Refugees On Stamps

After the Geneva Accords in 1954, many Viet-Namese fled the communist north to find refuge in the south. Those who escaped on rafts and small boats are the original "Boat People". The set of 6 was issued in 1955, well ahead of the WRY and has a distinctly French style. (Hi, Nethryk, the Indonesian stamps are beautiful in their simplicity; perhaps you know who did the artwork on the Viet-Namese ones? K.)

Finland has a long history of issuing beautiful semi-postals for the Red Cross. Mother and Child were shown fleeing a bombed-out city in 1941 and again in 1945. (Does anyone know who did the painting? K.)

Two stamps from Ireland marking the 1960 Year of the Refugee

Laos overprinted stamps for the World Refugee Year and used the artwork of an earlier stamp for the Red Cross (the children might be refugees in need of Red Cross help?) to decorate the FDC. Note the large red uprooted tree.


(Hi KGB, Your refugees of long ago fit very well, I was kind of saving them for the right time of year. K)

Sorry to have spoiled the timing!

Sudan issued a stamp for the World Refugee Year in 1960, Mother and Child superimposed on the uprooted tree. Photograph of the situation in a refugee camp for Sudanese today.



(KGB, You didn't spoil anything - I'm sure many more will turn up in time. K.)

For the Year of the Refugee

First day souvenir card number 217 of 500 issued by the Austrian post office for their stamp and cancellation for the World Refugee Year. "The 7th of April 1960 marks a special day in the history of post offices the world over because on this day approximately 70 separate countries issued stamps for the World Refugee Year 1959-1960." Artwork: Adalbert Pilch and Rudolf Toth.



In 1945 more than 1.5 million refugees had reached Austria, seeking asylum. At that time Austria's own population numbered appr. 6 million. Only a decade later, in 1956, 168,340 refugees from the Hungarian revolution came across the borders.

The Kingdom of Jordan issued this stamp for the 50th anniversary of the the establishment of the UNHCR. (It may be the Queen on the left visiting a refugee camp.) Today's camp for Syrian refugees is one of Jordan's major 'cities'. The resources of the UNHCR are over-stretched.

Ethiopia issued an over-print for the World Refugee Year, 1960. Today, the Melkadida refugee camp, about 45 miles from Dollo Ado in southeastern Ethiopia, is home to more than 40,000 refugees from Somalia. (Photo: Christian Fuchs — Jesuit Refugee Service/USA)

Cyprus issued this 1c refugee fund surcharge stamp - with only small changes, here & there - every year for at least 16 years.

I did not find it in FSC, SOTW, SW ... perhaps because it was a tax/surcharge?

However, I did find it in the online-stamp-catalog-that-dare-not-speak-its-name-on-SCF.

Obligatory Refugee Fund Tax
Catalog codes: Mi:CY Z6II, Sn:CY RA7, Yt:CY 752
Issued on: 1990-09-29
Perforation: comb 11¾
Printing: Photogravure
Size: 25 x 30 mm
Colors: Black | Grey
Face value: 1 Cypriot cent
Print run: 15,000,000
Watermark: No

Sadly, this postcard escaped postmarking & cancellation.

A very successful topic launch, KR!

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Hi Ikey, glad you appreciate the topic, although it is not a happy one. Of course I know the Cyprus surcharge issue with the child. According to Michel it first appeared in 1977 and has been there ever since. 1974 is the year in which the island was split right across the middle. The stamp now costs 2€cent (note 2015 in lower right corner). It was also posted under "barbed wire".

Denmark's 1971 Joint Northern Campaign for the Benefit of Refugees.

Catalog codes: Mi:DK 509, Yt:DK 516, AFA:DK 511
Issued on: 1971-03-26
Perforation: comb 12¾
Printing: Recess
Colors: Light red brown
Face value: 60 øre
Print run: 39,600,000
Paper: Fluorescent paper
Watermark: None
Sheetsize: 50
Design: Povl Christensen
Engraving: Czeslaw Slania
Postmark: the block letters are 'Danish Red Cross', but ...
CDS: 19720903 Kobenhavn

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

This thread is obviously relevant to whats happening in Europe
right now.

The two West German stamps below were issued
to mark 10 years and 20 years for the 13 million
Germans who were expelled and/or fled from their
ancestral homes and former German territories
during and after World War II.

BRD Michel 215
Germany Scott 733



BRD Michel 479
Germany Scott 930



Now in 2015, 70 years after the end of WWII, Germany has already welcomed close to half a million refugees
primarily from the Middle East and is planning on accepting up to 800,000 by the end of the year.

The United Nations issued this pair
for the 1959/60 Refugee Year.

Scott 75 - 76