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Blog Posts by Andrea Lari

A well-deserved honor for a fallen colleague
August 31, 2011 Andrea Lari About RI
On August 20th, I had the honor of attending on behalf of Refugees International an award presentation by the organization Sassoferratesi nel Mondo for the late Yvette Pierpaoli, a former advocate here at RI. Sassoferrato, a picturesque ancient town in central Italy, chooses to honor its ancestors who have distinguished themselves in their fields of work with the presentation of the Monte Strega Award. This year, Yvette Pierpaoli was the posthumous winner.
Ecuador: Antidotes to Refugee Policies Gone Bad
July 01, 2011 Andrea Lari Colombia, Ecuador, Americas, Humanitarian Response
For years, Colombians have crossed the border in Ecuador, fleeing violence and conflict in several parts of their country to seek protection and safety. Refugees International documented the spilling over of the Colombia conflict in the summer of 2009, but most recently the numbers are increasing alarmingly. Since January 2011, an average of 1,500 Colombians have fled into Ecuador every month.
Abyei: Pawns in a Deadly Game
May 23, 2011 Andrea Lari Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Humanitarian Response, Return and Reintegration
The town of Abyei is once again burning. Nearly six weeks before South Sudan becomes an independent nation, the Sudanese army has blatantly seized this town. In an all too familiar scene, civilians are again the victims of deadly power-grabbing.

I spent a few days in Abyei a couple of months ago. The purpose of the trip was to assess the difficulties encountered by southern Sudanese returning home after years of displacement in the north of the country.
Colombia: What can the U.S. do about the Western Hemisphere’s Greatest Displacement Crisis?
April 26, 2010 Andrea Lari Colombia

One in ten Colombians has been uprooted by ongoing violence; families have been broken and loved ones assassinated. After being displaced, young boys and girls are forced to drop out of school in order to support their families and are at constant risk of being forcibly recruited by armed groups and narcotics gangs. A nationwide campaign to highlight these powerful human stories culminated with a grassroots effort to generate letters to Congressional representatives.
Colombia: Questionable Successes
December 21, 2009 Andrea Lari Colombia, Humanitarian Response

This past January a policy directive of Colombian President Uribe outlined the National Plan for the Consolidation of Territory (Plan Nacional de Consolidación Territorial). The short, assertive and results-oriented memo instructed Colombian national, local, military and civilian authorities to work together to attain a stronger grip over strategic swaths of land, recovered from guerrilla control, within a period of 18 months. Two objectives of the strategy include an increase in confidence by Colombian citizens towards their own government and the reassurance to investors about their economic interests.