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Alwaled, 19, Lina, 16, and Andrew, 14, discuss their work in Peacemakers, a youth program run by the International Rescue Committee, during the World Refugee Day event on June 21, 2014 in Balboa Park.
Beto Soto, The AjA Project
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Volunteers Javier Herraez-Galvan and Monica Perez-Santiago, who are members of the Red Cross AmeriCorps National Preparedness and Response Corps, provided information and assistance to World Refugee Day event attendees June 21, 2014.
Beto Soto, The AjA Project
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The Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park hosted “The Faces and Textures of World Refugee Day” booth to encourage World Refugee Day participants to take self portraits.
Beto Soto, The AjA Project
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The World Refugee Day event on June 21, 2014 included performances and activities hosted by local Karen refugees, who are ethnic minorities from Myanmar.
Binti Musa, The AjA Project
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Youth from the Karen Organization of San Diego perform the Karen Don Dance in traditional Burmese outfits. The Karen Don Dance is traditionally performed by teenagers in honor of the New Year in the Karen State of Burma, or Myanmar.
Brent Jensen, The AjA Project
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A 4-year-old Karen child takes in the World Refugee Day festivities at Balboa Park June 21, 2014.
Brent Jensen, The AjA Project
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May Aye, a member of the Karen community in San Diego, has her face painted before performing a traditional Karen dance at the annual World Refugee Day event in Balboa Park on June 21, 2014.
Famo Musa, The AjA Project
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Karen youth perform a traditional bamboo dance during the World Refugee Day festivities at Balboa Park on June 21, 2014.
Famo Musa, The AjA Project
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Karen youth came together in Balboa Park June 21, 2014 to celebrate their culture through face panting, traditional dress and dance at the annual World Refugee Day event.
Karla Flores, The AjA Project
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A member of the Karen community demonstrates weaving techniques during the World Refugee Day event on June 21, 2014. Local Karen refugees meet regularly to weave in an effort to socialize and keep the tradition alive.
Karla Flores, The AjA Project
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During the annual World Refugee Day event in Balboa Park June 21, 2014, Roxana and her daughter sell homemade shea butter cream and celebrate their indigenous African and El Salvadoran roots.
Kiran Mehta, The AjA Project
San Diego marked World Refugee Day on Saturday in Balboa Park. Organized by the San Diego Refugee Forum, the event brought together more than eight cultural groups that have resettled in San Diego, a city known as a refugee capital.
Thousands of refugees have come to San Diego in the past five years. The most recent groups to settle in San Diego are the Karen, an ethnic minority from Burma, or Myanmar, and those who fled Iraq and Iran. San Diego also has large East African and Vietnamese communities.
Featured photo's from Saturday's event were taken by young people — many of them refugees — who participate in The AjA Project, a photography nonprofit.
Here's a list of recent stories by KPBS of San Diego's refugee community:
San Diego Refugee Lobbies Congress For More Resettlement Dollars
Muslim San Diego Residents Call For Halal School Lunches
San Diego Refugees, Advocates Call For More Medical Translators
International Rescue Committee’s David Miliband On What U.S. Can Do To Help Syrian Refugees
Chaldeans In San Diego Worry About Family Members Fleeing In Iraq
