The Cypriot authorities have said they are "alarmed" after a total of five migrant boats arrived on or near their shores from Syria and Lebanon in the space of 48 hours. The boats were carrying a total of 183 migrants.
As the flow of refugees to Germany gained pace in 2015, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel promised: "We can do it!" Mohammed R. has his doubts, because among the refugees are the Syrian torturers from whom he fled.
Alex Assali came to Germany in October 2014 from Syria, fleeing war, political persecution and IS. He obtained refugee status and wanted to give something back to Germany, so he started a soup kitchen for homeless people in Berlin. His actions went viral and now he has found love and marriage in Germany too.
Earlier in the year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hoped to gain political leverage by threatening to send migrants and refugees into the EU. But numbers published by the European Commission show that his attempts were futile — largely because of the extent of the global pandemic slowing down migration patterns.
The German newspaper Die Welt reported that Germany accepted almost 10,000 migrants and asylum seekers between 2016 and March 2020 under the EU-Turkey deal. The numbers were released following a question to the interior ministry from a member of the liberal FDP party.
Waad Al Kateab is an award winning filmmaker. In her documentary 'For Sama', she explains to her daughter why she and her husband Hamza decided to stay in Eastern Aleppo even after the siege. Now Al Kateab is using the film's momentum to raise awareness of the current situation in Syria.
Germany pledged €1.58 billion ($1.78 billion) for Syria at a conference hosted by the EU and the UN. While the event raised a total of $7.7 billion, charity association Oxfam said the sum was "simply not enough."
A concert directed by Italian conductor Riccardo Muti will open on July 5 as part of the Ravenna Festival -- "Le vie dell'amicizia" (The roads of friendship) in the ancient town of Paestum near the Campania city of Salerno. The event is dedicated to the plight of Syrians in a country long ravaged by war.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has urged donors from around the world to support the vital needs of some 3 million Syrians suffering under the global coronavirus pandemic after nearly a decade of civil war. Roughly 1.3 million Syrians are considered to have been internally displaced this year alone, while 1.7 million are freshly registering are refugees abroad.
A report issued May 10 by Amnesty International has accused Russia and the Syrian government of committing war crimes in northwestern Syria. The human rights organization urged the UN not to cut humanitarian aid to the area.
Unaccompanied minors made up 7% of all asylum applications in 2019, according to the EU's statistics office, Eurostat. The number, however, is about 20% down from applications filed the previous year.
The Lebanese government has been able to contain the virus so far. Most of all, the strict protection measures affect people living in extreme poverty, and refugees. Their livelihoods and health are at stake.