‘I can look for a job and educate my children’
UNHCR is helping thousands of displaced Mozambicans get identification documents, making it easier for them to access formal jobs and vital services. By Juliana Ghazi in Pemba, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique After almost a year of being separated from her family and...
Afghan teen makes her mark on Ecuadorian city that gave her refuge
Zohra was just 11 when she and her family fled to Ecuador. Now 16, she paints murals on buildings in her host city as a way of reconciling her two worlds. By Diana Díaz and Jaime Giménez in Quito, Ecuador The two things about her native Afghanistan that Zohra...
Hungry and shivering, Kabul displaced brace for bleak winter
In Kabul, nearly 50,000 Afghans displaced from other parts of the country by recent fighting are desperate to receive aid before winter sets in. By Tony Aseh in Kabul, Afghanistan At a facility operated by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, about 15 kilometres outside...
UNHCR calls on states to expedite family reunification procedures for Afghan refugees
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is urging states to facilitate and expedite family...
No safe place to go for asylum-seekers snared in Libya dragnet
Desperate refugees and asylum-seekers in Tripoli in urgent need of assistance and protection amid security sweeps. By Mohamed Alalem and Anas Abumais in Tripoli, Libya. When Libyan forces swept through Tripoli’s Gergaresh neighbourhood earlier this month in a...
Iranian father and son re-enact their story for Hungarian theatre goers
Iranian refugee Abouzar and his son, Armin, chose to stay in Hungary despite being detained at the border for 18 months. A new theatre production offers some clues as to why. By Helen Womack and Erno Simon in Budapest In a metal container with one small window looking...
‘My dream has finally come true!’
Sudanese student Raba Hakim fulfils a lifelong dream of going to university, thanks to a MasterCard Foundation scholarship. By Yajun Hu in Tongo Refugee Camp, Ethiopia The huge grin on her face says it all – 16 September was the most exciting day of Raba Abdurahim...
Ivorians return home ahead of their refugee status coming to an end
Repatriations are accelerating as UNHCR recommends an end to refugee status for the vast majority of Ivorians. By Selim Meddeb in Toulepleu Brice Kouewon, 34, has spent a third of his life as a refugee in Liberia. He first left Côte d’Ivoire for over a decade with...