Photo:UNHCR/Hector Perez

Colombia. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Helena Christensen buying jewelry from the women in the community.

UNHCR/Hector Perez

Helena Christensenhas spent decades in front of the camera. But the time she’s spent behind it—photographing displaced people and sharing their stories as a partner to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees—has also made a lasting impact. “It’s the biggest honor and privilege,” says the 54-year-old Copenhagen native. “The way it influences and inspires me on a personal level is the greatest gift.” Recently Christensen traveled to Colombia, where more than 2.5 million Venezuelan migrants have sought sanctuary. Here she recounts her trip, timed to World Refugee Day on June 20.

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Helena Christensen buying jewelry from the women in the Quibdó community.UNHCR/Hector Perez

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Helena Christensen buying jewelry from the women in the community.

How have your experiences with the UNHCR impacted you?

I started volunteering in 2015 and became an ambassador in 2019. Almost every year I’ve gone to camps, where I’ve taken photographs and talked to refugees and displaced people and shared their stories. It puts everything in perspective. We live in our little safe worlds, but these people only have their realities- and it’s way more hardcore than we can even begin to understand. I am learning in my own way. Every time I go, I try to absorb as much as I can.

Christensen photographing displaced people in the Quibdó region (above).UNHCR/Hector Perez

Colombia. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Helena Christensen photographs the women in the community

How was your trip to Colombia?

I met with a trans woman and learned more about her hardships and those of her community. I also met the Indigenous tribes [in Villanueva] and photographed some of the women. And I reconnected with a woman whom I first met eight years ago, who is still dealing with displacement.

Christensen’s photograph of the beadwork displaced people in the Quibdó region craft and sell to make ends meet (above).UNHCR/Helena Christensen

Colombia. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Helena Christensen photograph Floriselda and the women in the community.

UNHCR/Helena Christensen

What was the reunion like?

She’s still in the same place. I knocked on her door, and we fell into each other’s arms. Her kids are eight years older, and they’re still so caring and loving. She’s still so beautiful. Their situation is complex, but I can see the ways the UNHCR makes a difference in the lives of people like them.

Helena Christensen walking with some of the women in the Quibdó region.UNHCR/Hector Perez

Colombia. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Helena Christensen photograph the women in the community.

What can people do to get a better understanding of the refugee crisis? How can we help?

For more information, visitunrefugees.org

source: people.com