UN prize for Brazilian nun for refugee work
Published: Wednesday, Oct 9th 2024, 07:10
Updated At: Wednesday, Oct 9th 2024, 07:31
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The Brazilian nun Rosita has been honored with the UN refugee agency UNHCR's highest award. The trained lawyer and social worker is being honored for almost 40 years of fighting for the rights and dignity of refugees, the UNHCR announced in Geneva. Sister Rosita has provided thousands of people in Brazil with food and shelter and helped them to find housing, training and work.
"It is a great honor and recognition, not only for me, but for all those who have accompanied me on this journey with migrants and refugees," the 79-year-old told the German Press Agency.
The nun not only heads the Institute for Migration and Human Rights (IMDH), which she founded in 1999, but also publishes academic articles on displacement and migration. She also coordinates a national network of 60 organizations that work to strengthen solidarity between refugees and the communities that host them.
Award winner is also a lawyer
Sister Rosita was born in southern Brazil and, according to the UN Refugee Agency, is a member of the Scalabrini Order, which is known for helping refugees and migrants.
"What motivates me is not only the fact that I still feel healthy and fit, but also that the refugee issue is very close to my heart. I am very sensitive to people who are suffering in any way," said Sister Rosita about herself.
As a lawyer, she has also played a key role in shaping policy. By working on the Brazilian Refugee Law of 1997, she wanted to ensure that the law contributed more to the protection, integration and empowerment of refugees. "When I take something into my own hands, I turn the world upside down to get it done," the UNHCR quoted Sister Rosita as saying.
Sister Rosita: Refugees can enrich society
She wants to encourage future generations to recognize the positive aspects of refugees. "People are not invading any territory, they are not trying to take anything from anyone, they just want to save their own lives, and in a dignified way," said the nun. "Therefore, if they are received with dignity, they will also be a promising, positive and enriching presence in society."
The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has awarded the Nansen Prize every year since 1954 for outstanding commitment to refugee protection. It is named after Fridtjof Nansen, the first High Commissioner for Refugees.
In addition to Sister Rosita, four other regional award winners were honored, including Jin Davod, who fled her home country of Syria to Turkey in 2014. She finished school there and is studying computer engineering. While still a student, she founded an online platform that helps traumatized refugees find therapy. More than 100 psychologists now offer their services via this platform in various languages.
©Keystone/SDA
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