May 19 10
Palestinian girls nab science prize in Silicon Valley, praise at UN headquarters
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with students from UNRWA school 18 May 2010 – Three Palestinian girls educated in a United Nations-funded school in a refugee camp have made history by winning a top spot at an international science fair in Silicon Valley for a revolutionary walking cane for the blind which they demonstrated today for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. “This is a story about brain power not fire power. You are not only helping the blind, but helping the world to see,” Mr. Ban told the girls during their meeting today at UN Headquarters. “I am very impressed by your…
Apr 29 10
SOMALIA: From refugee camp to university campus
Young people in Dadaab (Cecila Prete Martinez/IRIN) NAIROBI, 28 April 2010 (IRIN) – They spent most of their lives in crowded refugee camps after their families fled violence in Somalia but now 22 men and six women have won scholarships to study in Canada. “I have waited for this day since 2006 [when he graduated from high school in the Dadaab refugee camp, northern Kenya] and it is finally here. My prayers have been answered,” said Ahmed Farah Nageye. Nageye, now 21, spent most of his life in Dadaab. “My family came here when I was two years old. I…
Apr 28 10
Tanzania welcomes new nationals from refugee settlements
For any family or community, addition of a new member is something that usually brings joy and extra responsibilities. Then imagine what the horde of newly naturalised citizens of Tanzania can do to the East African nation that is already struggling to overcome numerous hurdles on its path to socio-economic development. Thanks to the legacy that the nation’s founder leader Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere handed down to his successors, Tanzania abides by the principle of generosity and care for refugees from other countries. In 1983 Nyerere was awarded the UN Refugee Agency’s Nansen Medal in recognition of Tanzania’s exemplary record…
Apr 27 10
Hard times for Iraqi newcomers
Awatif Albadri and her son, Anas Alhamdani (left), spoke with interpreter Bashier Doss in Chelsea District Court last month concerning her family’s efforts to avoid being evicted. (Pat Greenhouse/ Globe Staff) CHELSEA — Awatif Albadri survived the Iraq War and the deaths of her husband in a car crash and her son by assassination. On an overcast morning last month, nearly a year and a half after arriving here with three children, she was in court trying to avert homelessness. Dressed in a black abaya, she sat outside the hearing room, conferring with her lawyer, landlord, a social worker, and…
Apr 26 10
School for Hope
Valentino Deng in his native town of Marial Bai, southern Sudan, where with American help he has founded a new high school. Photo: Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York Times Southern Sudan is one of the most impoverished places on earth, and this remote town lacks electricity and running water and is 150 miles from the nearest paved road. Yet, thanks to a remarkable young American who grew up here — and to readers who backed him — the town has become a magnet for young Sudanese dreaming of an education. From hundreds of miles around, boys and girls are streaming…
Apr 22 10
UNHCR welcomes Pakistan’s decision to extend stay of Afghan refugees
Former journalist Rehman Faizai now sells traditional Afghan cloths at a market in Islamabad. He welcomed Pakistan’s decision to let registered refugees stay longer. GENEVA, March 25 (UNHCR)– The UN refugee agency on Thursday welcomed the Pakistani government’s decision to allow 1.7 million registered Afghans to remain in the country for three more years, alongside continued voluntary repatriation to Afghanistan. The Pakistan cabinet on Wednesday endorsed a new Strategy for the Management of Afghans in Pakistan, which includes extending the validity of Proof of Registration (PoR) cards until the end of 2012. The cards, which are issued to registered Afghan refugees,…
Apr 21 10
Refugees fear for their kids
Western Cape authorities have threatened to remove the children of refugees who fled xenophobic violence two years ago. “I’d rather die drowning with my children in the ocean than give them away,” said Amelia Nikwakwira, one of dozens of refugees evicted from the Blue Waters refugee camp in Cape Town. The camp was set up for victims of xenophobic violence but the city recently won a court order that they be evicted from it. Though many refugees were reintegrated into their communities, about 200 people, including the Nikwakwiras, moved to a nearby area of grass on the beach. Cape Town…
Apr 12 10
2 Iranian refugees have tortured past, but brighter future
Refugees with similar histories are working to change one’s life of homelessness and mental problems while fighting rolls of red tape. Jamshid Afshar, right, greets Mokhtar Hossein for the first time outside his tent on Foremaster Lane just north of downtown Las Vegas. Afshar has been living in the homeless tent camp since coming to Las Vegas. (Leila Navidi) One of the two men sits on the couch in his student-sized apartment near UNLV and sees the faces, the bodies of thousands of fellow Iranian political prisoners whom the Khomeini regime shot, hanged and blew up in the summer of 1988. He…
Mar 16 10
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