UTICA
The Town That Loves Refugees
A Small American Town, Asian Freedom Fighters, Somali ’slaves’
and survivors of the ’killing fields’
Winner of the National Press Photographers Association "New America" Award
Refugee families can be found in every corner of the globe, but the small New York State town of Utica has enjoyed—and thrived—from a particularly close relationship with the newcomers. One in six of the town’s 65,000 population are refugees—a massive concentration in a small place. Their numbers are not only impressive, but also their diversity, coming from around 30 countries and including prisoners of war from Bosnia, freedom fighters from Myanmar, political refugees from Iraq. The refugees in turn have helped stabilize a once thriving mill town which had fallen on hard times, renovating entire sections of Utica’s crumbling infrastructure and reviving the economy. So much so that even in the troubled times of a global war on terror when new faces are often suspect, in Utica at least, officials say more refugees are welcome to share the town’s hospitality and rejuvenation.
COMMISSIONED FOR UNHCR’S REFUGEES MAGAZINE
THE BALKANS
When the War Was Over
The 'miracle' of Dayton—10 years later
The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended on 21 November 1995 when the major protagonists in the conflict agreed to what became known as the Dayton Peace Accords at an obscure U.S. Air Force base in the American state of Ohio. The country, which less than a decade earlier had hosted the Winter Olympic Games, lay in ruins. Much of its infrastructure—roads, factories, homes and schools—was destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of civilians here and in the surrounding Balkan countries had been killed and several million uprooted from their villages, towns and cities. In the intervening 10 years, more than one million people have returned to their former homes. Half of the country’s homes have been rebuilt or replaced. Sarajevo has enjoyed a rebirth, its street life, boutiques and restaurants flourishing once more. But much more needs to be done. Some 200,000 people remain displaced. Foreign assistance is scarce and jobs difficult to find. Rebuilding a shattered country will take much longer to complete, but as Paddy Ashdown, the current High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina has said: “The miracle in Bosnia is how much has been done in 10 years.” This is a snapshot in time of its progress.
COMMISSIONED FOR UNHCR’S REFUGEES MAGAZINE
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT © 2004-2014 BY VINCENT WINTER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED