Hundreds of immigrants from around the world, now living in Syracuse, came out to Schiller Park on the city's north side last Saturday to celebrate World Refugee Day.
Drummers from the African country of Burundi kicked off some of the cultural performances at World Refugee Day. The morning started with a soccer and volleyball tournament.
A group of young girls take a break from watching. They're wearing brightly colored head scarves of pink, blue and purple. Dahabo Layli used to live in Somalia.
“I remember, once my dad, it was at night, he heard a lion roaring and there was cows at our backyard and one of the cows almost got killed,” Layli said.
She's having a good time now.
“It was fun, we got to have free things around here and there's dancing and all that so I got to watch it,” Layli said.
She's holding one of those small American stick flags; lots of kids are carrying them around. Jasenko Mondom, who is from Bosnia and also known as “Flag Man,” has been giving them away for years at World Refugee Day. He received a special plaque from Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner.
“To receive reward for something that I do because I like, it's really speechless," Mondom said.
Mayor Miner officially declared June 20th, World Refugee Day in Syracuse.
“Most of you have been through things that those of us who were born in this country could never even dream of," Miner said. "But what we dream of in this country is freedom and justice and the ability to live your life and worship your faith as you see fit.”
