The Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Migration of Kyrgyzstan, UNHCR — the UN Refugee Agency organized a bicycle race on the occasion of the World Refugee Day.

Young people from among refugees and citizens of Kyrgyzstan participated in the race. The event was organized with the participation of refugees-volunteers, who paid tribute to the country for its hospitality in such a way.

«The World Refugee Day is a moment of recognition for those communities and people around the world, who have opened their doors and hearts to refugees. The Kyrgyz Republic has established its own national asylum system and has received more than 20,000 refugees since the 1990s. Many of them either integrated into the Kyrgyz Republic, or were resettled, or voluntarily returned to their countries. One of the significant results of this activity is the assistance to refugees in acquiring citizenship. Since 2002, more than 9,000 people have acquired citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic. Almost all children attend schools, speak Kyrgyz or Russian, they have become part of our society,» the head of the ministry Kudaibergen Bazarbaev said.

One of the participants of the race, 16-year-old refugee Romal Ajmal, has been fond of cycling since childhood. In 2017, he began training at the Golden Wheels cycling club, and later his younger brother Lemar, 14, followed suit. With the support of the honored coach Nikolai Dyadichkin, the Ajmal brothers won several cycling competitions. Like all other refugees here, they want to become citizens of Kyrgyzstan in order to be able to win medals for the country at international competitions.

«The United Nations Refugee Agency highly appreciates the support given to refugees by the people and Government of Kyrgyzstan. Joint efforts and cooperation are essential for people to be able to save their lives. UNHCR is ready to continue to provide assistance to Kyrgyzstan so that refugees can gain access to all rights, services and responsibilities,» said Hans Friedrich Schodder, UNHCR Representative for Central Asia.

Over the past decade, the number of people forced to leave their homes has been increasing every year. Recently, the number of people forced to flee conflicts, wars, persecution and human rights violations exceeded 100 million for the first time in the history of such calculations.

There are 178 refugees and 801 asylum seekers in the Kyrgyz Republic, most of whom have fled Afghanistan and have been living peacefully in Kyrgyzstan for decades.