Refugees Human Rights Child Youth Poetry Contest and Human Rights Education Awareness

: The contest — started in 2007 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee Toronto office and COSTI Immigrant Services — aims to bring human rights education and awareness of the refugee situation to Canadian classrooms, according to Toronto Star. By asking youth to write poetry about refugees and human rights, we hope to encourage Canada future to think as humanitarian and compassionate leaders towards their brothers and sisters living worldwide, said Rana Khan of the UNHCR.COSTI Mario Calla said the submissions showed the young poets’ empathy and appreciation toward refugee issues. The seventh annual Refugees and Human Rights Child and Youth Poetry Contest received 162 poems from Toronto area students in Grades 4 to 12, in commemoration of World Refugee Day. Their understanding and compassion is often expressed in moving and, sometimes very creative, ways. Diatra says of her war-torn country, ‘I loath you tremendously/For you have scarred me unbearably.’ She goes on to say how the hatred will morph into remission and forgiveness. Judge Mario Calla on Diatra Farasha: The judges were impressed with the complexity of feelings so eloquently expressed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.