A story of survival: From teenage refugee to union leader

PSI promotes inclusion and non-discrimination and works with communities in receiving migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, fighting racism, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance. PSI’s presence will be a strong voice for migrants’ and refugees’ human rights.

AFL-CIO Executive Vice-President, Tefere Gebre, will speak on behalf of the global trade union movement at the Summit. The video below is about his life, and how he narrowly escaped death as a young man in Ethiopia. It's a story of survival and the American Dream realized in the most dramatic way and of a person who has dedicated his life to helping others.

• Read more about Tefere's journey from teenage refugee to union leader here: "I walked 93 days with no food through the Sudanese Desert to find refuge in America. Don’t tell me I’m not American".
• Also see the Guardian article: Meet the refugee campaigning against Trump: 'This is what America looks like'

In the lead up to the summit, Public Services International urges its affiliates, to:

• Speak to their governments to find out their country’s position and preparation towards the UN High Level Summit. Find out how they plan to engage participation from trade unions and civil society. In engaging your governments, we encourage you to bring up PSI's key messages.
• Support UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s call for a “Global Compact for Shared Responsibility for Refugees”, which means committing every country to take its fair share in the responsibility to protect refugees.

More information on PSI's participation in the High Level Summit on Large Flows of Migrants and Refugees:

• Informal Interactive Multi-stakeholder Hearing (preparatory process for UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants)
• Refugees are not commercial goods: Let’s work together for peace and inclusive societies
• We all have the responsibility to protect refugees, respect human rights and uphold our humanity
• PSI's work on Migration & Refugees

More information on the summit: https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/summit - #UN4RefugeesMigrants