Tag: Refugees

Survivors’ stories: life after Islamic State violence

September 28, 2016 Erbil, Iraq, Lebanon, Mosul, New York, Refugees, Syria, UN

The New York Declaration for more humane treatment of refugees, made on 19 September at the 70th UN General Assembly, will be welcomed by the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Syrians, including many Christians, living in displacement camps or with relatives, after fleeing the conflict with so-called Islamic State . . . Read More

When Mosul is freed, Christians may face a new crisis

September 23, 2016 Iraq Islamic State, Kurds, Nineveh Plains, Refugees

The eventual liberation of Mosul, Iraq, from the so-called Islamic State will end one crisis for dislocated Christians only to create a new one, a religious-freedom expert says. Planning documents drawn up by the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government anticipate that driving IS out of Iraq’s second city will create a . . . Read More

What does the inside of a refugee camp in Lebanon look like?

September 20, 2016 Lebanon IDPs, Islamic State, Lebanon, Migrants, Refugees, UN

A Syrian family outside their makeshift tent in a Lebanese refugee camp, August 2016

WWM

One in every 113 people on earth is a refugee, according to UN figures; yesterday at its General Assembly in the US, it adopted the New York Declaration aimed at reaching a more humane and coordinated approach to large movements of refugees and migrants. At the meeting, UN Secretary-General Ban . . . Read More

Eritrea begins European offensive in Germany

September 9, 2016 Eritrea Asylum seekers, Eritrea, Europe, Migrants, Refugees

Two Eritrean Ministers are in Germany at the start of a campaign to overcome European opposition to doing a deal with a government the UN labels “a serial abuser of human rights”; the UN says 5,000 people leave Eritrea every month. Eritrea, politically isolated for years, and often called the . . . Read More

Only 0.5% Syrian refugees now in US are Christian

September 7, 2016 Syria Iraq, Islamic State, Lebanon, Refugees, Syria, USA

Christians were a meagre half-percent of the Syrian refugees welcomed to the United States in 2016, according to a report researched by Fox News. The figure, representing a minority group Washington has already described as subject to genocide, contrasts sharply with last year’s estimated 10% Christian population of Syria. Since . . . Read More

Uzbek pastor and family granted asylum in US after 9-year ordeal

September 2, 2016 Uzbekistan Andijan, Asylum seekers, Central Asia, Fergana Valley, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Islam Karimov, Islamic extremism, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Migrants, Refugees, Soviet Union, USA, Uzbekistan

Finally, their journey is over. Three years since fleeing Uzbekistan – following four years in a labour camp, house arrest and death threats – Pastor Dmitry Shestakov has arrived in the United States, where he and his family have been granted asylum. It’s been almost 10 years since Shestakov was . . . Read More

Myanmar Christians join latest peace talks

September 1, 2016 Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, Kachin, Karen, Myanmar, Nay Pyi Taw, Rape, Refugees, Women

Myanmar’s Christians have joined other ethnic groups at this week’s five-day peace conference in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, aimed at ending decades of conflict. The conference was attended by the UN Secretary-General, but some critics say it’s happened without enough preparation and consultation. The 17 ethnic groups, including representatives . . . Read More

Aleppo church helped ‘almost 2,000 Muslim refugees’

August 19, 2016 Syria Aleppo, Armenians, Greek Orthodox, Hasakah, Islamic State, Kurds, Refugees, Syria

A church in the beleaguered Syrian city of Aleppo has opened its doors to Muslims as well as Christians fleeing the war. Nearly 2,000 Muslims have benefited from the help offered by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, including by the Church of Elias the Prophet, reported Ruptly.tv, an affiliate of Russia . . . Read More

Iraq: 2 years since Nineveh fell to IS, displaced Christians pray for ‘liberation’

August 8, 2016 Iraq Islamic State, Karamles, Kurds, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh, Refugees

It’s been two years since thousands of Christians fled their homes in Mosul and the Nineveh Plains to run away from the advancing armies of the so-called Islamic State. But now, as Iraqi forces plan to retake Mosul, the Christians are praying they will soon be able to return home. . . . Read More

‘We have no voice’: Christians in Jordan 2 years after fleeing N. Iraq

August 5, 2016 Iraq Genocide, Islamic State, Jordan, Lebanon, Mosul, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Tel Kaif, Women

Bahar (left), 81, with her daughters, Samira and Bahija. IS beat Bahija and ransacked their home in Tel Kayf, outside Mosul. Bahar’s family shares a one-bedroomed house in Amman with another family of three, who sleep in the lounge.World Watch Monitor Bahija, 65, a housekeeper, told me she cries . . . Read More

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