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: 10 hours 4 min ago
EU: With Refuge Like This…
Habtom, a 30-year-old Eritrean, has all the grim qualifications needed to be a
refugee. He was arrested for protesting a dictatorship, tortured in custody, and
fears his life would be at risk if he returned home. Another part of his story is
also typical: he suffered lengthy detention in a European Union nominally
committed to the universal defence of human rights.
Categories: Refugees
Human Trafficking Still Widespread, U.S. Included
Ten years ago, the U.S. State Department issued its first
annual review of governments' efforts to combat human
trafficking. Monday, the report included the U.S.'s own
struggles with the problem for the first time.
Categories: Refugees
MIDEAST: Most Palestinians in Lebanon Stay Unemployed
Lebanon's record of segregating Palestinians is not much better than that of Israel. Since their exodus here, after the establishment of Israel in 1948, Palestinians have been systemically denied equal employment and social rights.
Categories: Refugees
Q&A: Laying to Rest the Ghosts of the Past - With Truth
This year marks 15 years since the bloody war in Bosnia - Herzegovina (BH) ended. Apart from the 44-month siege of the capital of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces there was the massacre of some 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys after the United Nations-protected enclave of Srebrenica fell into their hands.
Categories: Refugees
SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Human Trafficking Exposes ASEAN’s Underbelly
BANGKOK, June 17 (IPS) - 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
PRAGUE, Jun 17 (IPS) - 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
EU: With Refuge Like This…
BRUSSELS, Jun 16 (IPS) - Habtom, a 30-year-old Eritrean, has all the grim
qualifications needed to be a
refugee. He was arrested for
protesting a dictatorship, tortured in custody, and
fears his
life would be at risk if he returned home. Another part of his
story is
also typical: he suffered lengthy detention in a
European Union nominally
committed to the universal defence of
human rights.
Categories: Refugees
Human Trafficking Still Widespread, U.S. Included
WASHINGTON, Jun 14 (IPS) - Ten years ago, the U.S. State Department issued its
first
annual review of governments' efforts to combat human
trafficking. Monday, the report included the U.S.'s own
struggles with the problem for the first time.
Categories: Refugees
MIDEAST: Most Palestinians in Lebanon Stay Unemployed
BEIRUT, Jun 14 (IPS) - Lebanon’s record of segregating Palestinians is not
much better than that of Israel. Since their exodus here, after
the establishment of Israel in 1948, Palestinians have been
systemically denied equal employment and social rights.
Categories: Refugees
Q&A: Laying to Rest the Ghosts of the Past - With Truth
SARAJEVO, Jun 14 (IPS) - This year marks 15 years since the bloody war in
Bosnia - Herzegovina (BH) ended. Apart from the 44-month siege of
the capital of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces there was the
massacre of some 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys after the
United Nations-protected enclave of Srebrenica fell into their
hands.
Categories: Refugees
CHINA: Spate of Factory Suicides Exposes Sorry Plight of Workers
BEIJING, June 11 (IPS) - Ma Xiangqian, a 19-year-old migrant from the
eastern Chinese province of
Henan, worked the 11-hour night
shift, seven days a week, putting together
electronic parts for
Foxconn Technology, the world’s biggest contract maker of
information technology goods.
Categories: Refugees
FRANCE: Migrants' Remittances Are a Cash Cow
PARIS, Jun 9 (IPS) - Immigrants in France send some eight billion euro
(9.6 billion US dollars) a year back to their countries of
origin, often paying exorbitant fees - though the French
government has announced moves to lower tariffs.
Categories: Refugees
CAMBODIA: Premier Hun Sen Profits from Suppression and Aid
BANGKOK, June 9 (IPS) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is savouring
another victory. His latest
triumph: a string of verdicts
against an outspoken female opposition lawmaker,
Mu Sochua, who
had accused him of making derogatory remarks about her.
Categories: Refugees
Female Migrants Charge Sexual Abuse in Detention
NEW YORK, Jun 7 (IPS) - In the wake of allegations that a male guard at a
central
Texas detention facility sexually assaulted female
detainees
on their way to being deported, immigrant advocacy
groups say
stronger oversight and accountability is urgently
needed to
prevent further abuse of female detainees.
Categories: Refugees
INDIA: Mangroves Face Severe Threat from Human Activities
BHUBANESWAR, Orissa, India, June 1 (IPS) - When a super cyclone devastated the coastal
districts of Orissa state in 1999,
the government pledged to
regenerate 3,000 hectares of mangrove. Or so
forest official
Chandra Sekhar Kar thought.
Categories: Refugees
Reform Groups Slam "Militarisation" of U.S.-Mexico Border
WASHINGTON, May 27 (IPS) - President Barack Obama will be sending 1,200
National Guard troops to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border after
pressure from both Republicans and Democrats to tighten border
security and increase funding to combat the flow of illegal drugs
into the U.S.
Categories: Refugees
Arizona Law Already in Effect for Some Immigrants
PHOENIX, Arizona, May 26 (IPS) - It's not the law yet, but for undocumented
immigrants like Ismael Palafox and his family, SB 1070 is already
a reality.
Categories: Refugees
MIDEAST: Hamas' Turn to Demolish Palestinian Homes
RAMALLAH, May 25 (IPS) - On Sunday approximately 150 Palestinians from 20
families were driven out of their homes in Rafah, in the southern
Gaza strip, by heavily armed police and soldiers who menaced them
with clubs.
Categories: Refugees
FRANCE: Burqa Ban May Prove Counter-Productive
PARIS, May 23 (IPS) - France is likely to have a law banning the burqa by
autumn of this year, but human rights groups say that such
legislation would be discriminatory, counter-productive and also
difficult to enforce.
Categories: Refugees
US-MEXICO: State Visit Highlights Ties, Frustrations
WASHINGTON, May 20 (IPS) - With no major new initiatives on the agenda,
President Felipe Calderón's state visit here this week
appeared designed primarily to highlight increasingly close ties
between the United States and Mexico despite growing frustrations
on both sides of the border over immigration, economics and
security cooperation.
Categories: Refugees