RefugePointA lifeline for forgotten refugees

Dear RefugePoint staff, I know everyone has been working extraordinarily hard this year. In Nairobi our caseload has increased significantly. We are busier than ever there. Those of us working in locations across Africaoften face adverse and sometimes even dangerous conditions. But our work is paying off in amazing ways. We’ve exceeded the goals we [...]

As I mentioned in my last post, on December 1st buses spread out through refugee-populated areas in Nairobi to promote the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. Community workers spoke, performed skits, and sang songs in order to educate men, women and children about gender equality and the many problems caused by sexual and [...]

One of the most significant challenges refugees face is insecurity. After fleeing violence in their home countries, refugees often arrive to a country of asylum and continue to deal with issues of safety. They might not have any documentation, they might be alone and often they do not speak the language. These challenges put them [...]

Lana and Munawar Kabashi of Darfur remember the killers — Arab militias called the Janjaweed — riding into their village on horseback and shooting, burning, and destroying the homes and massacring the villagers. In the confusion, they were separated from their five year old daughter Muna, but managed to escape with two other daughters and [...]

I interviewed a refugee today who is paralyzed from the waist down. She was only about five years old when she was struck with a mysterious fever that robbed her of the ability to walk. Forty years later, she has adapted to her disability but still does not know what caused it or if there [...]

Hassan is an educated man, speaks fluent English, has a university degree and is enthusiastic to do any type of work that he can find. Living in Kenya as a refugee, however, he has been unable to support his family and, given the lack of security in his country, he cannot return home to Sudan. [...]

Hassan and his family, refugees from Sudan, have now been in Kenya for over ten years. When one refers to a “protracted” refugee situation it is one in which the refugee cannot return home in the foreseeable future and is therefore in a state of limbo for at least five years — but often decades. According to the 2004 UNHCR definition, the lives of these refugees, “may not be at risk, but their basic rights and essential economic, social and psychological needs remain unfulfilled after years of exile.” These are situations with no prospect for a solution. And in many cases, their lives continue to be at risk.

RefugePoint founder Sasha Chanoff is featured in this week’s edition of The Forward on the occasion of being awarded the 2010 Bronfman Prize for humanitarian leadership.

Recently, I was able to spend some time with one of the remarkable people I mentioned in my last post. Hassan (not his real name) grew up in the Nuba Mountains region of Sudan.

Working with RefugePoint in Nairobi, we are fortunate enough to meet thousands of refugees who are amazing examples of courage, strength, ingenuity and even optimism despite the difficult pasts they have and the demanding circumstances they are currently in.