The Jesuit Refugee Service’s Katrine Camilleri will be honoured with the 2007 Nansen Refugee Award by the United Nation’s refugee agency in October, the high-profile recognition by the UNHCR of individuals or organisations that have distinguished themselves in work on behalf of refugees.
Camilleri, 37, demonstrated her dedication to helping refugees who arrive in Malta, not only in a decade of work with the JRS but in a determination to continue in the face of threats that included an arson attack on her car and home.
“The committee has chosen Dr Katrine Camilleri of Malta in recognition of her exceptional dedication to the refugee cause and her outstanding contribution through Jesuit Refugee Service in the protection and assistance to refugees,” said the official selection decision.
“The committee notes with appreciation the tireless efforts of Dr Camilleri to lobby and advocate for refugees and is impressed by the political courage she has shown in dealing with the refugee situation in Malta. By rewarding Dr Camilleri for her civic courage and for the inspiring example set by her actions, the Nansen Refugee Award Committee would like to honour all individuals who are working to improve the well-being of refugees.”
The annual award, formerly known as the Nansen Medal, includes a USD100,000 grant from Norway and Switzerland for a refugee-related project of the winner’s choice and is scheduled to be presented in October during the annual gathering in Geneva of UNHCR’s governing Executive Committee.
“Katrine Camilleri has worked courageously to protect refugees and asylum seekers,” said António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “Dr Camilleri and JRS are key partners in helping UNHCR to fulfil our goal of assisting governments to identify refugees caught in migratory movements and responding to their needs.”
Born in 1970, Camilleri came into contact with refugees when she began working in a small law firm after graduating from the University of Malta in 1994. After helping to prevent the deportation of a Libyan asylum seeker who risked persecution if returned home, her interest grew and in 1997 she started to work with the Malta office of JRS.
In 2005, JRS and Camilleri have faced a series of attacks. Nine vehicles belonging to the Jesuits were burned in two separate attacks. And in April 2005, arsonists set fire to both Camilleri’s car and her front door, terrifying her family trapped inside.
The incident, she said, has shattered her own children’s sense of invulnerability, but has not altered her desire to help asylum seekers risking their lives in flimsy boats to reach safety.