Amanda Sperber is a foreign correspondent based in East Africa.   https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/contributor/amanda-sperber-ashley-hamer/rss en Entrepreneurship Mon, 30 Oct 2017 11:42:14 +0000 Amanda Sperber https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2017/10/30/child-bride-to-beauty-icon-mogadishus-makeup-trailblazer https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2017/10/30/child-bride-to-beauty-icon-mogadishus-makeup-trailblazer Forced to marry at the age of 13, Maryam Ahmed Ali managed to leave her husband and become one of Mogadishu’s most sought-after makeup artists, gaining online fame and pushing the boundaries of women’s visibility in Somalia. Crises & Conflicts Thu, 19 Oct 2017 13:59:24 +0000 Amanda Sperber https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2017/10/19/little-mogadishu-mourns-a-massacre https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2017/10/19/little-mogadishu-mourns-a-massacre Somalis around the world have been devastated by the suicide attack in the capital, Mogadishu, that killed more than 300 people and wounded hundreds more. In Kenya’s Eastleigh, known as ‘Little Mogadishu,’ Somalis are organizing blood drives and comforting the wounded. Gender-Based Violence Politics and Policy Thu, 27 Apr 2017 07:14:54 +0000 Amanda Sperber https://www.newsdeeply.com/womenandgirls/articles/2017/04/27/in-somalia-new-law-could-finally-give-rape-survivors-a-voice https://www.newsdeeply.com/womenandgirls/articles/2017/04/27/in-somalia-new-law-could-finally-give-rape-survivors-a-voice In a country where rape is underreported and rarely prosecuted, lawyers are transforming the way they interview survivors and collect evidence, in the hope of reforming a justice system that often fails those it is supposed to protect. Crises & Conflicts Mon, 15 Aug 2016 05:00:05 +0000 Amanda Sperber https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/08/15/yemeni-refugees-caught-up-in-somalilands-struggle-for-nationhood https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/08/15/yemeni-refugees-caught-up-in-somalilands-struggle-for-nationhood The second part of our report on Yemeni refugees in Somaliland looks at how they have become part of the breakaway region’s struggle for international recognition, leaving them in awkward limbo. Crises & Conflicts Mon, 18 Jul 2016 10:51:22 +0000 Amanda Sperber https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/07/18/stranded-in-somaliland-part-1 https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/07/18/stranded-in-somaliland-part-1 Yemenis fleeing conflict are taking overcrowded livestock boats across the Gulf of Aden to Somaliland – an unrecognized country. Such is the magnitude of violence in one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Middle East. Crises & Conflicts Fri, 03 Jun 2016 13:05:30 +0000 Amanda Sperber https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/06/03/strife-follows-blue-nile-refugees-across-border https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/06/03/strife-follows-blue-nile-refugees-across-border In part two of our story, the Blue Nile’s refugees, who vastly outnumber the host community in Maban, find themselves in a precarious situation, with meager sources of sustenance for both the refugees and hosts and a highly militarized environment. Crises & Conflicts Thu, 02 Jun 2016 12:45:20 +0000 Amanda Sperber https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/06/02/refugees-from-blue-nile-are-reluctant-guests-in-maban https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/06/02/refugees-from-blue-nile-are-reluctant-guests-in-maban Following the influx of refugees from Sudan’s Blue Nile into Maban, South Sudan, the new arrivals and their host communities are struggling to live together amid strained political relations and an extreme dearth of resources.