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Must-Read Stories on Refugees From 2017
We collected the best stories on refugees from 2017, as selected by refugee and migration experts and the readers and editors of Refugees Deeply.
Tag
Refugees
- Economy
- Integration
- Op-Eds
The Many Selves in Self-Reliance: Why Words and Definitions Matter
Evan Easton-Calabria
Researcher at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Yamini Mookherjee
Research Associate at the Foundation for Rural Recovery and Development, New Delhi
Evan Easton-Calabria Researcher at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Yamini Mookherjee Research Associate at the Foundation for Rural Recovery and Development, New Delhi
The global focus on building refugees’ self-reliance often fails to understand how refugees define the concept, say researchers Evan Easton-Calabria and Yamini Mookherjee. They explain why some refugees see self-reliance as more complicated than individual and economic.
- Solutions
- Articles
- General
Handmade Dolls Tell Stories of Struggle and Hope from War-Torn Syria
Created by two Syrian sisters in Lebanon, the dolls in the Ana Collection are decorated with images representing the fears and dreams of people living through the conflict raging in Syria.
- Education
- Articles
- General
The Refugee Teacher Helping Syrian Street Kids in Turkey
When Yasmin Al Dabaan fled the war in Syria and settled in Turkey, she noticed many Syrian children living on the streets. Using her teaching skills and her salary, she set up the Active Child Center and now provides children with informal lessons every afternoon.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
This Age of Migration: Europe’s Rising Militarization
Paul Currion
Consultant
Paul Currion Consultant
As part of our series “This Age of Migration,” Paul Currion argues that increasing militarization in Europe in response to the refugee crisis is akin to an autoimmune response that could attack the very body it is supposed to protect.
- Refugee Voices
- Op-Eds
A Different Olympic Story
Francesca Pierigh
Media and Communications Assistant, European Council on Refugees and Exiles
Francesca Pierigh Media and Communications Assistant, European Council on Refugees and Exiles
Several thousand migrants and refugees are living in disused Olympic facilities in Athens. Representatives from ECRE and AIRE Centre visited in June and found strangely arbitrary differences in how parts of the camp are treated.
- Health
- Op-Eds
Congolese Refugees in Rwanda Battle Hunger
Emily A. Lynch
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University
Emily A. Lynch Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University
Congolese refugees in Rwanda’s Gihembe camp have complained for years that U.N. food rations are making them sick. Emily Lynch, an anthropologist at Marquette University, describes how the refugees cope with hunger and sickness in the first of a two-part story.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
‘Defining the Problem’ Will Impact Summit Success in New York: HRW
Bill Frelick
Director, Refugee Rights Program at Human Rights Watch
Bill Frelick Director, Refugee Rights Program at Human Rights Watch
In the first part of our series “The Road to UNGA,” Bill Frelick, director of HRW’s Refugee Rights Program, calls for protection of migrants “who do not qualify for international protection as refugees” in the lead-up to the U.N. Summit on Refugees and Migrants.
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Refugee Stories Told Through a Student Lens
The global displacement crisis demands more in-depth storytelling, says veteran journalist and teacher Stephan Garnett. He tells Refugees Deeply about a unique student project, the Flight For Life.
- Health
- Articles
- General
Pregnant Inside Tempelhof, Germany’s Largest Refugee Camp
Bushra escaped from Iraq, but she and her family remain stuck in a makeshift shelter at Berlin’s former Tempelhof airport. Now the mother of five is expecting again and fears she’ll have to raise her newborn in the shelter’s dire conditions.
- Education
- Integration
- Articles
- General
Germany Seeks to Integrate Refugees Through Education
While Germany has made significant progress in providing education for refugee children regardless of their official status, more trained teachers, schools and housing facilities are needed.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
Yemeni Refugees Caught Up in Somaliland’s 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.
- Education
- Q&A
Teachers Have Moral Duty to Help Refugee Children
High-profile former British headteacher Rory Fox swapped British academies for muddy refugee camps in France to teach the children. He discusses how shocked he was at how little was being done to help them.
- Economy
- Innovation & Technology
- Op-Eds
Microfinance: Startup Seed Funding for Refugees
Evan Easton-Calabria and Naohiko Omata
Researcher, Refugee Studies Centre in Oxford
Evan Easton-Calabria and Naohiko Omata Researcher, Refugee Studies Centre in Oxford
Urban refugees often fall between the cracks of aid organizations, but are ideal candidates for microfinance. But their circumstances need to be carefully vetted, say Evan Easton-Calabria and Naohiko Omata, authors of a global survey on microcredit.
- Op-Eds
Can Old Traditions of Hospitality Counter Modern Disposability?
Bruna Kadletz
Works with Displaced Communities
Bruna Kadletz Works with Displaced Communities
In the second part of our Displaced and Disposable series, social researcher Bruna Kadletz encounters astonishing examples of altruism towards some of the thousands of refugees on Lesvos, Greece, showing that ‘the other’ doesn’t have to be met with hostility.
- Education
- Op-Eds
When Refugees Work, Children More Likely to Attend School: HRW
Stephanie Gee
Robert L. Bernstein Refugee Rights Fellow, Human Rights Watch
Stephanie Gee Robert L. Bernstein Refugee Rights Fellow, Human Rights Watch
With 1.5 million school-age children missing school despite host countries’ best efforts, Stephanie Gee, refugee rights fellow at Human Rights Watch, explores how kids’ access to education depends on their parents’ right to work.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Long Read: Minor Miracle or Historic Failure Ahead for U.N. Summit?
Jeff Crisp
Formerly Head of Policy Development and Evaluation, UNHCR
Jeff Crisp Formerly Head of Policy Development and Evaluation, UNHCR
In the lead-up to September’s U.N. summit on refugees and migrants, Jeff Crisp, associate fellow at Chatham House, warns that growing isolationism will prevent a successful initiative and further weaken refugee protection.
- Innovation & Technology
- Integration
- Op-Eds
An Algorithm to Alleviate the Refugee Crisis
Will Jones and Alex Teytelboym
Lecturer, the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford
Will Jones and Alex Teytelboym Lecturer, the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford
Matching theory can drastically improve refugee resettlement, argue Will Jones and Alex Teytelboym, who have adapted algorithms used for school choice.
- Education
- Op-Eds
‘To the Children of Syria, We Are Sorry’
Tom Fletcher
Global Strategy Director, Global Business Coalition for Education
Tom Fletcher Global Strategy Director, Global Business Coalition for Education
In an exclusive open letter addressed to the children of Syria, the former U.K. ambassador to Lebanon, and advisor to NGO Theirworld, Tom Fletcher, points to failures of the international community in keeping its promises to fund the education of Syrian refugees.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Australia’s ‘Atrocity’: The Mandatory Detention of Minors Continues
Kia Mistilis
Freelance Journalist
Kia Mistilis Freelance Journalist
The far-right One Nation party’s re-entry to the Australian parliament after 20 years is likely to entrench already harsh asylum policies that enjoy bipartisan support. These include the mandatory detention of children, writes Greek-Australian journalist Kia Mistilis.
- Refugee Voices
- Op-Eds
The Youngsters Turning the Crisis in Lebanon Into Living Theater
Eyad Houssami
Founder and Director, Masrah Ensemble in Lebanon
Eyad Houssami Founder and Director, Masrah Ensemble in Lebanon
Theater director Eyad Houssami works with an ensemble of teenage refugees in Lebanon using theater to help them build a vision of a better life. But their efforts have been partly overshadowed by the mounting loss of life among young refugees in Lebanon.
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Interactive: A Caravan of Stories
Following our recent conversation with Sabine Choucair, founder of The Caravan mobile theater project, we offer an interactive presentation featuring narratives in the voices of Syrian men, women and children refugees living in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Amnesty: ‘Time for Change’ on Refugees
Salil Shetty
Secretary-general, Amnesty International
Salil Shetty Secretary-general, Amnesty International
On the 65th anniversary of the United Nations refugee convention, Amnesty International’s Salil Shetty warns against further delays in meeting the needs of the 65 million displaced – and calls for a global deal ahead of the U.N. refugee summit in September.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Displaced, Dispossessed and Disposable
Bruna Kadletz
Works with Displaced Communities
Bruna Kadletz Works with Displaced Communities
In this first part of a commentary series titled “Displaced and Disposable,” humanitarian worker Bruna Kadletz argues that current laws and social attitudes disenfranchise refugee populations to the point of dehumanizing them as expendable commodities.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Integration
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
No Way Out for Refugee Kids Selling Themselves in Athens
In this second part of our investigation into prostitution among child refugees in Athens, we see how lack of shelter and the rising price of people-smuggling are leaving them prey to the drug trade.
- Economy
- Op-Eds
‘Giving More’ Through Direct Cash Aid
Daniel Masterson
PhD Candidate in Political Science, Yale University
Daniel Masterson PhD Candidate in Political Science, Yale University
In the second part of our series with the Issam Fares Institute on sustainable futures for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, researcher Daniel Masterson argues that cash aid frees refugees from dependence and enables them to become active contributors to local economies.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
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.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Oxfam: Richest Nations Ducking Duty to Refugees
Attila Kulcsar
Humanitarian Media Officer, Oxfam International
Attila Kulcsar Humanitarian Media Officer, Oxfam International
As civil society organizations gather at the U.N. today to prepare for September’s summit on refugees and migrants, Oxfam launches the ‘Stand as One’ campaign, urging world leaders to guarantee displaced people safety, protection and sustainable futures.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
We Must Fight Proposed E.U. Resettlement Program
Malin Björk
Member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Left Party
Malin Björk Member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Left Party
The long-awaited proposal from the European Commission for refugee resettlement is a “poisonous gift” and must be opposed, says Malin Björk, a special rapporteur to the European Parliament.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Integration
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
Refugees Caught Up in Child Prostitution in Athens
The first of a two-part investigation into prostitution among child refugees in Athens. With 57,000 refugees stranded in Greece, we look at what some of the most vulnerable among them are doing to survive.
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
‘Europeans Fear Terrorism Threats Due to Refugees’
A Pew Research Center study found that, in eight out of 10 European countries surveyed, the majority believed refugees increase the likelihood of terrorism, with resistance to cultural diversity adding to their fears.
- Laws & Policy
- Q&A
Gyorgy Kakuk: ‘In the Footsteps of Refugees’
Journalist-turned-politician Gyorgy Kakuk has become an important voice on migration in Hungarian politics. Having followed refugee routes through the Balkans and worked with U.N. Missions in Kosovo and East Timor, he calls for imagination and pragmatism from Europe.
- Integration
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
Afghan Refugees Feel a Sudden Chill in Sweden
Sweden has a reputation for championing refugee protection. But recent changes to its asylum policies – especially the repatriation of Afghans to an increasingly chaotic homeland – are undermining its good name.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
Sahrawi Refugees Await a State and a Home
Marking the start of Eid-Al-Fitr celebrations that will continue into the weekend, young and old residents of the Sahrawi refugee settlement in Algeria draw parallels between breaking their month-long fast and their quest for self-determination.
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
Brexit: What It Means for Refugees and Migrants
In the first in our series on the aftermath of Brexit, we discuss whether another conversation about immigration is still possible in Europe and beyond.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
The Refugee Camp That Lives on in Limbo
The U.N. deadline to close the controversial Yida refugee camp near the border between the Sudans has passed – but its 70,000 residents are refusing to leave.
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Photo Essay: Breaking Fast in Attica
In the hot Greek summer, members of Athens’ newest refugee communities have been fasting for Ramadan while acclimating to a new cultural landscape. Writer and photographer Iason Athanasiadis visited these communities as part of his Reviving Cities series.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Analysis: Lebanon Forces Illegal Status on Refugees
Dr. Maja Janmyr
Affiliated Scholar, Issam Fares Institute
Dr. Maja Janmyr Affiliated Scholar, Issam Fares Institute
In the first part of our series with the Issam Fares Institute on sustainable futures for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Dr. Maja Janmyr discusses the precarious legal situation of more than a million people in the country, which intends to make sure they don’t stay.
- Innovation & Technology
- Articles
- General
A Future in Code: Building Life Skills in Syria
Motivated by a desire to rebuild Syria’s devastated economy, enterprising young women in the war-torn country are turning to tech to help others of their generation find employment – and better futures.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Ban Ki-moon: Global Compact for Refugees
Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General, United Nations
Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General, United Nations
Following a Brussels meeting with European leaders, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon appeals for a new global compact on responsibility-sharing and safe, orderly and regular migration for refugees.