IPS Inter Press Refugees
Human migration is a matter of global concern. Flows of migrants and refugees influence and change the social, economic and political dynamics of their destinations -- and the places they have left behind. IPS covers crucial issues such as migrant and refugee rights, irregular or undocumented migration, human trafficking, remittances, displaced persons and forced labour. And the positive: in many cases migration creates a new dialogue among civilisations. Migrants themselves become the building blocks of bridges connecting different cultures.
Updated: 9 hours 47 min ago
Mentally Ill Adrift in U.S. Immigration System
Mentally disabled legal permanent residents of the United
States and asylum seekers face indefinite detention, erroneous
deportation, and unfair hearings in U.S. courts, according to
a new joint report from two leading human rights
organisations.
Categories: Refugees
BULGARIA: Refuge Can Get Worse Than Rejection
A protest to close down Busmantsi, a detention centre for undocumented
migrants in Sofia, highlighted the obstacles faced by refugees and asylum-
seekers in Bulgaria.
Categories: Refugees
Big Tobacco Profits from Kazakh Child Labour, Report Says
Hoping for better opportunities than they can find at home,
many families from Kyrgyzstan travel to find work.
Neighbouring Kazakhstan has the strongest economy in Central
Asia, and tobacco farms attract workers fleeing Kyrgyzstan's
high unemployment.
Categories: Refugees
Justice Dept Draws a Line in Arizona's Sand
While civil rights and Hispanic advocates are applauding the
Justice Department's decision to sue the state of Arizona over
its new "may I see your papers please?" anti-immigrant law,
solid majorities of Arizona citizens are telling a variety of
polling organisations that they approve of the legislation.
Categories: Refugees
Swiss Knives Out for Migrants
The disputed 'black sheep' placards may soon return to Swiss streets. The
country's Federal Council and parliament have validated a right-wing initiative
calling for the automatic deportation of criminal foreigners.
Categories: Refugees
Slavery Casts a Long Shadow
Ayana rises before the sun. She bathes, dresses, and leaves
the house before her daughters awake.
Categories: Refugees
Iranian Diaspora Struggles to Find Unified Voice
Iranians should be forgiven for not coming out en masse to
demonstrate on the anniversary of their disputed presidential
elections.
Categories: Refugees
Anti-Immigrant State Laws Could Multiply, Obama Warns
U.S. President Barack Obama criticised "ill conceived"
immigration laws in Arizona and called on Republicans to end
their opposition to immigration reform and pass bipartisan
immigration reform in speech delivered Thursday morning.
Categories: Refugees
MALAYSIA: Thousands of Refugees Living in Constant Fear of Arrest
As Rajoo, 27, makes tea at a rundown shed in Brickfields, a depressed suburb of
the capital inhabited by hundreds of Tamil immigrants from Sri Lanka, he evinces
no sign of anxiety and a deep yearning for something.
Categories: Refugees
PAKISTAN: Water Trickles Back into Village, Thanks to Solar Desalination
Ismail Achar never thought a day would come when his island village would be
reduced to a barren tract of land with hardly a drop of water to drink.
Categories: Refugees
LITERATURE-CUBA: 'Forbidden Stories' by Sonia Rivera-Valdés
Lázara wakes up every morning in her home in New York, has a cup of coffee and, with the same passion with which she takes a stand for or against every cause, she turns on the radio, hoping to hear the news that she has been waiting for most of her life: the demise of former Cuban president Fidel Castro.
Categories: Refugees
A Reform Movement by and for Undocumented People
Hundreds of grassroots organisations came together at the U.S.
Social Forum here to discuss strategies in the fight for
immigration policy changes that would put an end to
criminalisation and the militarisation of the border with
Mexico.
Categories: Refugees
MEXICO-US: Wall of Hate and Poverty Divides El Paso and Juárez
"Sergio, your death will be avenged by the angry, organised people" reads graffiti under the Puente Negro railroad bridge connecting this border city with El Paso, Texas.
Categories: Refugees
WORLD CUP: United For Africa - Making it Last
Perhaps Africa's World Cup began in earnest on Jun. 16, when a despondent green and gold-clad crowd began leaving the Loftus Versfeld stadium even before the end of South Africa's heavy defeat to Uruguay. Migrant African fans felt the first touch of cold post-tournament reality.
Categories: Refugees
FILM: A Congolese Woman's Journey of Survival and Triumph
Suffering through the atrocities of war affects people in
different ways. Some become crippled by anger, others by fear.
Some become violent and want only revenge. And some, like Rose
Mapendo, an inspiring survivor of the war and ethnic cleansing
in the Democratic Republic of Congo, come out with a strong
commitment to work for peace and reconciliation.
Categories: Refugees
RIGHTS: Problems Beset Cambodia's Anti-Trafficking Campaign
Worrying trends continue to plague Cambodia and provide considerable concern
for the future despite the gains it has reportedly made in combating human
trafficking.
Categories: Refugees
Swiss Plan to Gag Refugees
Only two years after its last revision, the Swiss Asylum Act is about to be
'reformed' again. The changes include a gag order on political activism for
asylum-seekers and a modification of the concept of a refugee.
Categories: Refugees
LIBYA: Death Penalty Falls Heavily on Migrants
The Libyan government handed over 276 prisoners to authorities from neighbouring Niger on Jun. 17. But none of the dozen or more Nigeriens facing the death sentence in Libya were among them.
Categories: Refugees
SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Human Trafficking Exposes ASEAN's Underbelly
In the wake of a new U.S. government report on human trafficking, human rights
and migrant rights activists are calling on a South-east Asian regional bloc to
review its polices toward this scourge to protect the group's most vulnerable
citizens – its women and children.
Categories: Refugees
EAST EUROPE: Healthcare Ails as Doctors, Nurses Emigrate
Senior medical figures in Eastern Europe have issued stark warnings that the region's healthcare sector is both unstable and unsustainable as health workers continue to leave in droves for jobs abroad.
Categories: Refugees