Ahead of World Refugee Day, Aung San Suu Kyi appealed to donors to meet the needs of the world’s refugees, who are often forgotten as a result of either donor or “compassion fatigue.”
Suu Kyi made the request in her speech in Oslo, Norway, where she accepted her Nobel Peace Prize 21 years after winning the award. The Nobel laureate said the international community’s “ultimate” aim should be to “create a world free from the displaced, the homeless and the hopeless.”
The lawmaker, who is Myanmar’s key opposition leader, also rallied support for host countries that deal with difficulties relating to the global refugee problem. She said these countries also deserve “consideration” and “practical help.”
Suu Kyi described her recent trip to a camp in Thailand, where many people from Myanmar are taking refuge. She said refugees cried out to her not to forget them and their plight. If there’s anything the Nobel Prize had done, Suu Kyi said, it is to help the world remember Myanmar and its struggle toward democracy and human rights.
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About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.