As the refugee crisis remains in the international spotlight, it's a good time to take note of what they're capable of.
Refugees are people who have escaped their home countries to flee war, natural disaster, or persecution. Today, there are more than 65 million refugees in the world, the most since World War II.
In spite of their struggles, refugees have made great contributions to society. Inspired by the New York Times's list of 25 great books by refugees in America, here's a list of refugees who are so accomplished that they've become international celebrities.
1. Rita Ora:
When she was one year old, singer and actress Rita Ora's family escaped ethnic persecution in Kosovo.
Ora was born to Albanian parents in Yugoslavia (now present-day Kosovo). With the disintegration of Yugoslavia, ethnic Albanians faced persecution. She relocated to London, and now she's a singer, actress, and model.
2. Mila Kunis:
Actress Mila Kunis came to Los Angeles from Ukraine on a religious refugee visa in 1991.
"After the Holocaust, in Russia you were not allowed to be religious," Kunis told The Sun. "So my parents raised me to know I was Jewish. You know who you are inside."
3. Rapper M.I.A.:
When she was nine years old, rapper M.I.A.'s primary school was destroyed in a government raid.
Though she was born in London, her family moved to Sri Lanka when she was less than a year old. Her father campaigned for an independent state for ethnic Tamils, and a civil war over the issue forced her family to flee. They settled in India, briefly, before moving to London.
4. Madeleine Albright:
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright left Czechoslovakia before the Holocaust.
The disintegration of the state by Adolf Hitler led her family to flee, moving to England. After World War II, Albright's family returned to the reestablished Czechoslovakia until the Communist government took over. Then, she moved to New York and has called the United States her home since.
In 1997, she became the first female Secretary of State and the highest ranking woman in the history of the United States. In her memoir "Madame Secretary," she wrote about how she found out she was born Jewish only later in her life, and that her family escaped ethnic cleansing as well as political persecution.
5. Gloria Estefan:
Singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan was born in Havana, Cuba, at the height of the Cold War.
Her family fled to Florida after the Cuban Revolution, where her father joined the American army and participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Estefan herself gained citizenship in 1974, joined the legendary band Miami Sound Machine, and now has seven Grammys for her four-decade music career.
Media personality Dr. Ruth Westheimer was sent to Switzerland while her mother and grandmother were murdered in the Holocaust.
After World War II, Dr. Ruth immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and fought in the war for Israeli independence. She later moved to France and the United States, where she's become known for her psychology scholarship and activism in humanitarianism and in franker discussions about sex.
6. Iman
Supermodel Iman's parents fought for Somali independence.
The world's first black supermodel went to boarding school in Egypt, but when a coup in Somalia upended the government, her family had to flee indefinitely. They resettled in Kenya at first, before traveling to other places around the world.
After retiring from modeling in the 1990s, Iman made a name for herself with her philanthropic work and by pioneering a line of cosmetics for a diverse range of skin tones.
TWEET YOUR COMMENT