Migration & Refugees

Could Water Strife Lead to ‘Mass Killings’ in the Future?

By Thalif Deen
As the world faces possible water scarcities in the next two to three decades, the U.S. intelligence community has already portrayed a grim scenario for the foreseeable future: ethnic conflicts, regional tensions, political instability and even mass killings.

Argentina – The Promised Land for South American Neighbours

By Marcela Valente
"The new buildings in the Argentine capital were built by Paraguayans,” Isidro Méndez says with some pride. The 60-year-old immigrant, who runs a construction company, is one of the hundreds of thousands of foreigners who came to this country with hopes for a better future.

Palestinians Find Refuge Across the Atlantic

By Fabíola Ortiz
Issam Ali Hassan spent more than four years in an isolated desert camp in Jordan before he was taken in by Brazil. The son of Palestinians had been living as a refugee in Baghdad when he had to escape after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

Detention in Italy Better Than Home in Tunisia

By Ihsan Bouabid
A year ago Salim, a 23-year-old from the ancient Tunisian city Gafsa decided to leave his country using a smugglers’ network notorious for transporting desperate Tunisian citizens to Europe by boat.

There’s Bride at the End of the Tunnel

By Mohammed Omer
Mai Ahmed, a 26–year-old from the West Bank fell in love over the Internet with Mohammed Warda from Nussirat refugee camp in Gaza after they ‘met’ on the Internet. The Israeli government refused permission for her to travel to Gaza. Mai travelled to Jordan, flew from there to Egypt, drove across the Sinai, and then crossed through a tunnel into Gaza, where she now lives. “It’s a story I will tell my grandchildren,” she says.

Why Are Hindus from Pakistan Crossing Over to India?

By Zofeen Ebrahim
Narain Das, a cloth merchant from Jacobabad in northern Pakistan, blesses his lucky stars that he has three sons, aged 18, 16 and 12. “If they were daughters, I, too, would seriously be thinking of migrating from here,” he reflects on the lack of protection his community faces.

Syrian Crisis Brings a Blessing for Kurds

By Karlos Zurutuza
The smuggler wants 200 dollars but Jewan negotiates him down to 100. That’s still a lot for this 26-year-old Syrian Kurd, but he can hardly wait to cross the border to Syria from Iraq. It’s been three years since he last saw his family.

Palestinians Live on the Edge in New Libya

By Rebecca Murray
Just before the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime one year ago, Huda and her Palestinian family were forcefully evicted from their Tripoli home.

Shelters for Undocumented Migrants under Threat in Mexico

By Emilio Godoy
Two years after the massacre of 72 migrants in Mexico, shelters for undocumented migrants are facing challenges and threats, due to the rise in the number of people seeking assistance, the lack of solidarity on the part of local communities, pressure from organised crime, and a lack of adequate public policies addressing the problem of migration.

Q&A: Brazil Invited to Join U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency

By Fabíola Ortiz
The policy of pacification of Rio de Janeiro’s violent favelas, or shantytowns, could serve as a model in some respects in Palestinian refugee camps, says Filippo Grandi, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees, in this interview with IPS.
Many in the Latino community are disappointed by U.S. President Barack Obama

Immigration Policies Wreak Unseen Havoc on U.S. Communities

By Zoha Arshad
Deportation is a devastating experience for a family, breaking it apart and leading to emotional and mental stress for its members. But a new report from the Centre for American Progress shows that such duress extends beyond families and into the larger community as a whole.

Immigrants’ Fear Palpable in Arizona

By Daniela Pastrana
Fear stalks the streets in the U.S. state of Arizona. Seven-year-old Matthew feels it when his mother crosses the line permitted by the guards of the Tent City - an extension of the Maricopa County Jail - to be photographed with a sign protesting the imprisonment of immigrants.

Lean Times Get Leaner in Northern Cote d’Ivoire

By Robbie Corey-Boulet
Salimata Coulibaly, director of a medical centre in the town of Korhogo in the northern Cote d’Ivoire region of Savanes, stood before a chart displaying before-and-after photos of local children – one taken when each child arrived at the centre, and one after he or she responded to treatment for malnutrition.

Back Home With Help and Hope

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Thousands who fled their homes in the Taliban-led violence over the past three years have now returned to rebuild their lives, and their homes.

Persecuted Libyans Struggle to Be Heard

By Mel Frykberg
Pregnant women miscarrying due to mistreatment, detainees mainly from sub-Saharan Africa denied adequate food and water. Small cells crammed with 80-100 detainees subjected to arbitrary justice by Libya’s volatile militias, politically persecuted Somalis forcibly repatriated to Mogadishu, and hundreds of boat people dying trying to flee Libya for a better life in Europe.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman. Credit: www.lutfurrahman.com/

East End’s First Muslim Mayor Unfazed by Racist Press Attacks

By Anton Wahlberg
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the “East End", is the historic core of England, the home of the Tower of London, and now it is a Gateway borough to the Olympics.

Colonised by the Arabs, Abandoned by the World

By Karlos Zurutuza
Untamed stone villages line up over imposing green valleys. In winter they are white with snow. The luckiest have a view to the deep blue sea. "It’s gorgeous, isn’t it," says Amzi from his yellow cab. "Nobody would say we’re living in an open-air prison."

Mexicans Migrate – Body and Soul

By Emilio Godoy
Sergio Guerrero immigrated to the United States without documents in 2006 and returned to Mexico in 2010, converted to another religious faith. “I was Catholic, and there I met a lot of evangelicals, so I was reborn in Christ,” the 31-year-old father of three told IPS.

Pakistan Says Goodbye to Refugees Not Leaving

By Zofeen Ebrahim
Pakistan faces increased international pressure to extend the stay of Afghan refugees as it seeks to push them back to war-torn Afghanistan.

Q&A: “Israel’s Heavy-Handed Abuse of Palestinian Children Is Unacceptable”

By Thalif Deen
After a fact-finding tour of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip - and following hearings in Amman and Cairo - a three-member United Nations committee has lambasted Israel for the harsh treatment of Palestinian children held in custody.
A makeshift girls

Pouring Edible Oil on Pakistan’s Troubled Areas

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR,  Jul 28 2012 (IPS) -Taking turns to lug a heavy can of edible oil, Mushtari and Sheema Gul, twin sisters aged nine, trip home happily from their school in Ghareebabad village in Pakistan’s troubled Bajaur Agency.
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