“Supporting Refugees, Migrants, and Other People in Need of Protection: A Summer (Winter!) Applied Field Experience at UNHCR Brazil”
By Ayesha Talreja (UNC M.A. in Global Studies ’27)
Summer 2026 AFE Blog Post Series
Vai Brasil!
There is a common story often told, especially within Western contexts (and beyond) that refugees, migrants, and other people needing protection almost inevitably have to do something special in their new contexts. This might involve starting a small business, re-skilling in the latest technologies, or being acknowledged as exceptional by society, so that they can be dubbed ‘inspiring’ or ‘resilient’.
Growing up in Canada, this is often a strong part of the narrative around refugee resettlement and support. However, what about the ones that do not get to be dubbed with these adjectives? The work of UNHCR sheds light on the importance of working with and supporting refugees beyond the hype and fanfare. One does not have to be exceptional, unique, or resilient – being ordinary or a regular person living everyday life is just as inspiring.
I have always believed that I have learned the most from immersive experiences – like teaching 60 first-generation learners in an under-resourced public school in Mumbai. So, I was extremely excited when the opportunity came to spend my applied field experience in Sao Paulo, Brazil with UNHCR during the summer months. I got here in early June, and so far during my internship with UNHCR Brazil, (known in Portuguese as ACNUR), I have been able to witness the incredible care and compassion of my colleagues, develop long-lasting connections with refugees from around the world, play a small part in supporting various initiatives, and learn more about the political and practical dynamics surrounding the experiences of refugees, migrants, and refugee-led organizations. These experiences have provided me a more grounded and nuanced understanding of some of the tangible challenges and successes that are involved in supporting vulnerable populations, especially when working with a United Nations institution that has long standing experience and advanced skills in working with refugees. I am very thankful to Rotary, the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center, the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, and ACNUR for the opportunity.
Breathtaking view from Sugar Loaf Mountain
Being part of the Field Office of Sao Paulo’s Protections and Solutions team, I have been able to accompany its passionate and adept staff on multiple field visits and events. The office here supports migrants and refugees in many ways, including through organizing Portuguese classes, running an entrepreneurship course for women, offering leadership courses for refugees to effectively lead their own community-based organization, conducting participatory assessments, hosting food preparation and cooking classes, and taking part in entrepreneurship fairs, all while coordinating with various levels and branches of governments, and nonprofits. The protection team also works with colleges and universities to support refugees and migrants with documentation as well as access to education and housing support from the Brazilian government. I have been able to understand more about the complex inter-agency approach to refugee resettlement and support in practice in Sao Paulo and Brazil as a whole, while also learning a lot about the challenges that refugees face on a daily basis, despite being in a country where conditions tend to be seen as favourable on the overall global scale. It has also been fascinating to understand the changing governmental and civil society response to refugee and asylum seeker arrivals, and to see in real time how events happening in seemingly distant parts of the world impact the lives of refugees so far away from their ‘home’ countries. After reflecting and reckoning with and trying to unlearn the things that I was taught about settler colonialism in North America, I found it interesting to see how ACNUR is helping secure refugee rights for Indigenous people from Venezuela. Please see here for more information.
Artwork by Indigenous artist from Peru, Santiago Yahuarcani, that invites “viewers to immerse themselves in Uitoto knowledge, myths, and traumas”
My personal highlight has been the opportunities when I have been able to interact with and learn from members of the refugee community. I met Warda and her two sons from Morocco, whose youngest son has been facing health challenges. I met Alfredo from Bolivia, who participated in the Pride Parade in Sao Paulo. I heard the stories of Rabia and Naima, displaced Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, who were denied access to Peru and deported back to Brazil, while on their way to different countries to reunite with their loved ones, and have been trying to find potential solutions to see their families again. I met Rohana, an Afghani who is a cultural mediator for a nonprofit organization and who is helping to organize a rally for solidarity with Afghani women, and Ahad, an 8-year-old who came from Afghanistan with his family and speaks Portuguese as well as his Brazilian-born peers. Aliya and her sisters and mother, also from Afghanistan, create beautiful purses that they sell at a diversity fair in Sao Paulo, and it was amazing to witness the support that the overall community gave them. While attending a book launch, I met Mohammad and his family who fled to Brazil from Gaza, who were selling Palestinian sweets. Later, I connected them to my colleagues who were able to help them receive an entrepreneurship grant to grow their business and connect with other refugee entrepreneurs.
Sao Mateus, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, home to many migrants and refugees
Beyond that, I have been able to be part of some cultural traditions such as Festa Junina, a wintertime fair, and take part with ACNUR in Sao Paulo’s Pride Parade, one of the biggest in the world! Coming from a country where football fever doesn’t quite take over like it does here, watching Brazil’s opening match against Morocco on the beach in Rio de Janeiro is not an experience I will soon forget! I have found Brazilian people to be very kind, open-hearted, and excited to welcome you to their country. When I arrived in Sao Paulo on probably one of the rainiest days of the year, I was greeted at the airport by RPF alumni Gabriel and his partner, who made sure I had everything I needed before I started my internship. Being an English speaker in a megalopolis in a largely non-English speaking country has definitely given me newfound appreciation for everyone living and working in a place not speaking their first language!
UNHCR attends Sao Paulo Pride, one of the biggest in the world!
Through my whole journey in Brazil with ACNUR, I have become more and more convinced that the role of migrants and refugees is not to carry the externally put burden of being extraordinary or special, but just to learn and be regular, ordinary members of society, participating in everyday activities that enhance their own lives, and the new communities they find themselves in. I make this observation to remark that refugee life is not, and cannot merely about survival, but is about everyday dignity, well-being and about civic engagement and participation.
Most of all, this experience has reinvigorated my interest in working with refugees, migrants, people seeking asylum and support, especially with children, and I am excited to take these learnings back to the classroom. I am grateful that, due to the powers of modern technology, I will be able to keep in touch with many of the people I have met, like Aliya, Rabia and Naima, and Warda and her sons. It might sound cheesy, but I do really cherish each and every connection I have made here, and I look forward to staying in touch, cheering them on from afar, and supporting them however I can.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.