In-depth: Crises & Conflicts

In-depth

Crises & Conflicts

Exploring the conflicts and political crises that cause refugees to flee and impact their treatment in host countries.

Crises & Conflicts
Op-Eds

When Volunteers Become the Lackeys of Authorities

Shoufu Collective Group of Recurring Volunteers Worked on the Island of Chios

Are You Syrious Civil Initiative of First Responders from Croatia who Tried to Support the Refugees on the Balkan Route

Are refugee volunteers slowly emulating the hierarchies and structures they once protested? The question is posed by the two volunteer collectives, Are You Syrious and Shoufu, as they reflect on the need to bear witness as well as deliver aid.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Photo Essay: Children Who Escaped Boko Haram Live in Shadow of Famine

As severe hunger takes hold in northeast Nigeria, the U.N. estimates that nearly a half-million children under five will suffer from acute malnutrition this year, and 90,000 may die. Photojournalist Danielle Villasana tells the stories behind the devastating numbers.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Analysis: Politics of Class and Identity Dividing Aleppo – and Syria

This week marked the end of the sixth year of the war in Syria. On this grim anniversary we examine the deepening economic, social and other divisions that make it so difficult for refugees to return to Aleppo, the city that has become a bellwether for the country’s future.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Op-Eds

Despite Election Polls, the Dutch Aren’t Turning Against Immigration

James Dennison Research Fellow, Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute

Andrew Geddes Director, Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute

Teresa Talò Lead Analyst, Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute

Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration party has had high levels of support throughout the Dutch election campaign. Yet Wilders’ success does not reflect hardening attitudes to immigration in the Netherlands, explain researchers James Dennison, Andrew Geddes and Teresa Talò.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Q&A

Mercy Corps Forced to Shut Down Cross-Border Aid From Turkey to Syria

Mercy Corps spokeswoman Christine Bragale speaks to Syria Deeply about Ankara’s decision to close the aid agency’s operations in Turkey, which has served as a base for the group’s aid deliveries to Syria.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Iraqi Refugees Return From Syria to Undocumented Lives

Some Iraqis who fled across the Syrian border ahead of the Mosul offensive are now returning to Iraq. Many say their official IDs were confiscated in Syria, leaving them trapped in Iraqi displacement camps and unable to prove their identities.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Before Trump Order, Syrians Already Faced Shrinking Spaces for Refuge

Amid the revised executive order suspending refugee resettlement in the U.S., Austin Schiano explores what spaces are left for Syrian refugees in countries around the world.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Africans Face Dead End After Death-Defying Odyssey to U.S.

The number of Africans crossing the Americas to seek refuge in the U.S. grew tenfold last year. Now survivors of that long, expensive and dangerous journey face shrinking prospects of reaching the U.S. and more hardships in Mexico amid Trump’s immigration crackdown.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Q&A

Sieges, Demographic Shifts and Returns to ‘Liberated’ Cities

Amid a renewed offensive on Mosul and U.N.-led Syria talks in Geneva, Middle East journalist and analyst Patrick Cockburn discusses the changing demographics of Syria and Iraq, and the complexities of displaced people returning to “liberated” cities in both countries.almost 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

The Uncounted: Invisible Deaths on Europe’s Borders

There is no official record of the number of refugees who go missing crossing the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach Europe. Ingeborg Eliassen of the Investigate Europe network explores why a European database of migrant deaths does not exist.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Op-Eds

U.N. Refugee Agency Must Break Its Silence on Pakistan

Gerry Simpson Senior Refugee Researcher and Advocate, Human Rights Watch

The UNHCR’s offer of cash to returning Afghan refugees makes it complicit in the coercion of people it is mandated to protect, says Human Rights Watch’s Gerry Simpson, author of a new report on Pakistani forced returns. He argues the U.N. agency has crossed a red line.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

After Trump Ban, Lebanese Leader Renews Call to Return Syrian Refugees

New U.S. restrictions on asylum seekers have reinvigorated the discussion over the fate of 1.5 million Syrian refugees sheltering in neighboring Lebanon.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Rohingya Refugee: ‘They Cut the Bodies Into Four Pieces’

In light of a new U.N. report documenting atrocities against Rohingya in Myanmar, photojournalist Allison Joyce profiles Rohingya refugees who recently fled to Bangladesh and have harrowing stories to tell.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Gambians Return to Their Homeland With Hopes of Reform

Thousands of Gambian refugees are returning from Senegal as the country’s new president pledges stability and reform. Exiled Gambian journalist Sanna Camara reports from the border region on the hopes of returning refugees.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Fatima’s Fate: An Escape Bid That Ended in Tragedy

Desperate decisions on the road to refuge left a young Afghan mother disabled, bereaved and stranded. Her story illustrates the appalling risks Afghan refugees are taking in the face of rising European asylum rejections and deportations.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

The Rohingya Displacement Crisis That Myanmar Denies Exists

As military operations in Myanmar’s Rakhine State enter their fourth month, Sally Kantar reports on the accelerated displacement of the Muslim Rohingya minority.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

‘I Don’t Want to Go Back to Afghanistan to Get Butchered’

In the third part of our “Return to Afghanistan” series, Umer Ali meets transgender refugees who fear that being forced to leave Pakistan amounts to a death sentence.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Laws & Policy
Articles
General

Afghan Translators Hope U.S. Visas Will Arrive Before Taliban Does

Congress recently renewed a visa program for Afghans working with U.S. forces, but with far fewer openings than previous years. This has left thousands of Afghans living in fear as they wait out the backlog. about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

South Sudanese Women Are Making Moonshine to Survive

Barely able to feed themselves and their families, South Sudanese women in refugee camps are swapping their rations for ingredients to make siko, a highly alcoholic spirit. But selling it means they have to endure harassment and verbal abuse from their customers.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

The Year Ahead: Refugees Deeply in 2017

In-depth reporting and analysis on the global refugee crisis will be even more critical in the coming year. Here are some of the areas Refugees Deeply will be following in 2017.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Op-Eds

Don’t Forget the Kids Still Stranded by Demolition of the Calais ‘Jungle’

Daniil Ukhorskiy Intern, Human Rights Watch

Children from the Calais camp not accepted into the U.K. are scattered across France, some in official centers, others on the streets. Daniil Ukhorskiy, a 17-year-old Human Rights Watch intern, describes the fate of fellow teens he met in the camp’s final days.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Must-Read Stories on Refugees From 2016

We collected the best stories on refugees from 2016, as selected by refugee and migration experts and the editors of Refugees Deeply.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Year in Review: The Refugee Crisis in 2016

This year saw more refugees displaced and more people dying at sea than ever before. We look back at the major milestones and significant policy shifts of 2016.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Q&A

‘Now We Need to Fight Back for Our Common Humanity’: MSF President

At the end of a year of growing crises and closing borders, we speak with Dr. Joanne Liu, the international president of Medecins Sans Frontieres, about how the medical charity has confronted the challenges of 2016 and the road ahead.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Op-Eds

What’s Next for Dadaab: Refugees Face an Impossible Choice

Mark Yarnell Senior Advocate, Refugees International

Kenya has pushed its deadline to shut down the world’s largest refugee complex into 2017, but conditions in Dadaab are deteriorating fast. Mark Yarnell from Refugees International says its residents face either starvation or returning to a conflict zone.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Q&A

‘The Future of Syria is Very Grim’ Following Exodus from Aleppo

As Syria’s largest city falls to government forces after four years of fighting, Karam Foundation CEO and cofounder Lina Sergie Attar discusses the implications of Assad’s victory for the future of what was once Syria’s cultural and economic hub.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Integration
Op-Eds

Burundi’s Refugee Crisis Propelled by Injustice and Broken Promises

Lucy Hovil Senior Researcher, International Refugee Rights Initiative

The recent crisis in Burundi has reversed a major effort to repatriate Burundian refugees in the past decade. Lucy Hovil outlines her new research for the International Refugee Rights Initiative showing that the roots of the current displacement lie partly in the failure to reintegrate returning refugees. about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Laws & Policy
Articles
General

Haitians Alarmed by Renewed U.S. Deportations as Trump Era Looms

Migrant advocates have urged an overhaul of U.S. policy on displaced Haitians amid a growing border crisis. Following Trump’s election, they are racing to persuade Obama to shift policies before leaving office, writes Sally Kantar in her second dispatch on the crisis.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Refugee Voices
Op-Eds

Tackling Tahriib: Somali Parents Coax Kids Away From Lure of Europe

Nimo-Ilhan Ahmed Ali Doctoral Researcher, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Researcher Nimo-Ilhan Ahmed Ali on the families in Somaliland doing their utmost to protect their children from making the perilous journey to Europe, including buying them taxis or paying for foreign degrees.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Iraqis Sheltering In Mosul Create Fresh Hurdles for Aid Agencies

Aid agencies had planned for a massive exodus of residents from Mosul, but many residents decided to remain in their homes. Agencies now face a major challenge delivering aid to civilians inside a city in the midst of war.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Syrian Refugees Suffer Most From High Rates Of C-sections

While the rate of births by cesarean section in Lebanon remains considerably above internationally recommended levels, the incidence of the procedure among Syrian refugee women comes with additional risks and hardship, writes Federica Marsi, of Lebanon’s Daily Star newspaper. about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Refugee Voices
Articles
General

Syrian Brothers, Divided by War, Report From Opposite Sides of Border

Two Syrian brothers who are both journalists describe the harrowing decisions that led one to flee their hometown of Aleppo for Turkey, and the other to keep working from inside the besieged city.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Deal to Deliver Help to Refugees at the Berm Divides Aid Community

While a compromise has been reached with Jordan that allows access to 85,000 Syrians in the lawless border area between the two countries, lack of control over supplies and security has deterred some agencies from taking part.about 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Refugee Voices
Op-Eds

Young Afghans Returning From Europe Face Isolation and Fear Back Home

Nassim Majidi Founder and Codirector, Samuel Hall

In the final part of “Afghans on the Migration Trail,” migration scholar Nassim Majidi examines the difficulties faced by asylum seekers sent back from Europe to Afghanistan as they try to start new lives. over 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Peer Pressure Drives Somalis to Risk Europe Odyssey

In an extract from her new book, researcher Nimo-ihan Ali looks at how unrealistic images of life in Europe shared on social media are prompting young Somalis to migrate.over 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Long Read: Why Khan Eshieh Palestinian Camp Could Be the Next Yarmouk

As fighting intensifies in the area around Syria’s Khan Eshieh – the so-called “camp of return” – and UNRWA draws parallels with the Yarmouk camp in Damascus, thousands of Palestinian refugees who call Khan Eshieh home face displacement for a second time.over 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Analysis: Lebanon’s New Presidency May Enact Anti-Refugee Agenda

Lebanese analyst Kareem Chehayeb examines what the election of a new president after two and a half years of political stalemate will mean for the million Syrian refugees in the country. over 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Humanitarian Crisis on U.S. Border: Haitians Stranded by Policy

Haitians are stranded at the U.S.-Mexico border with little access to aid. In a two-part dispatch from the U.S. border, Sally Kantar reports how shifting policies toward Haitians has contributed to a growing crisis.over 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

‘I Was Going to Starve’: A Story of Trafficking and Escape in Kuwait

A recent case has shed light on the number of young women being trafficked from Zimbabwe to Kuwait. One woman tells of how, desperate for work, she ended up being sold to a family and trapped in a cycle of exploitation and abuse.over 2 years ago

Crises & Conflicts
Articles
General

Even Fame Can’t Shield ‘Afghan Girl’ from Pakistan’s Refugee Clampdown

The “Afghan Girl” of National Geographic fame was arrested last week for obtaining a fake Pakistani ID and will shortly be deported. Her case illustrates the plight of hundreds of thousands of Afghans caught up in a Pakistani crackdown.over 2 years ago