Barriers to entry: For Iranian converts claiming religious persecution, European courts require proof of faith
HANNA VIOQUE, of Religion News Service, reports how judges across Europe are having a tough time deciding whether asylum-seekers claiming religious persecution are ‘genuine’ Christians…
Lifestory: Syrian refugee brings the taste of home to Gaza
As the UN”s World Refugee Day is marked around the globe on 20th June, NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI, of Reuters, reports on how Syrian refugee Anas Qaterji has made a life for himself in Gaza…
European leaders visit Ukraine, dangling hope of EU membership; UK sanctions Patriarch Kirill
Kyiv/Irpin, Ukraine Reuters The leaders of Germany, France and Italy, all criticised in the past by Kyiv for support viewed as too cautious, visited Ukraine on Thursday and offered the hope of EU membership to a country pleading for weapons to fend off Russia’s invasion. Air raid sirens blared in Kyiv as the visit by […]
Bangladesh orders lockdown in Rohingya camps as COVID-19 cases jump
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladesh ordered a strict lockdown in five camps that are home to nearly 100,000 Rohingya refugees following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the world’s largest refugee settlement this week, government officials said on Friday. Nearly a million Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar live in 34 sprawling camps […]
Lifestory: Tusse – from child refugee to Sweden’s Eurovision Song Contest contender
ILZE FILKS, writing for Reuters, speaks with Sweden’s 2021 Eurovision Song Contest contender…
Lifestory: From refugee to Olympian – film celebrates South Sudan’s marathon man
EMMA BATHA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on Guor Maker’s bid for Olympic gold, three decades after he was literally running for his life…
VIRTUOUS CIRCLE: RESCUED REFUGEE SEEKS TO SAVE OTHERS
LIN TAYLOR, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from London…
Myanmar must give Rohingya ‘pathway to citizenship’ – UN investigator
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Myanmar must grant citizenship to stateless Rohingya with roots in the country, a senior UN investigator said on Wednesday, as she urged the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi to “be the democrat she once told us she was”. Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not recognise the Muslim Rohingya as citizens despite a long […]
REFUGEES: US-BASED CHURCH WORLD SERVICE HOSTS ‘RATION CHALLENGE’ AROUND GLOBAL DAY
As World Refugee Day is marked across the globe, EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, reports on an initiative to raise awareness of the challenges refugees face and funds to support them…
HOSPITABLE – OR HOSTILE?
I recently learnt that the two words – hospitable and hostility – come from the same root word, as does hospital and hospice, and so on. PICTURE: Jan Tinneberg/Unsplash The word is hostis in Latin and means stranger, guest or enemy. You can see how they developed; you can either be hospitable to the stranger, or […]