UNHCR Representation in Cyprus has announced the production of three short TV spots about refugees living in the country, in which they explain how they were forced to flee their homes due to war, persecution or human rights abuses.

According to a press release issued by the UNHCR Representation, the three stories selected for the TV spots “may show the positive sides of the refugees’ experience in Cyprus and highlight the island’s importance as a place of refuge in this currently troubled region”.

“However, while the refugees are truly grateful for the protection they have found in Cyprus, all is not well and much attention will need to be given to the social, political and economic challenges of these refugee situations”, the press release reads.

UNHCR has been working closely with the Government and is currently supporting the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in its efforts to achieve a “Common European Asylum System” by the end of this year.

It stresses however that “wide public support is crucial for creating the necessary political will”. UNHCR also expresses the hope the spots “to prove helpful in engendering empathy based on better understanding of who refugees really are”.

According to UNHCR, every minute, 8 people around the world are forced to flee their homes due to war or persecution. Overall, there are more than 43 million people who have been forcibly displaced either within their countries or across borders.

In neighboring Syria, the violence has produced so far more than 130,000 refugees .