Basma, Jad and Ma'zooza are about to join the Sesame Street family. The trio of new Arabic-speaking characters will help teach children in the Middle East to read and write, as well as process the trauma of displacement.
Having access to pornography is easier than it ever was before, with content available for every niche interest. One of the more recent trends in the adult movie world is the rise of so-called "refugee porn", in which migrants become the subject of sexual fantasies. This development, however, might have repercussions beyond the porn industry.
The Humanitarian Corridors project in Italy has brought a total of 91 refugees to Rome from Lebanon over the span of two days. The new arrivals, who arrived in two separate groups, will be accommodated and integrated in regions throughout the country.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported Thursday September 12 that it had delivered humanitarian aid on Wednesday to the 15,000 IDPs in the Rukban camp in southeastern Syria. The camp management, however, said that the UN and Syrian government convoy had not been allowed to enter the camp.
According to aid group Amnesty International, Lebanese authorities forcibly deported almost 2,500 Syrian refugees back to Syria in the past three months. Lebanese officials have repeatedly said that Syrian refugees placed a massive burden on the country's ailing economy. Meanwhile, Turkey, which hosts four million refugees, has called for world coordination on the Syrian refugee crisis.
The Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum (LHIF), which comprises 51 international NGOs, has urged Lebanese authorities to stop demolishing refugee shelters. LHIF said demolitions carried out by troops are traumatic for refugees who have fled war.
The charity Migrateful was set up two years ago to help refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants in the UK teach cooking classes in a bid to help them on their journey to integration. It currently operates in London and Kent and is about to launch in Bristol.
In 2008, Ahmed was shot while working as a paramedic in Lebanon during an internal conflict between Shia and Sunni. He arrived in the UK three years ago after a second shooting made him fear for his life. He has been seeking asylum ever since. While his case is still pending, he can’t work and is destitute. Last September he started teaching Lebanese cooking classes with ‘Migrateful’ and the charity has become ‘like a family’ to him.
International charity Action Against Hunger has denounced the deterioration of living conditions for Syrian refugees in Lebanon following a recent order to dismantle houses and other buildings at a number of camps.
Lebanon's labor ministry is clamping down on businesses employing foreigners without valid work permits, after ignoring guidelines governing the employment of the country's 1.5 million-strong Syrian diaspora virtually for years.
Lebanese security forces have destroyed 20 refugee homes for breaking building regulations that refugees have to abide by. Aid organizations have said they expect further demolitions to follow.
From Turkey to the Horn of Africa, refugees are in dire need of permanent resettlement. The UNHCR said there "simply has to be more equitable sharing of responsibility for global crises."