Category Archives: Refugees

‘No way to live here’: new Honduran caravan sets off north as Trump blasts warnings

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As hundreds of migrants embark on a march towards ‘El Norte’, Trump launched a Twitter war against the caravan

Rosa López was six months pregnant with her seventh child when the killers came for her husband – unnamed assassins acting on orders she cannot, or dares not explain.

Ten months later the 30-year-old Honduran sits on a muddy embankment outside the San Pedro Sula bus station with her eldest son, Sergio, 12, getting ready to flee their homeland on the latest migrant caravan north.

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UN refugee chief: I would risk death to escape a squalid migrant camp

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Filippo Grandi calls on rich countries to give proper funding for developing nations that host people fleeing conflict

The head of the UN refugee agency has said he too would do “anything” to escape if he was stuck in a squalid refugee camp, as he called on the world’s wealthy nations to properly fund services in developing countries.

Speaking to reporters after meeting the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Filippo Grandi, the high commissioner for refugees, said countries are not getting enough recognition for hosting refugees, and that he would campaign for Cairo to receive more bilateral development aid to support its efforts.

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Rahaf al-Qunun lands in Toronto after long journey to safety

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Saudi teen was granted asylum by Canada after flying to Thailand to escape her family

The Saudi woman who barricaded herself in a Thai hotel room in a desperate attempt to flee abuse landed in Canada on Saturday, capping a tumultuous and uncertain journey towards safety.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun arrived in Toronto, the country’s largest city. As she entered the airport’s arrivals area, she was accompanied by Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Chrystia Freeland, who has been a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia’s jailing of female dissidents.

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‘Real risk’ of refugees freezing to death in Syria after rains destroy shelters

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As temperatures fall, aid workers warn of danger to at least 11,000 people across Idlib, with storms also battering camps in Lebanon

At least 11,000 child refugees and their families are facing a weekend of freezing temperatures with no shelter, after torrential rains across Syria’s Idlib province swept away tents and belongings.

Aid workers warn there is a real risk people will simply freeze to death as temperatures have already dropped to -1C, amid a shortage of blankets and heating fuel.

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Saudi woman fleeing family flies to Canada after gaining asylum

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Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, fled to Thailand last week accusing her family of abuse

An 18-year-old Saudi woman who said she was abused by her family and feared for her life if deported back home has left Thailand for Canada, which has granted her asylum, officials said.

The fast-moving developments capped an eventful week for Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun. She fled her family while visiting Kuwait and flew to Bangkok, where she barricaded herself in an airport hotel to avoid deportation and grabbed global attention by mounting a social media campaign for asylum.

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Despair endangers Dadaab refugees as smugglers seize their moment

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Unsafe in Somalia and unwanted in Kenya, refugees increasingly risk abduction in search of a better life

Two months after he went missing from the Dadaab refugee complex, Abdullahi Mohamed called his mother, Ubah, from a detention centre in Libya where he was being been held by armed gangs. The men asked his mother to pay a ransom of up to $10,000 (£7,850) for the 19-year-old.

Relieved but distraught, Ubah started fundraising for his release, talking to family members in the diaspora and in Somalia.

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Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi teenager given refugee status by the UN

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Australia to consider asylum request after home affairs minister says she would not get ‘special treatment’

Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun has been found to be a refugee by the United Nations, and the Australian government will now consider her asylum request, according to the Department of Home Affairs.

The 18-year-old woman barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room on Sunday to prevent her forcible return to Saudi Arabia, where she claims her family will kill her because she has renounced Islam.

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Refugees at high risk of kidnapping in Horn of Africa, research reveals

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More than one in 10 people travelling through the region are taken, as smugglers boost dwindling returns by preying on people for ransom, survey finds

More than 15% of refugees travelling north through the Horn of Africa were kidnapped during their journey last year, according to what is believed to be one of the most comprehensive surveys of migration journeys.

Researchers from the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), who conducted 11,150 interviews across 20 countries and seven migration routes, warned that kidnappings may be increasing and identified people travelling through the Horn of Africa to north Africa and Europe as the most vulnerable.

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Oxfam condemns EU over ‘inhumane’ Lesbos refugee camp

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Violence so bad that women wear nappies at night to avoid leaving tents, report says

The EU has been strongly criticised over conditions in Greece’s largest refugee camp, where Oxfam reported women are wearing nappies at night for fear of leaving their tents to go to the toilet.

The British-based NGO described the increasingly dangerous state of the EU-sponsored Moria camp on the island of Lesbos, where a 24-year-old man from Cameroon was found dead in the early hours of Tuesday as temperatures fell below freezing.

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Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi woman under UN protection as Australia urges asylum claim

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Thai authorities say 18-year-old will not be forced to return with her father to the Middle East, where she claims her family will kill her

An 18-year-old Saudi woman who barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to prevent her forcible return to a family she claims will kill her, has been taken under the protection of the UN high commissioner for refugees in Thailand.

The Australian government said on Monday night Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s situation was “deeply concerning” and it had lobbied the Thai government and the UNHCR to allow her to formally claim asylum.

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‘You can feel the love’: Syrian who lived in airport on new life in Canada | Kate Hodal

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Stranded in arrivals in Kuala Lumpur for eight months, Hassan al-Kontar was granted asylum to make Whistler his home

Hassan al-Kontar has been living in Canada for just under a month. But the Syrian refugee – who made global headlines after becoming stranded in a Malaysian airport for more than eight months in 2018 – is so busy with media requests that he jokes he has only managed to get out into the snow a handful of times.

“It’s very much like living in the airport, all the interviews. But obviously you cannot compare the two of them,” says Kontar, 37. “Whistler is an amazing place. There is nothing but nature, fresh air, wonderful people and beautiful snow.”

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France steps up efforts to prevent Channel crossings

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French authorities to improve cooperation with UK and increase coastal surveillance

The French authorities have set out plans to prevent people in small boats risking the dangerous Channel crossing to England.

Measures being taken include improved cooperation between law enforcement agencies and more surveillance and security on beaches along the northern French coastline.

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Naval ship deployed to Channel to intercept refugee vessels

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HMS Mersey’s mission follows request for military assistance from the home secretary, Sajid Javid

The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Mersey has been deployed to the Channel to help deal with people attempting to cross to the UK from France, ministers have confirmed.

The move came after a formal request for military assistance from the home secretary, Sajid Javid. The deployment will be financed by the Home Office.

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