Refugee celebrate the winter holidays

New Year and Christmas are two very important celebrations in the Republic of Moldova. Although many refugees coming from different parts of the world don't know much about these holidays, CCR always tries to bring them closer to the Moldavian traditions and make their life more enjoyable, as much as possible.

The celebration of the New Year and Christmas at CCR was not only one of the events we organized throughout 2013, but also a moment of reviewing our entire work carried out in 2013 and to analyze the refugee situation as a whole. Indeed, in 2013 the number of refugees and asylum seekers has largely increased, mostly as a result of the Syrian ongoing conflict. In this sense, of course CCR hopes to offer its maximum support to all the new comers, without forgetting the refugees that we already know for a long

time. Thus, this celebration was a perfect occasion to bring them all together in order to share with them our best wishes for the year to come. The Head of the UNHCR Office in Moldova, Mr. Octavian Mohorea, the Deputy Director of the Bureau for Migration and Asylum, Mrs. Ecaterina Silvestru, as well as representatives of other NGO partners and sponsors, joined us in the wishes of prosperity, good health and a smooth integration in Moldova addressed to the persons of concern. Along with that, CCR director thanked UNHCR for all its support in making this and all the other events possible. Some representatives of the refugee community also used this opportunity to thank UNHCR and BMA for helping them in whatever possible, in spite of the difficult times.

A raising awareness exhibition on the Human Rights day

Each year on 10^th of December, the world celebrates the Human Rights day. In the Republic of Moldova, this day is also celebrated through diverse events, the biggest of them all being the UN Human Rights Gala. The latter supposes an awarding ceremony in which different personalities are rewarded for their work in defending the human rights in Moldova and who can be considered role models in this domain.

Broadcast live by the public TV Moldova 1, Radio Moldova and Radio Moldova Youth, the UN Human Rights Gala of Awards brought together high officials, representatives of international organizations and diplomatic corps, civil society organizations and mass media.

Just as in previous years. CCR, as the UNHCR Implementing partner, joined in the celebration of this event by setting an exhibition of various posters and artwork.
This kind of exhibitions is very important for the Charity Centre for Refugees (CCR) and UNHCR, because they offer a great opportunity to raise the awareness of different categories of persons concerning the potential and benefits of getting the refugees and asylum seekers integrated into the Moldovan society.  This time, the CCR director, Mr. Paknehad Ahmad Djavid, had the opportunity to speak and lobby the interests of our persons of concern with the UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Moldova, Ms. Nicola Harrington, the President of the Moldova Parliament, Mr. Igor Corman, the current Minister of Culture, Mrs. Monica Babuc, and many others. In fact, with the latter state body, CCR is actively collaborating in order to show the refugees and asylum seekers a bit of the history and culture of their host country.

CCR will continue setting exhibitions within the UN Human Rights Gala event, since raising awareness and lobby are two very efficient ways to create a fair society where everyone, including refugees and asylum seekers, will be able to live in peace and understanding. 

Winter Charity Bazaar

In many countries, December is traditionally a month of celebrations. All around the world, different countries prepare the winter arrival and the season’s traditional holidays. Thus, each year in December in numerous places the street illuminations are being set, while in the main cities it is very common to organize winter bazaars, as a way of preparing for the upcoming joyous events and to spread the spirit of the holidays.

In Moldova, a certain type of bazaar, the Winter Charity Bazaar, initiated and promoted by the International Women’s Club (IWC), takes place every year since 1999. In fact the same year marked the start of our activities, as well as the start of our collaboration with IWC. The specificity of this bazaar is that different Embassies and International Organization gather together in other to support a chosen non-profit organization through the sale of local and international products and crafts. This year, Hippocrates Centre, an association that helps disabled children and their families, will receive the amount collected through the Winter Charity Bazaar.

On this occasion, as in previous years, the CCR participated in the Bazaar by representing the refugees and asylum seekers in Moldova through their works and handcrafts. CCR exposed for sale a series of Christmas tree ornaments, cups, bow ties and decorated bottles, all made by children and adults refugees from different countries during workshops. Furthermore, we had the opportunity to offer delicious shawarma that has been prepared by a young and promising Armenian refugee.

During the day, the CCR enjoyed the visit of its partners, including Mr. Octavian Mohorea, the Head of the UNHCR Office in Moldova, and Mrs. Ecaterina Silvestru, the Deputy Director of the Bureau for Migration and Asylum. Apart from that, other important figures passed by our booth, such as Mrs. Margareta Timofti, the wife of the current President of the Republic of Moldova, Ms. Nicola Harrington, the UN Resident Coordinator in Moldova, and Mr. Alexandru Tanase, the President of the Constitutional Court, the President of the Constitutional Court, as well as some representatives of embassies and international organizations based in Moldova.

We were glad to present all our products to visitors of the Bazaar, as it gave us a great opportunity to raise awareness about refugees problematic in Moldova and lobby the interests of our persons of concern. CCR will surely continue participating in this Bazaar and collaborating with the International Women’s Club because it’s a unique event of this type for bridging closer the refugee and local community in a common effort of solidarity in order to help other vulnerable people in Moldova.