Umer Ali is a journalist based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He is the recipient of the 2016 Kurt Schork Memorial Award in the local reporter category. https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/contributor/%ef%bb%bf%ef%bb%bfumer-ali/rss en Crises & Conflicts Laws & Policy Tue, 04 Jul 2017 11:19:49 +0000 Umer Ali https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2017/07/04/tweeting-hatred-the-hounding-of-afghan-refugees-in-pakistan https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2017/07/04/tweeting-hatred-the-hounding-of-afghan-refugees-in-pakistan As hundreds of thousands of Afghans are coerced into returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan, journalist Umer Ali examines the online hatred that has helped poison attitudes to refugees. Crises & Conflicts Wed, 18 Jan 2017 11:40:17 +0000 Umer Ali https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2017/01/18/i-dont-want-to-go-back-to-afghanistan-to-get-butchered https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2017/01/18/i-dont-want-to-go-back-to-afghanistan-to-get-butchered In the third part of our “Return to Afghanistan” series, Umer Ali meets transgender refugees who fear that being forced to leave Pakistan amounts to a death sentence. Crises & Conflicts Wed, 26 Oct 2016 06:55:01 +0000 Umer Ali https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/10/26/police-harassment-drives-afghan-refugees-out-of-pakistan https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/10/26/police-harassment-drives-afghan-refugees-out-of-pakistan In the second part of our “Return to Afghanistan” series, Umer Ali speaks to Afghan refugees in Pakistan forced to return to their country because of intimidation and fear – challenging U.N. claims that cash payments are prompting them to volunteer for repatriation. Crises & Conflicts Tue, 04 Oct 2016 14:30:57 +0000 Umer Ali https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/10/04/afghan-refugees-forced-to-return-to-a-home-many-have-never-known https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/10/04/afghan-refugees-forced-to-return-to-a-home-many-have-never-known Umer Ali travels to the Pakistani border city of Peshawar for the first in our “Return to Afghanistan” series, finding that the forced return of thousands of Afghan refugees is breaking up marriages and dividing families.