VOA新闻杂志2023--Former Somali Refugee Wins UN Refugee Award

Former Somali Refugee Wins UN Refugee Award

The United Nations refugee agency has named a former child refugee from Somalia winner of this year's Nansen Refugee Award.

The U.N. High Commissioner¹ for Refugees (UNHCR) recognized Abdullahi Mire² for providing 100,000 books to Somali refugees in camps in Kenya. Mire is now 36 years old.

"Last year, 2022, Angela Merkel, the former Federal Chancellor³ of Germany, won the award and today a young refugee from Dadaab. The sky is not the limit," Mire told VOA Somalia.

Filippo Grandi is the president of the UNHCR. He said Mire is living proof that "transformative ideas" can come out of displaced communities.

"He has shown great resourcefulness and tenacity⁴ in strengthening the quality of refugee education," Grandi said in a statement.

Mire was born in southern Somalia in 1987. In 1991, his family fled the country because of Somalia's civil war.

"I fled from Qoryooley in the Lower Shabelle region in 1991 with my mother and grew up and lived in the Dadaab refugee camps for 23 years," Mire told VOA.

The Dadaab complex in northeastern Kenya today has a population of more than 240,000 refugees, most from Somalia. Over half of the camp's population are children.

Mire finished elementary and secondary schooling⁵ while living in the camp. He went on to earn a college degree in public relations and journalism⁶ from Kenya's Kenyatta University. He said his mother gave him help and support to become, in his words, "a voice for my vulnerable population."

Mire got a job with the United Nations International Organization for Migration⁷ in Somalia. He worked in the capital Mogadishu and the southern cities of Baidoa and Kismayo.

He said his childhood in Dadaab and professional experience taught him the importance of his education. So, he decided⁸ to dedicate his professional life to helping⁹ his fellow refugees.

In early 2018, he started an organization called Refugee Youth Education Hub. The organization centers on refugee education and youth development.

After shortly living in Norway, he returned to Dadaab to help.

"I had a yearning¹¹ to serve my community that drew me back to the camp," he said.

A refugee woman who was studying medicine in Dadaab inspired him to collect books for refugee camps, Mire said.

"She told me about 20 girls normally shared one biology book. That inspired me to use social media for a book collection and donation campaign till we reached 100,000 books."

Mire is not the only Somali who has won the Nansen Refugee Award. In 2012, the UNHCR presented Hawa Aden Mohamed with the award for her work to help Somali refugee and displaced females.

The award is named for the Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat¹² and humanitarian¹³, Fridtjof Nansen.

"The win is not for me alone," Mire said in a statement. "It is for all the volunteers I work with... It is for the children in the schools."

Words in This Story

transformative — adj. causing or able to cause a change

resourceful — adj. able to deal well with new or difficult situations and to find solutions to problems

tenacious¹⁴ — adj. very determined¹⁵ to do something

vulnerable — adj. easily hurt or harmed physically¹⁶, mentally, or emotionally

dedicate — v. to use time, money, energy, attention, etc. for something

yearn¹⁰ — v. to feel a strong desire or wish for something

inspire — v. to make want to do something

1 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

2 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 tenacity   

n.坚韧

参考例句：

• Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
• The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。

5 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

6 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

7 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

11 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

12 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

15 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

16 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。