- Environment
- Articles
- General
Seas Rising Faster Than Refugee Law Can Adapt
As warming seas climb their shores, Marshall Islanders face becoming climate refugees before the international community can decide what rights, if any, that status confers.
Tag
Refugees
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Comment: World Refugee Week Roundup
We gather the highlights of our World Refugee Week coverage, including commentary advocating for long-term rights of refugees and reporting on refugee theater troupes and resettled asylum seekers.
- Economy
- Innovation & Technology
- Op-Eds
‘We are Together’ in Preventing Displacement
Jessica Hansen
Global Engagement Manager, Kiva Microfunds
Jessica Hansen Global Engagement Manager, Kiva Microfunds
Many refugees are displaced due to conflicts over land and resources. Jessica Hansen, global engagement manager at Kiva – a microfinance NGO – explains how pooling resources for members of disadvantaged groups prevents their becoming future refugees.
- Innovation & Technology
- Integration
- Articles
- General
Europe’s Mayors Band Together to Assist Refugees
With cities across Europe continuing to attract the majority of the continent’s refugees, mayors struggling with insufficient budgets are helping each other and calling for increased E.U. funds to integrate new arrivals.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
Somali Refugees Struggle in Shadow of Forced Return
Kenya’s November deadline to shut down camps and repatriate Somali refugees leaves a community living in dangerous limbo, with some contemplating escape to Europe.
- Refugee Voices
- General
Voices From the Bekaa Resonate Through Lebanon
As part of our World Refugee Week coverage, we discuss a mobile theater project called The Caravan – which features a group of Syrian men, women and children traveling through Lebanon telling their stories – with its founder, Sabine Choucair.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
The GCC ‘Must Rethink its Refugee Strategy’
Tala al-Jabri
Strategy Consultant
Tala al-Jabri Strategy Consultant
With June 20 marking World Refugee Day, Tala al-Jabri, a Syrian-Palestinian strategist in development economics, calls upon the GCC states that have not ratified the 65-year-old U.N. refugee convention to modernize their immigration policies.
- Integration
- Refugee Voices
- Op-Eds
An Intimate Look at the Global Refugee Crisis
Asha Siad and Roda Siad
Documentary Filmmakers
Asha Siad and Roda Siad Documentary Filmmakers
Somali-Canadian filmmakers Asha Siad and Roda Siad, whose short documentary “19 Days” follows several refugee families during their first few weeks in Canada, look at migrants’ experiences in a Calgary resettlement center.
- Integration
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Interactive: Resettled in the Heart of America
As part of our special coverage for World Refugee Day, we mark the importance of resettlement by gathering first-hand accounts of refugees from Iraq, Syria, Congo, South Sudan and Myanmar on an interactive world map.
- Integration
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Resettled in the Heart of America: Part 5
In this final part of our World Refugee Day special series on the experiences of men and women from around the world who resettle in America, we speak with Shadi Ismail who fled Syria because of his sexual orientation and feels that his life has finally begun in Idaho.
- Innovation & Technology
- Op-Eds
Corruption and Incapacity Hinder Rights Advocacy
Christine Mahoney
Director, Social Entrepreneurship Department of the University of Virginia
Christine Mahoney Director, Social Entrepreneurship Department of the University of Virginia
In this fourth installment of her series on refugee advocacy, University of Virginia professor Christine Mahoney draws from her observations in Nepal, Thailand and Colombia, where corruption and lack of capacity prevent effective advocacy.
- Laws & Policy
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Resettled in the Heart of America: Part 3
In this third part of our World Refugee Day special series on the experiences of men and women from around the world who resettle in America, we speak with Ahmed about his journey from Iraq to Syria – from one conflict to another – to reach the safety of Idaho.
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
Photo Essay: EKO Camp Before Evacuation
In light of the police-led evacuation of an informal camp at Polykastro in Greece on June 13, we revisit the 1,800-strong settlement made up of people who sought refuge at a gas station for several months, through the images and words of photographer Kelly Lynn Lunde.
- Laws & Policy
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Resettled in the Heart of America: Part 1
In the lead up to World Refugee Day on June 20, we are featuring the stories of five men and women from around the world who are rebuilding their lives and identities in a quintessentially American setting.
- Education
- Innovation & Technology
- Q&A
Jan Egeland: Education for Syrians ‘Non-Negotiable’
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Jan Egeland explains that without consistent education, Syrian refugee children risk becoming part of the lost generations – a phrase they have come to loathe.
- Health
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
The Quiet Crisis of Europe’s Pregnant Refugees
Around one in 10 women refugees travelling through Europe is pregnant. Better coordinated approaches from states and NGOs are urgently needed to keep women and their newborn babies safe and well.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
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
- Articles
- General
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.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Refugee Sex Trafficking a Thorny Issue for Lebanon
Human Rights Watch Staff
International Non-Governmental Organization
Human Rights Watch Staff International Non-Governmental Organization
Following our report on forced prostitution of women on the move, Human Rights Watch relays news of the arrest of a lawyer who accused Lebanese government officials of complicity in a sex trafficking ring involving Syrian refugees.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
A Troubling Tradition of Excluding Refugees
Jeff Crisp
Formerly Head of Policy Development and Evaluation, UNHCR
Jeff Crisp Formerly Head of Policy Development and Evaluation, UNHCR
Jeff Crisp at Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre traces historical reluctance to admit refugees – from the U.K.’s rejection of Tamil refugees to Australia’s “Pacific Solution” that deters migration.
- Innovation & Technology
- Op-Eds
Fresh Start on Advocacy for the Displaced
Christine Mahoney
Director, Social Entrepreneurship Department of the University of Virginia
Christine Mahoney Director, Social Entrepreneurship Department of the University of Virginia
Professor Christine Mahoney, author of “Failure and Hope: Fighting for the Rights of the Forcibly Displaced,” argues from the World Humanitarian Summit that traditional political advocacy is of limited value in improving the lives of refugees and IDPs.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Can Humanitarian Summit Create a Global Compact?
Jeff Crisp
Formerly Head of Policy Development and Evaluation, UNHCR
Jeff Crisp Formerly Head of Policy Development and Evaluation, UNHCR
Jeff Crisp of the Oxford Refugee Studies Center examines the Humanitarian Summit’s key premises – a ‘grand bargain’ to bridge the gap between need and funding, and a ‘global compact’ to revive the belief that refugees are an international responsibility.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
Lone Women ‘Easy Targets’ for Exploitation in E.U.
In the concluding part of our series on female refugees, we explore the challenges of identifying abuse and exploitation of lone women on the move – who are highly susceptible to sex trafficking and sometimes coerced into “transactional sex” to pay their way forward.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Humanitarian Summit Must Address Border Management
Solon Ardittis
Director, Eurasylum
Solon Ardittis Director, Eurasylum
Adopting a viable “strategic agenda” on managing migration flows at the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul could serve as a dry run for the U.N. meeting on refugees in September, says Solon Ardittis, director of Eurasylum.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
Yida Refugees Wary of U.N. Relocation
Over the past five years, 70,000 refugees have fled the civil war between Sudan and South Kordofan rebels and eked out a new life in Yida camp in South Sudan. But is the camp’s relocation being driven by safety concerns – or by political jockeying and oil exploitation?
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
Harsh Streets Push Female Refugees Toward E.U.
In the second installment of a three-part series, we visit women struggling to find shelter and make a living – two key problems the Women’s Refugee Commission cites as driving gender-based violence against urban refugees, especially in countries neighboring Syria.
- Health
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
Female Refugees Face ‘Cycle’ of Sexual Violence
In this first installment of a three-part series, we explore the threats faced by female refugees, especially Syrian women – including the risk of being trafficked into the sex trade on their journeys to Europe and even after reaching its shores.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Articles
- General
Ghost Villages Await the Return of Kokang Refugees
As thousands of ethnic Kokang refugees remain stranded in China, communities have been emptied and transformed into “ghost villages” on the Myanmar-China border, according to recent updates by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF).
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Betrayed: How Britain Turned Away 3,000 Children
Rory O'Keeffe
Humanitarian and Journalist
Rory O'Keeffe Humanitarian and Journalist
While David Cameron has made concessions in recent days, over the vote against taking in young refugees, commentator Rory O’Keeffe argues British parliamentary ploys to obstruct asylum seekers are undemocratic and calls for a long-term open-door policy for minors.
- Innovation & Technology
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
A Global Resettlement Scheme for Refugees in the E.U.
Solon Ardittis
Director, Eurasylum
Solon Ardittis Director, Eurasylum
While commending the latest European Commission’s proposals of “fair” burden sharing as the most progressive model to date, Solon Ardittis, director of Eurasylum, contends that the proposal ought to be supported by a global resettlement scheme.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Laws & Policy
- Articles
- General
Fear and Grief Follow Refugees to Idomeni
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) doctor Conor Kenny writes from Idomeni, Greece, where more than 10,000 refugees are trapped at the border with Macedonia.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Refugees Children Snared in Russian Political Web
Josephine Huetlin
Based at the Europe and Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch
Josephine Huetlin Based at the Europe and Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch
The Russian government’s crackdown on civil society groups by classifying them as “foreign agents” involved in “political activities” has extended to NGOs filling the gaps in state support for refugees, claim Human Rights Watch researchers.
- Crises & Conflicts
- Economy
- Articles
- General
Lesvos: Fourth Stop on the Mediterranean Route
While the E.U.-Turkey deal jeopardized the onward journeys of many Syrian refugees, South Asians do not stand a chance of admission to Europe, despite having legitimate grounds to claim asylum. Lesvos is the fourth stop in our series Route Mediterranean.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
On the Language of the Refugee “Crisis”
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
While mainstream media shapes our perceptions of the current refugee flows as a “crisis,” anthropologist Emily Lynch urges more nuance, thought and imagination when discussing forced migration.
- Innovation & Technology
- Op-Eds
Informal Syrian Refugee Initiatives Need Support
Killian Clarke
PhD Candidate in Politics, Princeton University
Killian Clarke PhD Candidate in Politics, Princeton University
Many informal Syrian associations are bringing relief, aid and social support to refugees. And yet, despite understanding refugees’ needs better than anyone, they face significant operating hurdles. The humanitarian community should do more to help.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Age of Migration: Refugees as Living Laboratories
Paul Currion
Consultant
Paul Currion Consultant
In this second part of our ‘This Age of Migration’ series, commentator Paul Currion argues that European governments, private enterprises and civic groups creating new ‘innovations’ to aid refugees should get the consent and participation of refugees themselves.
- Refugee Voices
- Articles
- General
Beirut’s ‘Little Armenia,’ a Haven of Diversity
As Armenians across the world commemorated the 101st anniversary of the 1915 Genocide, we visited Bourj Hammoud in Beirut, where Armenians fleeing the horrors in Anatolia built new lives.
- Laws & Policy
- Op-Eds
Foucault’s Prediction of ‘Live and Let Die’
Stephane J. Baele
Lecturer in International Studies and Security, University of Exeter
Stephane J. Baele Lecturer in International Studies and Security, University of Exeter
Forty years after philosopher Michel Foucault predicted the coming of biopolitics, in which citizens’ well-being mandates the exclusion of noncitizens, Stephane J. Baele argues that his prophecy sums up Europe’s “live and let die” policies in reaction to refugee flows.