Jessie Thomson

As a 2008 Gordon Global Fellow, Jessie Thomson is examining current efforts underway to resolve protracted refugee situations. She has co-produced the short film Home Free, scheduled to be aired in Ottawa on February 22nd. It documents the story and voice of three refugee families in the context of efforts to resolve the long-standing situation of Burundian refugees in Tanzania. This film is a testament to the incredible self-sufficiency, strength, courage and determination of all refugees and highlights the importance of having a place to call home.

Protracted refugee situations:

An estimated 6 million of the world’s 11.4 million refugees are living in a protracted refugee situation, displaced for an average of 17 years. Protracted refugee situations are often characterized by limited freedom of movement, access to livelihood opportunities or hope of securing a durable solution. Warehoused in refugee camps and urban slums, these refugees are forced to wait decades for a solution to their plight.

Lepista Hamenyimana, a Burundian refugee born in Tanzania,
on her journey home, is one of three families featured in 'Home Free'

The international community has finally indicated that this cannot go on. In 2008, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, launched an initiative on protracted refugee situations with the view to bringing an end to protracted displacement.

For more information:

• Home Free will screen for the first time in Canada on February 22, 2009 at 7:00 pm at the Library and Archives in Ottawa as part of a Black History Month event: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/whats-on/index-e.html#a13
• To hear more about this film, listen to Jessie Thomson’s interview on CBC Ottawa Morning
• To read more about the High Commissioner’s Initiative on Protracted Refugee Situations, check out the following UNHCR publication: www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/4937de6f2.pdf
• Home Free was produced in partnership with the Burundi Film Center. For more information on the Burundi Film Center see: www.burundifilmcenter.org

Jessie Thomson, co-producer and Raymond Kalisa, co-founder
of the Burundi Film Center conducting interviews in Tanzania

Bio

Jessie Thomson is a committed advocate of refugees and displaced persons. She is currently a senior policy advisor in the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Response Group at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and is responsible for coordinating the Government of Canada’s foreign policy on refugees and internally displaced persons.

Prior to joining DFAIT, Jessie was a senior policy advisor and subsequently, the acting manager of the Resettlement Policy Unit in the Refugees Branch at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. She has volunteered with refugees at the grassroots level in Canada and abroad, through the World University Service of Canada’s Student Refugee Program, with the Medical Foundation for Care of Victims of Torture, and as a volunteer in Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. Jessie began her career as a legal protection intern with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in London.

Originally from Kincardine, Ontario, Jessie has a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Toronto and holds a M.Sc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics with a focus on forced migration in the developing world. She speaks English, French, and basic Swahili.

Jessie Thomson explaining the purpose of the film to refugees
in the Katumba Settlement Naturalization Centre