UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s national charity partner for the UK, has launched a short film exhibition of their online gallery, ‘Gallery of the (New) Home’ at the Barbican and online to mark Refugee Week (19-25th June).

The film features nine refugees from Bangladesh, Burundi, South Sudan, Syria and Uganda, and one internally displaced person in Ukraine who submitted images to the charity’s ‘Gallery of the (New) Home,’, sharing what home means to them after being forced to flee their own. They share stories of strength, revealing how the notion of home changes when you’ve been displaced.

Home is something that everyone can relate to, with the film encouraging viewers to think about what home means to them and connect to experiences of refugees. For Kana Josée, who was born in Rwanda to Burundian refugee parents and then fled conflict multiple times before finding sanctuary in Europe, home means stability and belonging.

Kana Josée, a former refugee, said: “I know what it feels like to be forced to flee, moving from country to country in search of safety. In those moments, you don’t know what your future holds and it’s easy to lose hope towards finding a home, so when asked what home means to me, it was simple – it’s somewhere that’s stable and my family and I truly feel like we belong, and that is what we’ve found here in the UK.

“I was born in Rwanda to Burundian refugee parents so for me, being a refugee is generational. When the Rwandan Genocide began in 1994, my family and I fled to DRC [the Democratic Republic of Congo] and then moved from there to Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa until I was eventually resettled in The Netherlands.

“I now live in the UK with my family which is where home is. I live here with my two beautiful children where there is so much love and happiness. It’s a place where we can relax together, host family and friends and look forward to our futures, something I will never take for granted.”

In the Global Trends Report released last week by UNHCR, it was revealed that by the end of 2022, a record 108.4 million people had been forcibly displaced from their homes, an increase of 19.1 million from 2021. The most common reasons for people having to flee their homes included war, persecution, violence and human rights abuses.

More than three in four refugees needing protection are currently hosted by low or middle income countries and with ongoing crises in Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, among others, UK for UNHCR is asking people to watch the short film to hear directly from those who have been forced to flee their homes and gain a deeper understanding of just how important home is.

Emma Cherniavsky, Chief Executive of UK for UNHCR, said: “Hearing directly from those who have had no choice but to flee their home is something that is truly moving and inspiring. This short film is a testament to what’s possible when we work together to support refugees. I hope it will encourage us all to consider what home means to us, and what we can do to help refugees feel at home in our communities.“

The ‘Gallery of the (New) Home’s’ short-film exhibition is open at the Barbican from 19 June to 9 July, where UK for UNHCR is also hosting screenings of films for Refugee Week, The Swimmers and Captains of Za’atari on 20 and 22 June, respectively. The Swimmers will be followed by a panel discussion with Sally El Hosaini, the film’s director, Vicky Tennant, UNHCR’s Representative to the UK, and Zahra Shaheer, one of the 2023 Refugee Week ambassadors, hosted by Emma Cherniavsky, Chief Executive of UK for UNHCR. Captains of Za’atari will be introduced by a special guest.

People can show their solidarity with refugees by submitting their own image to ‘Gallery of the (New) Home,’ showing what home means to them at unrefugees.org.uk/home.