 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen I'll start by saying I I'm honored to be here. I arrived from Iraq late yesterday afternoon as a journalist I used to cover wars be on the ground and report on the stories of of people whose lives are shattered and homes are broken and destroyed Having joined I am I think I am privileged that I get to see the other side because we journalists sometimes we cover and then we move on And the organizations they take over and they are the ones that on the ground help the people Whose lives have been broken On two sites in in Iraq We received recently on Tuesday About a hundred and fifty families in one go out of the blue and these sites had been prepared and you'd think Everything is in place and ready and then when the internal displaced arrived you realize that no matter how prepared you are you are never prepared for For what they need new babies were born on the same night two little boys one was called nader, which means rare and They're starting life on site or in a camp basically and They have a long way to go It's cold many of them walked overnight Some crossed the river they arrived drenched freezing cold And tired and they come still with dignity and with honor They want to go back home. They're there not because they chose to but because situation made them Some of them perhaps came up to us and said, you know, are you I am Do you do migration? Can you please send us as migrants here there in the other? We provide shelter through you through the help you provide food clothes warmth tents everything But it doesn't end there. We can't pat ourselves on the back and say that's where it finishes They need more They have dignity. They have honor And they want to be something and they want to make something out of themselves and they want to contribute One young one young girl was 20 years old She was upset because she couldn't finish her exams and she was telling me that and She spoke English and she said even on this site or this camp. I want to do something. I want to work I want to help so that I feel I am I'm doing something. I'm not useless There was a father who arrived with his 11 year old. He had buried his wife the day before because his house was bombed by ISIL and His young 11 year old girl was there and she was like I want to go back to school. I want to go back home All I can say is that their tales their stories are huge It's enormous What they need is beyond what we think and beyond the the provisions that we do grant them But perhaps the best the best people to explain some things are these three Guests that we have here Who have and I'll introduce them who have themselves made a journey and and made something out of the lives? Louis Salinas is He is born in he was born in the US and based and and moved them based into Mexico He's a movie producer and one of the films he made was the golden dream, which is highly acclaimed. He made it in 2015 The movie is about basically Teenagers or as we have now on escorted children and that we're making the Trip at the journey from from Mexico to the United States Louise I am I'm not an expert in in migration. I've been saying this filmmaker from Mexico and Obviously these people know more about the subject than than I could ever I've met a lot of migrants while making this movie Migrants from Central America from Mexico making their way to the US I am not a representative of these people although I am proud to say that I I know many of them And I and I am their friend and the making of this film, which is a Fiction film not a documentary We we met A lot of them on the way. I employed on the film. I employed about 10 of them from Honduras and Nicaragua and Guatemala They were making their way to the US. Fortunately they They found jobs while there were why they were while we were shooting they they found jobs with us and They are currently living in Mexico. I guess illegally or or if that's even the term illegal They they no longer Managed to get to the US because they had no need for it these people are looking for jobs and they found the job on our set and and some of them keep working for the companies we hired some of them working in catering companies or in Electric, you know people who move the lights and all that so now these people Who have this idea of moving into the US they? They don't these people just need a job to support their families. That's basically all they need In the making of this film that I think we were supposed to see a trailer, but we will see it later Okay, you'll see the trailer We tried making the movie as honest as possible it's not a big budget film we went to City of Guatemala where we're migrants the slums where they're where they're from la zona uno and they We we interviewed Maybe 200 300 kids Just to find our actors our actors are not professional actors these actors or kids that Were not migrants themselves, but had certainly known the subject of migration and the phenomenon and They were very entwined with it. So on a daily basis while we were shooting this film. We would tell them We would never show them the script. We would never tell them. Oh, this is a story This is gonna happen in this scene So every every reaction they have is very natural and based basically on what they know because they obviously all have Some family member who migrated into the US or who was killed on their way To the US or in the border or just simply disappeared and never never to be heard of again So everyone we we we had in this film involved. It was very much enticed with with with the subject. I Met a lot of migrants while shooting the film and doing research for the film And I rode the train with them from across southern Mexico Just so we can see if we could actually shoot the film this way You know sort of a documentary style and we couldn't of course, but I rode I rode the train for 12 hours. I mean that was that was nothing And I was desperate. I mean I needed to get off that train just being under the sun for 12 hours with nowhere to go Can't fall asleep because you might fall off Tree might come by and knock you out or hit you in the face. I mean That that was me and and I had a hard time with it, of course So I can I can only imagine what these people my friends Have to do, you know crossing the the Mexican desert or crossing the Mexican the southern part where it's it's even more dangerous because of the cartels because of of The the dangerous situation but One thing I did learn is two things and it was the idea that the movie tries to convey is one these people aren't Ignorant these are they're not educated, of course, but these these migrants are are very smart people and And they know that they're nuts that they're called Illegals, but they're not illegal because Migration is not illegal, you know, it's natural Everyone migrates Nature migrates birds migrate so these people are not my these people are not illegal in any part of the world And they know that and and they share that dignity amongst themselves and they have a their little microcosm I mean they they tell jokes that start with with a Watermelon a Honduran and a Mexican being on a boat. I mean I don't remember the rest of the joke It's only things they understand because because Sometimes I guess for us Or for you on this side you get caught up in the numbers, but I've shared these people I've shared meal with these people and they're they're very proud of themselves they're very ambitious and they're very responsible of themselves and and of their family and I Guess For them they know how hard it is they they know what it is and I can't speak of course of migration in the rest of the World because I'm not an expert in that subject either But these people who live in Central America who live in Mexico Their situation in their country is so dire There is zero opportunity for growth zero and there's not little opportunity There's zero opportunity and they rather take their chances and die on a train or die trying to get to whatever they know It might be better Then just stay in their country. So again, I am not an expert in the subject and It's not my responsibility To do something about it. So I just did what best I could and just made this movie to share their voice And to convey as best as possible what what what their story is. So hopefully people Whose responsibility there is I don't know if it's you or if it's somebody else Hopefully they'll do something about it because these people are dying and it's not a recent Thing it's it's it's been going on and will be going on for a very long time Thank you. We I think it's a film that we should all make a point of watching at some point Next is dr. Nong trans Davis. She's a Canadian physician and author She's a former refugee from Vietnam at the age of five She and her mother and siblings moved to a refugee camp in Malaysia where they spent eight months before they were allowed to Canada I think she's best to tell you her story Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen It is an incredible honor to be here today Before so many who have worked so hard to make a world a better place Though this is a daunting experience Knowing how at this moment outside these stores millions of lives Many of whom are women and children are displaced by war and conflict and Tens of thousands more have perished at sea in this past year alone. I am compelled to be here To speak on their behalf for I too am a migrant My story starts nearly 40 years ago When our country Vietnam was devastated by years of war My mother was caring for six children under harsh oppressive conditions Seeing no future for us The only choice for her was to take us out to sea Crammed in a wooden fishing boat With over 300 other refugees desperate to find hope and freedom Hope for a better future for their children Freedom from war and poverty. I was only five years old then but I remember the nauseating suffocating experience being in the belly of a boat That was for two days and two nights thrashed by the angry sea But we were the lucky ones Little did we know That the boats that had departed mere minutes before ours had crashed and sank at sea While their loved ones who stayed behind Were left forever wondering What became of their children their brothers and their sisters Our boat made it to Malaysia To an overcrowded refugee camp Months passed and no nations wanted us Because our mom was a mere seamstress Whittled with six dependent children We were thought of as a potential burden Then After eight long months much to our relief Canada accepted us But when our plane touched down our mom was afraid to take us off because she was afraid That she would not be able to care for six children in a new land with only a dollar in her pocket But when we stepped off the plane when we stepped through the gates our lives were changed forever. I Remember vividly the joy that overwhelmed me When sorry When a young girl gave me a doll, I'm sorry Sorry I didn't plan on that When a young girl gave me a doll That doll came to symbolize the kindness and generosity of so many Canadians There were our sponsors who we later learned Such a sponsor our family that no one else wanted By our side our sponsors remained through the years To help us settle in this beautiful new and often very cold land sorry Knowing that we that all we have The hope and freedom The family and home and all that we have become It's because of our sponsors kindness compassion and generosity To this day We live in honor of them. I honor them By working hard through school To earn a medical degree In the 10 years that I have been in practice I have had the privilege of helping heal thousands of sick and ailing patients I honor them by enacting my right to speak up To the education system and political leaders in Alberta To ensure excellence in education for hundreds of thousands of children in Alberta I honor them by founding a registered charity To help pass on the hope and opportunities to thousands of children still living in poverty in my homeland of Vietnam I honor I honor them by writing stories to convey the human conditions With proceeds going to help organizations like the brain tumor foundation of canada and eventually the Alzheimer's foundation And other important causes that would bring hope to thousands I honor them now by becoming sponsors to two syrian refugee families One similar to our family with a single mother and five children After nearly 40 years It was my turn To stand at the gate And to give five-year-old elma a little doll Our new muslim friends have since blessed us With their beautiful food and culture And this year they will be celebrating their very first christmas in canada But this story is not unique to me for if you or your family Have ever enjoyed movies like hotel transylvania or angry birds? Then you are enjoying one of my niece's work She is a child of my sister a migrant If you have ever admired the interior designs of the vancouver airport Then you are enjoying one of the works of my nephew Another child of a migrant I share my story Not because I think I am important In fact, I think I am rather insignificant I am a mere vessel for a greater force that transcends space and time That force is kindness Its power is not an isolated entity As I have tried to illustrate It has direct rippling effect In shaping the course of history and the contours of humanity It breaks my heart to see barriers erected Refugees rounded up They are suffering disregarded by so many nations Sometimes in the midst of current conflicts And politics It is easy for us to become myopic For us to lose sight of a bigger picture These walls do not make us safer or richer But rather poor Poor in culture In friendship and in love Though my story is of the past It reflects the dynamics of the present And hopefully gives you a glimpse of what the future holds If every nation planted a seed of kindness In the heart of every migrant Kindness is not an idealism But a very practical achievable solution Against the cancerous tendencies Of war and conflict You will see that through kindness Compassion and generosity One of these migrant children Will grow up to heal you When you are sick He or she will lift you up when you are down And can no longer walk And they will bring peace to a world that is torn apart I thank you What she said just reminded me Many in Iraq and the sites were saying They feel like they are staying in detentions They have barricades around them And they feel like they are in prison And they do not want to be in prison They want to either go home or be able to start a new life somewhere and contribute to that life My next participant is Monser Iskander Monser is a Syrian Who left Syria during the war But he went to Estonia to further his education To carry on with his studies He's doing human-computer interaction And he has contributed a lot by traveling through schools and universities And explaining the cultural differences In Syria and showing them about diversity And talking to them about Syrian culture He's also facing quite a lot of difficulties sometimes When traveling because people judge him by the passport he carries Rather than the human being that he is And what he's able to give and produce and achieve Monser Thank you very much for inviting me to be here And to share my story So my story goes back to a very tiny one-room apartment Where I was born to a loved nurse And to a attentive accountant With my younger brother we grew up in the neighborhoods Of the city of Latakia in Syria Latakia now is a safe city And in terms of Syria a safe city means that We get rockets from time to time And your chances of returning home is higher than other cities When the events break down I was doing my bachelor degree And it was a shock for all of us But one thing that helped me and helped many others Was the newly born civil society back in Syria That many organizations contributed to Like the AUM and the UNDB And I was proud to be part of this I started with a workshop with the United Nations Development Program About psychosocial support and continued about in this And other main aspects like peacebuilding In 2015 I got scholarship for 10 months To study human-computer interaction in Estonia Many asked me why Estonia On the list that I got to choose between different countries Estonia has like the most interested subject to study And it was human-computer interaction And I oblige and I got an email one day telling me that I you got a scholarship to study in Estonia And it took me five minutes wondering about where Estonia is When I went to Google and start reading about their history I was really like happy that this nation is a self-made nation That went through a lot of different occupations But still met itself to be now a hub of a tech hub in Europe They gave us Skype and many other wonderful technologies we are using right now When I reached Estonia I was blessed that I have electricity That I have warm water and high-speed internet And mainly I was very happy of how peaceful the environment there How peaceful and calm also the people there I had the pleasure to be a participant in the welcoming program The Ministry of Interior with IUM provides for the newly residents They teach them about the language, the basics of living there Getting a walk, et cetera And that's how I learned a bit of all these aspects I knew from day one that I have 10 months of scholarship That I will receive this scholarship in the end of this month I know more that after 10 months I will have no other way of supporting myself And my parents in Syria are barely supporting themselves How could they support me? Yes it would have been easy to go to any to the police center And tell them I want to be a refugee Take me in Actually many of my Estonian friends were telling me Do it, bring your family But I am a skilled person for some extent I'm doing my master's degree Why doing that instead of trying to find a shop And I started applying to tons of shops And eventually I got a job and I got to finance myself during my stay in Estonia All these 10 months I was looking to June And I was waiting that in June I will apply for my residency And I was so afraid that I might not get this residency for some reason And I might lose my studies, go back to Syria, et cetera There was really this fear And the first month of my jobs I was really like always afraid of losing the job That I was highly stressed that I started getting panic attacks from time to time When I did anything wrong during my job Because it was really like I loved to stay there and I wanted to stay there As I said, because of their history of these different invasions They are like skeptical when receiving the news of people coming into their country And many people these and videos you see only bloody people You see ISIS and everyone thinks when they think about refugees they think ISIS They think terrorists, they think something bad is going to happen to their country Contacting many agencies around Estonia Just I want to help and one local Estonian NGO called Mondo Offered me to be in their contact list in a program called the school visits So I started going from one school to another around Estonia And I met around like 200 students Where I showed them a bit how Syria would look like When it's not ruins and when it's people not underneath these ruins When Syrians are happy, when Syrians are doing their daily life as normal people I told them I was I'm not here to advocate for refugees Or I'm not telling you to accept them or take them in I'm just trying to tell you that Syrian people are just normal We have good people and bad people as many other different countries And the response were amazing after each class I have like some students asking me how can we help And my my role is simple just stay as you are Open-minded and skeptical of everything you get Understand and read people from your experience not from what you hear Nowadays if you have a Syrian passport you are either And in the eyes of many you are either a tourist or you are a possible refugee Whenever I'm going to travel to work I'm always having again the Spanish attacks that I'm going to give this passport to this person He's going to see Syria and I'm going to see in his eyes how this is going to have this fear I'm not I'm not sad with him I'm not angry with him I understand that this is something normal What I'm sad about is that I can give this bad effect to someone That someone is feeling uncomfortable because of me And this is like yesterday I was waiting on a long line On a way to like get my passport check and go on to plane And my friend was asking me can we speak And I told him do you want to spread panic Someone speaking in Arabic in a long queue It's like nowadays like what yeah I will whatever I will speaking They will hear their own words again It's not the people it's the media around us I don't at all like play many of us Because eventually this is our brains bringing the short memories we got It's not about what we think of it's what we act after we have this So thank you very much this is in total my story my immigration story And of course there are a lot to speak about but this is the highlight of it Thank you very much If there are any questions please Luis regarding your very powerful film which opened the IOM film festival on Tuesday The name of the film is the golden dream but you explained to us that the actual Original name is the golden cage and that this has a lot of significance for migrants that They're going somewhere that is a dream irregular migrants in particular But they when they get there it turns out not always to be the dream Turns out to be something different maybe you could elaborate a little bit Yeah the the film originally in Spanish is called la jaula de oro Which means the golden cage it's a it's a term that applies for these migrants Especially you know the ones coming from Central America and Mexico to the U.S. And it applies to them because they it's a very old term actually You live in the U.S. And everything is beautiful and golden and wonderful however It's a cage because these people even even if they are in a safe place even if they are Away from the dangers they they have at home they still I mean they can't leave their house they can't I mean they go from there from wherever they work To home staring at the ground they have no friends outside their their own circle They can't speak to people They if they have a car they have to be extremely careful because you know if if they if they run a light or whatever accident Or even by no fault of their own if they're involved in an accident they'll get stopped they'll get deported And I've I've heard so many of these migrants on the way saying That they had lived in in the U.S. in washington or in whichever city and they were kicked out For the for the for the dumbest reason possible For jaywalking someone saw them because they got into a fight with an american For whatever idiotic reason Their their their eye was set on them and they were just kicked back They never got to see their family again their wife their kids Were went to school the parent went to to to work and then all of a sudden he got deported and he's been They have been you know trying over and over to get to their family back and there's no communication either so The hardship of the journey does not end When they cross the border and when they live in the u.s. It's it's it's a terrible situation while they live there and Uh, obviously it's a very political issue the u.s. Government is is very is not very fond of helping out migrants and especially not now so I mean even now these people are are having um People that that that have made the objection have made the the the The way into the u.s. They're still having quite the trouble as it was now As it was before and now I think uh situation is Obviously going to become worse for them Director general Thank you very much. I want to record the thanks of all of us for for all four of you For taking the time to come and be with us and share your stories and you all have a very rich Life's experience to share with us and maybe to ask you a question We have outlined basically two overarching challenges in trying to improve The lot of migrants when they move One is to try to Change the public discourse about migration from a very Almost poisonous narrative right now to one that is historically more accurate namely that migrants historically have always made overwhelming contributions to all our society and secondly to try to Basically say that the What we have to learn is how to um Get people to embroider not not just to accept but to embrace diversity as a Uh Rich element in society rather than something that uh, that is negative Any of you have any thoughts on how how we might and you might together how we might do this better more effectively I think uh, I think uh Lewis your your film the golden dawn, which I didn't get to see the whole of the other night, but I will see Uh, we have a whole you might we have a whole migrant film festival going on now And we we led off with lewis film at the geneva center, uh on Two nights ago That's one way we've got the i'm a migrant campaign that lynard Doyle and and and his people are running Uh, we have the social media campaigns we're using But any other thoughts you'd like to share with us would would be helpful Thank you Um, you know one of the things I've always done is go on the ground and listen to people on the ground And I think there's no better way than than understanding what is going on by actually hearing it from their mouths themselves And perhaps that's what that's what we should do more of Um, I don't know you may have some different dr. Dr. Nung anything Um, and in canada, you know, canada is very accepting with diversity and helpful with refugees Um, but locally, you know in the community. I still hear, you know, the odd person post on facebook or other um media sites About you know, their fears that the the refugees would You know, there would be terrorists among them And so there is still there are fears in canada as well And so to counter some of those friends that that post negative things um, and instead of I suppose instead of debating them and engaging them in in um in discussions or you know arguments as to what the The facts are because they they will believe what they want to believe But I think my tactic has been to to counter it with you know, the images of the families that we had sponsored To show them that you know, the children are just thrilled to be going to school and that they have Engaged in the community and gone halloween, you know trick-or-treating or That they'll be celebrating Christmas and such and to show them the positive side of The refugees and how much they want to integrate into our community how much they want to be a part How grateful they are for the opportunities they have um, and and the fact that you know, 35,000 Refugees have have arrived in canada and then there's been no negative incidents with time I think it will grow upon people that um, that you know people are are are good and kind and and all they want is to Have peace and to have um Have yeah safety Monzer you'd like to add something I think um as you mentioned that We have too many immigrants that we can barely count And I believe we need to stop counting them and start counting on them I believe that that my my brother is in germany. He's a refugee he unlike me Didn't take it by a plane. He took it by a rubber boat and he's now like what would like to get a shop Which is sometimes hard So I believe this Like if we can support in any way Being self-independent and having a shop could be helpful a lot to integrate into the society Thank you india Assalamu alaikum mr. Iskander um What we feel about syria syria was a country Which has provided highest number of travel documents to palestinians to work beyond And all over the world so it it we see syria as a classic example of multicultural multi-ethnic and A country with rich history and diversity and also the people are very open and minded they they are still today the top class Engineers doctors experts lawyers and religious scholars are syrians What we feel is that this political uncertainty and the conflict due to crisis which has been which has created hardship for syrian Should end as early as possible And people who have risen like you should return back for rebuilding syria Uh, the only challenge which I see is that once the reconstruction rebuilding of syria starts in near future Whether the people the experts who have depopulated that land will ever like to return back Because they want to see their middle mid term and long term future Which may or may not be stable in syria Uh, so that is one of the challenge which I want to uh understand that what is your perspective on that and so far as the Reasons for migration of people from this uh area is concerned. I have opportunity to Stay in irbil for two months Uh in december and january And what I personally found is that quite a large number of particularly the experts who have better opportunity to get integrated Beyond the boundaries of syria and iraq they were more desperate to move because they did not see any uh immediate future for them in these two countries and for them the chances of their Settling up and establishing themselves in other parts of the world was much easier So what I found that the best surgeons the best doctors the best engineers They were they were also uh, uh, moving out in large numbers So this is just my observation. I thought I should share with everybody. Thank you Thank you Um, may I call on the u.s. Representative um, and richison? um want to Thank all members of the panel because It strikes me that you are all actively working To change perceptions about migrants in a very very positive and constructive way um and um very touched about um Some of your stories Uh about where you are and what you're doing and how you're trying to uh Help Uh, it was mentioned that the u.s. Uh, doesn't care about migrants And I want to make sure that it's clear that the u.s. Does indeed In addition to resettling refugees and providing overseas assistance We are the top donor to the international organization of migration And just the presence of our delegation here today shows That we are engaged and we do care I do think though that uh, there's also a question though about how well the u.s. Handles Undocumented uh economic migrants who approach our borders We with many others here support, uh, the main treatment Of migrants whether they are Authorized across borders or whether they are undocumented I think it's very important that we look carefully At the situation in our hemisphere, which um This film the the golden dream helps us to do To understand Uh, and to consider what can be done to avoid the dangers of this journey Especially for unaccompanied children Uh, we really want to make sure that uh all the migration And legal channels of migration Is a benefit to all and not a danger To innocent people Uh, I also appreciate that the panel has uh raised some of these issues of the need to protect migrants And also, um something that is uh, uh charged discussion right now in my own country How, um Some commentators are mixing uh Perceptions of who migrants are who refugees are and who terrorists are and mistakenly Associating uh innocent people with terrorism So we're we join you in trying to get out the word That these are especially in the in the In terms of the syrian refugees and refugees from other war zones that these are the victims of terrorism these are not terrorists and That that message can't be um Said enough times uh in these particular days Finally, I'm very struck by our colleague from canada How part of her story is that her family has turned around to Sponsor a syrian family I think this is such a a moving Um testimony you've given us today And I hope you will continue to tell your story and publicize your story Of being a family of refugees who turned around to help, uh another family. Thank you Thank you so much uh assistant secretary an richard and uh indeed to the distinguished delegate from india I'm also going to nakedly plug the iama migrant platform Which is where we discover some of these voices and we really encourage all of you to to encourage people to participate in the platform It's not about iom. It's about the stories of migrants In all shades and we we certainly don't censor them and we want these voices to be heard and to populate the media