2018 Global Trends Report.

NYUAD’s indoor running track will see individuals or teams of up to six either run or walk for one hour anytime between 7 am - 7 pm, in support of the global UNHCR #StepWithRefugees campaign.

The first short documentary to be screened is Desperate Journeys (2018) and is based on UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and author Khaled Hosseini’s visits to refugees in Lebanon and Italy in June 2018. The film, which was released on 3rd September, 2018, the third anniversary of Alan Kurdi’s death and the release of Khaled Hosseini’s Sea prayer, highlights the changing patterns of refugees’ movement to Europe and within Europe, along with the challenges and risks they face in accessing territory and asylum procedures.

The second short documentary, 4.1 Miles (2016), directed by Daphne Matziaraki and released in 2016, is about a Hellenic Coast Guard captain on the Greek island of Lesbos whose role involves saving thousands of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea during the European migrant crisis.