Mass repatriation may be new disaster
BBC Aug 20, 07 4:34 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Afghan refugees are returning to their post-Taliban nation by the hundreds of thousands, and there are few resources to support them. Much of the repatriation is voluntary, the BBC reports, with newfound stability attracting Afghanis who fled as long as 25 years ago; others have been forced out of Pakistani camps that are shutting down.
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2M Iraqi refugees flood surrounding region
Der Spiegel Aug 20, 07 4:08 PM CDT
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More than 2 million Iraqis have left home, mostly crossing the borders into neighboring Jordan and Syria. And the upper class has been the first to go—robbing the country of the doctors, engineers and government officials necessary to rebuild it. With one of ten Iraqis living abroad, the war has become one of the largest refugee crises since the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, Der Spiegel reports.
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Jewish state conflicted about denying migrants targeted by genocide
Associated Press Aug 19, 07 4:37 PM CDT
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Israel has turned back 48 Africans to Egypt and says it will no longer accept Darfur refugees who illegally enter the country, the AP reports. Some of the 50 migrants a day who have already snuck into the country will be allowed to stay, Israel says, but all others will be returned to Africa even if they face poverty or death. Critics are prompting questions over the Jewish state’s moral obligation toward targets of genocide.
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BBC Jul 26, 07 4:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Over 2 million Iraqis have fled their war-torn homeland, with 50,000 more leaving each month for neighboring countries—primarily Jordan and Syria. A UN official is terming the exodus a "humanitarian crisis," and the organization is calling for extra funding to cover medical supplies and shelter for the refugees.
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Baghdad envoy speaks up for imperiled locals
Washington Post Jul 22, 07 11:35 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Fearing for the safety of locals employed by the American government in Iraq, the US ambassador wants the administration to issue them immigrant visas. Ryan Crocker's unusual request spotlights competing pressures, the Washington Post reports: the danger to Iraqis perceived as aiding the occupiers, the worsening refugee crisis, and Washington's concern that terrorists will slip into the country.
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Food is hard to come by for Palestinians in Hamas-controlled region
Globe and Mail Jun 29, 07 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Fuel shortages have become familiar, and now food staples like flour and sugar are increasingly hard to come by in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Aid agencies are doing their best to forestall an impending humanitarian crisis, the Globe and Mail reports, but with the main commercial crossing from Israel closed indefinitely, they are having trouble keeping up.
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Refugee camp destroyed; residents caught as army fights Fatah al-Islam
Guardian (UK) Jun 3, 07 1:27 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Lebanese army vowed yesterday to continue its attack on Fatah al-Islam members holed up inside a Palestinian refugee camp in Beruit though the camp is now 60 percent demolished. As many as 25,000 of its 31,000 occupants have fled, the Guardian reports, and thousands remain trapped.
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Bombardment escalates as death toll tops 80
Reuters Jun 1, 07 9:22 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Lebanese troops continued to try to dislodge militants from a Palestinian refugee camp outside Tripoli today, extending a two-week siege that has led to the worst violence in the country since the civil war that ended in 1990. At least 84 people have died in the fighting, and more than half of the refugees have fled to another camp.
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Displaced women
turn to sex trade
to support families
New York Times May 29, 07 11:09 AM CDT
(Newser)
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As Iraqi refugees flood across the border into Syria, more and more women are turning to prostitution to support themselves and their families. The Times visits the Damascus area, where some women approach men on the street, some work at clubs known as "casinos," and some are even pimped by family members.
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Palestinians enraged at Lebanese troops threaten uprising
Guardian (UK) May 25, 07 5:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Clashes between the Lebanese Army and a Palestinian militant group could spread throughout Lebanon, politicians, diplomats and refugees tell the Guardian . Anger is building among Palestinians over civilian casualties from shelling of the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp during clashes with Fatah al-Islam militants last week.
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Lull in fighting allows Palestinians to escape violence, horrid conditions
BBC May 23, 07 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Thousands of Palestinians escaped heavy fighting inside a Lebanon refugee camp yesterday. The BBC reports vehicles flying white flags and crammed with people fled the Nahr al-Bared camp during a lull in the battle between Lebanese army units and the militant group Fatah al-Islam. Refugees are heading for another camp in Northern Lebanon.
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Minister asks foreign governments for cash as troops shell refugee camp
CNN May 22, 07 5:07 AM CDT
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Lebanon's finance minister appealed to Arab and Western governments yesterday, begging for money and supplies to help fight militants in a Palestinian refugee camp. Thirty Lebanese troops, 15 members of the group Fatah al-Islam, and more than 25 civilians have been killed in two days of clashes.
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UN calls refugee crisis worse than Darfur's; skirmishes continue
BBC May 15, 07 7:54 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Ethiopia wants its troops out of Somalia, where the UN says the refugee crisis is now worse than the situation in Darfur, the BBC reports. But a pullout now could spell disaster for the estimated 300,000 Somalis displaced by recent fighting between the Ethiopia-backed government and the Islamist resistance, which troops from the neighboring country helped put down last year.
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House Dems back bill easing resettlement
Washington Post May 10, 07 1:00 PM CDT
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With Iraq war refugees numbering in the millions and as many as 70,000 joining their ranks each month, House Democrats will introduce a bill boosting the number of displaced Iraqis eligible for resettlement in the U.S. A total of 18 Iraqi refugees entered the U.S. in February and March, the Washington Post reports, while Sweden admitted 8,000.
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With the border to Jordan closed, 1,000 Iraqis a day hazard an escape to Syria
Der Spiegel Mar 29, 07 9:49 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Every day, more than a thousand Iraqis risk their lives on a nightmarish journey from Baghdad to crowded, chaotic border crossings into Syria. Ambushes, murders, roadside bombs and kidnappings are common hazards along the 340-mile road "Highway From Hell."
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