Returning Syrian refugees face abduction, sexual abuse: UN
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Syrian refugees who fled the war are facing gross human rights violations such as torture and abduction on their return home while women are subject to sexual harassment and violence, the UN human rights office said in a report on Tuesday. More than 12 years after Syria’s conflict began there are still […]
Essay: Refugees are living longer in exile than ever before, with complex consequences for them and their host communities
SHARIF A WAHAB, a Bangladeshi scholar who researches refugees’ everyday lives, looks – in an article first published on The Conversation – at why the number of people remaining refugees for five years or longer more than doubled over the past decade…
Turkey’s Erdogan faces struggle to meet Syrian refugee promise
Ankara, TurkeyReuters President Tayyip Erdogan played up his plans to repatriate a million Syrian refugees as he rode a wave of nationalism to his third decade in power, but he could struggle to make good on the promise as conflict lingers on in neighbouring Syria. Erdogan, long seen as an ally by Syrian opponents of […]
In Jordan camp, Syrian refugees choose school over child marriage
Mafraq, Jordan Thomson Reuters Foundation Chatting enthusiastically in a classroom at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, a group of Syrian teenage girls share stories about married friends – some with babies already, and of their own lucky escapes. Fatima was 14 when she got engaged, but had second thoughts and broke it off. Sixteen-year-old […]
Future unclear for Syrian refugees as Lebanese repatriations begin
Arsal, Lebanon Reuters Hundreds of Syrian refugees returned home from Lebanon on Wednesday, the first day of repatriations organised by Beirut, their mood more subdued than celebratory amid concerns over a scheme that rights groups say may involve elements of coercion. Lugging suitcases, power generators, fridges and even chickens and mostly skirting around watching media, […]
Syrian refugees cling on in Turkey, Lebanon as fears over coerced returns grow
Beirut, LebanonReuters The first Syrian refugees in Lebanon to return home under a new repatriation scheme will leave on Wednesday, but few in worn-down camps in the central Bekaa Valley said they would sign up. Rights groups fear the programme may not be as voluntary as it purports to be, at a time when concerns […]
Cholera outbreak hits Syrian refugees sheltering in camps in Lebanon
Qub Elias, Lebanon Reuters Syrian refugees in displacement camps are falling victim to a cholera outbreak in Lebanon, already suffering from an economic meltdown that has slashed access to clean water and strained hospitals. Lebanon recorded its first cholera case in early October – signalling the return of the bacteria for the first time in […]
Amnesty International says Syrian refugees tortured on return
Beirut, LebanonReuters Amnesty International said on Tuesday Syrian refugees who returned home were subjected to torture, detention and disappearance by security forces, urging governments to protect them from deportation and forcible return. In a report titled You’re going to your death the London-based human rights group documented violations by intelligence officers against 66 returnees, including […]
Beirut blast: A year on, vulnerable residents struggle to rebuild
TIMOUR AZHARI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports the plight of those impacted by the massive blast in Beirut’s port last August…
Six months after Beirut blast, Syrian refugees battle for survival
Beirut, LebanonThomson Reuters Foundation As Syrian refugees, Moayad Obeid and his family had it hard even before the massive explosion that tore through Beirut last August, killing his 26-year-old brother Ayman. In the six months since, life has become all but impossible. As well as supporting his own family, Obeid, who makes the equivalent of […]