Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Refugees Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on April 1, 2019, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on refugees and migration. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Exploring the conflicts and political crises that cause refugees to flee and impact their treatment in host countries.
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Lebanese analyst Kareem Chehayeb examines what the election of a new president after two and a half years of political stalemate will mean for the million Syrian refugees in the country.
Haitians are stranded at the U.S.-Mexico border with little access to aid. In a two-part dispatch from the U.S. border, Sally Kantar reports how shifting policies toward Haitians has contributed to a growing crisis.
A recent case has shed light on the number of young women being trafficked from Zimbabwe to Kuwait. One woman tells of how, desperate for work, she ended up being sold to a family and trapped in a cycle of exploitation and abuse.
The “Afghan Girl” of National Geographic fame was arrested last week for obtaining a fake Pakistani ID and will shortly be deported. Her case illustrates the plight of hundreds of thousands of Afghans caught up in a Pakistani crackdown.
Uganda is celebrated around the world for providing refugees with the land and resources to become self-sufficient. But war in South Sudan is putting pressure on that model, leaving the most vulnerable struggling to survive, reports Carolyn Thompson from Uganda.
As an E.U.–Turkey agreement on refugees nears collapse, Preethi Nallu and Iason Athanasiadis report from the Greek island of Lesbos on how the deal never fully stopped the deadly voyages and has left survivors of such tragedies in agonizing limbo.
As the dismantling of the “Jungle” camp for refugees in Calais continues this week, volunteers tell Marie Godin from the International Migration Institute that the camp’s most vulnerable residents – many of them women and children – face an uncertain future.
Nassim Majidi Founder and Codirector, Samuel Hall
In the fourth part of “Afghans on the Migration Trail,” researcher Nassim Majidi explains that many Afghans have the same expectations of solidarity from Europe that Europe has of Afghanistan. But many have been disappointed by their reception on the continent.
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.
Bruna Kadletz Works with Displaced Communities
As part of our “Displaced and Disposable” series, social researcher Bruna Kadletz reports on the latest displacement in Haiti due to Hurricane Matthew. As Haitians continue to pick up the pieces of their lives, some are heading toward the U.S. in search of stability.
Nassim Majidi Founder and Codirector, Samuel Hall
In the third part of “Afghans on the Migration Trail,” migration specialist Nassim Majidi explores how the desire for education motivates young Afghans to leave the country – and argues that allowing them to study once they reach Europe is crucial for integration.
Fleeing Sierra Leone for Europe, Fatima and her family endured a dangerous journey across six countries, the Sahara Desert and conflict-ridden Libya. And that was all before they joined the thousands who continue to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean.
With their husbands fighting in the civil war or struggling to find work, the South Sudanese women staying in Uganda’s refugee camps often find themselves responsible for supporting their families on their own.
The military efforts under way in Mosul are dwarfing the humanitarian response. Campbell MacDiarmid reports from near the front line, where aid agencies are rushing to build camps for fleeing civilians, while displaced Iraqis explain how difficult it is to escape.
Hunger and insecurity stalks the displacement camps of Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, where people who fled Boko Haram face the risk of famine. Shaista Aziz meets displaced women concerned about destitution and abuse, and the female activists trying to help them.
Nassim Majidi Founder and Codirector, Samuel Hall
A major international conference on Afghanistan last week addressed the economic reasons Afghans flee to Europe. In the second part of “Afghans on the Migration Trail,” migration specialist Nassim Majidi tackles the corruption pushing Afghan professionals to leave.
Nujeen Mustafa didn’t realize fleeing from Syria to Europe in a wheelchair would be considered extraordinary. Now in Germany, she has written a book about her journey. Speaking to Refugees Deeply, she says she hopes the attention will demonstrate that refugees are more than numbers.
Millions of Colombians forced from their homes by civil war find their immediate hopes of return dashed by the referendum result. With a lengthy new round of negotiations now expected, compensation, clearance of landmines and settlement of land rights remain on hold.
Nujeen Mustafa, a Syrian teenager born with cerebral palsy, fled to Europe last year in a wheelchair. In an excerpt from “Nujeen,” a new book telling her story, she describes crossing the Aegean Sea on the same day that 3-year-old Alan Kurdi died.
Somali refugees who lived for decades in Kenya’s Dadaab camp are returning to Somalia via a repatriation program, only to find a fragile peace and shortage of supplies. New arrivals in Kismayo tell Ashley Hamer they feel let down and afraid.
Nassim Majidi Founder and Codirector, Samuel Hall
In the first part of our op-ed series “Afghans on the Migration Trail,” which coincides with the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, migration specialist Nassim Majidi discusses her research, illustrating the diverse tapestry of Afghans seeking asylum.
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.
Austin Schiano Partnerships Manager, Give Me 5 Campaign
With “nation-building” and “development” the buzzwords at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, Austin Schiano calls for more coordinated efforts from the U.S. to aid internally displaced Afghans and inject resources into rebuilding their local economies.
Meet the real people smugglers and get an insight into their operations in this excerpt from “Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Saviour,” a groundbreaking new book by Tuesday Reitano and Peter Tinti.
Important lessons in building peace and defending communities were learned in Nigeria’s Yola, but they were dangerously ignored by the international agencies responding to displacement in Nigeria.
The former British ambassador to Lebanon and current director of the Global Business Coalition for Education discusses how to make sure the pledges made at the New York summits actually reach refugees, in the final part of our “Voices from the Summit” series.
Shaun Butta Specialist, International Humanitarian Law
While Aung San Suu Kyi’s address at the U.N. was hailed as a milestone in Myanmar’s political transition, refugee law specialist Shaun Butta says Suu Kyi’s position on refugees deserves more international scrutiny.
Wesam Sabaaneh Director, Jafra Foundation
In host countries, Palestinian Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict are deprived of any legal protection. The international community must prioritize legal rights for the most vulnerable communities, writes the director of the Jafra Foundation, Wesam Sabaaneh.
A Group Of Syrian Intellectuals
As President Obama convened the Leaders’ Summit in New York, a number of Syrian intellectuals issued a statement condemning the U.S.-Russia cease-fire agreement, calling it “the last straw” and criticizing the two countries for intervening in Syrian affairs.
Ben Rawlence Author, City of Thorns
With the U.N. summit on refugees and migrants about to convene, Ben Rawlence, author of “City of Thorns,” who has spent five years visiting Dadaab, writes from the camp, explaining that the mass returns of refugees to Somalia are far from “voluntary” in reality.
The first in our series “Returnees” finds that peace has come too late for many among the nearly 7 million Colombians displaced by fighting from the fields into the city slums.
Frustrations among Oromo refugees from Ethiopia stranded in Egypt over long waits for their claims to be processed by the U.N. refugee agency and the high rate of rejection have recently mounted to horrifying extremes.
After the so-called Islamic State killed his son, Khalaf and his family fled their home in Raqqa, Syria for Europe. This is the story of their journey, which has yet to end, as the closing of borders has continued to tear them apart.
The expected flood of Syrians to Egypt after the E.U.-Turkey deal never materialized. But Egyptian and African flows are rising, and the long-term detention of migrants demands urgent attention.
Irakowze Fashion Stylist, Uganda
In this open letter, a Ugandan man who has been assaulted for being gay pleads to be resettled to a safe country. As in many African countries, homosexuality has been legislated against in Uganda; in 2009, one politician even attempted to introduce the death penalty.
Migrant and tech experts in South Africa have set up a crowdsourcing platform for people to report xenophobic threats and violence, hoping to save lives and hold leaders to account.
Since the Syrian refugee crisis, Afghan asylum seekers in Europe have had to work harder to prove their lives are in danger. But for many of the more than 55,000 who applied for asylum in Germany in the past five years, deportation means a death sentence.
With attacks against hospitals still intensifying, Syria’s health system is barely functioning. Shelly Kittleson joins the families forced in desperation to seek medical treatment outside the country.
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.
Despite Kurdish forces retaking Sinjar and its neighboring towns in northern Iraq last November, few of the region’s historic residents are returning. Most fear a looming reprisal by the ISIS militants that captured the city two years ago.
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