SIGN UP
for our blog updates
Blog archive
By month
Refugee Stories
“It is impossible to go back to Iraq because I would be killed, but I can barely survive here in Syria.”
Refugees International visited Yemen in February 2008 to assess the
humanitarian situation of Somali refugees. In Aden, a former British
colonial port located on the mouth of the Red Sea, we went to visit the
Basatin neighborhood. Basatin means garden in Arabic, but is anything
but. It’s a destitute area on the outskirts of Aden where thousands of
Somalis have regrouped in small mud and brick houses with tin roofs.
50,000 Central Africans have fled to southern Chad. Here are a few of
their stories.Insecurity and abuse in the northwest of the Central
African Republic prompted approximately 50,000 Central Africans to flee
into southern Chad. Most of the refugees stated that they had been
targeted by at least two of the three armed forces --- rebels,
government forces, and bandits --- that take advantage of the
lawlessness and extort money from the civilian population. When people
cannot pay the requisite sum, they may lose their life or the life of a
loved one.
A Haitian describes the abuse he faces in the Dominican Republic while he waits for his asylum claim to be processed.
It is estimated that between three and five hundred asylum
claims of people who fled Haiti
in search of international protection are presently pending in
neighboring Dominican
Republic. In
the meantime, the lives of the applicants
and their family members remain in limbo.
In most cases, the wait has dragged on for several years.
Ugandan women insist that their voices are heard as peace is
negotiated.In November 2006, Refugees International was traveling
through the outskirts of Gulu in northern Uganda. Our vehicle came to a
standstill as the road was blocked by a large rally and our driver told
us, “It is the women with the peace march!” As we got closer, we could
hear the music blaring and the beating of the drums. Everyone was
turned out on both sides of the road and we maneuvered to get a good
view.
Displaced Colombian families share frustration over their lack of access to decent housing, health care and education.
The worst offensive in ten years by
the Burmese military has displaced several thousand people in eastern
Burma’s Karen State. The majority of refugees who flee the conflict in
eastern Burma cross the border into Thailand. However, many also pay
agents to smuggle them to Malaysia, where they are told that there are
better work opportunities than in Thailand. Refugees International
recently visited Malaysia and found that the government continues to
target Burmese refugees and asylum seekers as illegal migrants.
Refugees in Malaysia live in constant fear of arrest, detention, and
deportation by immigration authorities. Below is the interview of one
Burmese Karen woman who like many in her situation lacks adequate
protection and access to healthcare.
In honor of World Refugee Day, Refugees International is sharing the
story of this Iraqi refugee to highlight the plight of the more than 4
million people who have been displaced since 2003 by the conflict in
Iraq. Refugees International is currently on a mission to Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon to assess the needs of Iraqi refugees and identify
effective solutions to this crisis. We continue to call on the U.S. to
increase assistance to countries who are hosting Iraqi refugees,
provide more funding to UN agencies who provide assistance to Iraqi
refugees and to resettle the most vulnerable Iraqis here in the US.
“Our savings are gone, my wife desperately needs medical attention, but no one is helping us.”
“There are people who don't eat,” Faisal*
explains. Not all bidun in Kuwait face the same degree of hardship, but
almost all confront the same indignities. Faisal’s family shares a
house with two others, who are his close relatives. There are as many
as six people sharing one room. “I earn about KD 190 (US$ 692) a month
and pay KD 150 (US$ 547) in rent.” He has not had a raise in 16 years.
Families share household expenses, but no member of any of the families
holds a job at present.
Sayed and Jamil (not their actual names) both came to Malaysia alone as
young boys.
Civilians continue to bare the brunt of the prevailing insecurity caused in northern Central African Republic.
For those, like this 76 year old woman, who did not feel safe enough to
return home and who had no where else to flee, the situation remains
dire.
While military operations against the FDLR rebel group rage on in eastern DR Congo, the voices of people who have been displaced by these actions have been drowned out.
The vulnerability of being stateless is captured in the descriptive
words of a 'bidun' living in Kuwait
who told me, “Our lives have been stolen. We are just like bodies
lying in the street.”
