| Desperate journeys and changing refugee movements to Europe. Far fewer refugees and migrants are reaching Europe, but the dangers they face along the way have increased, according to a report from UNHCR. The number of people crossing from Libya to Italy fell by 74 per cent in the first three months of 2018, compared to the same period last year. Those crossing from Libya are taking a more perilous journey , the report said, and arriving with “a deeply worrying deterioration” in health. Women and unaccompanied children are particularly exposed to risks of sexual and gender-based violence along the routes to Europe, as well as after they arrive on the continent. | | |
| Family reunification benefits refugees and host countries alike. A long-read in Foreign Policy makes the case that refugees are not the only ones who stand to gain from family reunification. Host countries also benefit, through faster and smoother integration. Citing an emerging body of evidence, the article concluded that “Family reunification increasingly appears critical to ensuring those refugees integrate into their new homelands and begin contributing more than they take.” | | |
| U.S. sees fewer refugee admissions. In the first half of the 2018 fiscal year, the rate of refugee admissions to the United States dropped by 73 per cent, compared with the same period in 2017, according to the International Rescue Committee. The Wall Street Journal reported that only 11 Syrian refugees have been admitted in the last five months. “Drastically diminished refugee arrivals have detrimental consequences for U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” said Hans Van de Weerd, IRC’s vice president for US programs. | | |
| Drought in Somaliland leaves women and girls at risk. Drought in the Horn of Africa is forcing some families in Somaliland to marry off their teenage girls, according to Save the Children. The aid organization found that 51 teenage girls from the 1,104 households it surveyed there had been married off because of the impact of the drought. The trend threatens to undermine recent progress in stamping out sexual violence against women and girls in Somaliland. The drought displaced one million people in the whole of Somalia in 2017, "leaving women and young mothers especially vulnerable to assault." | | |
| Refugees in Bangladesh wrestle with trauma. Rohingya who fled violence in Myanmar and sought safety in Bangladesh now face other risks, Reuters reported. Many need treatment for trauma and other mental health issues, which may be compounded by food shortages, inadequate shelter, or poor sanitation and hygiene. More than 43 per cent of children in refugee settlements in Cox's Bazar are chronically malnourished, Reuters said, citing researchers from UNHCR, Action Against Hunger and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Aid groups are calling for more funding to expand mental health and psychosocial support services. | | |
| Africans in Israel in limbo. Israel is reportedly finalizing a deal to deport thousands of African asylum-seekers to Uganda. About 4,000 Africans have left Israel for Rwanda and Uganda since 2013 under a voluntary programme, Reuters said, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under pressure to expel more. UNHCR has raised concerns about Israel’s non-voluntary removal policy, as those who left voluntarily did not find adequate protection and some subsequently embarked on dangerous journeys within Africa or to Europe. | | |
| Muzoon Almellehan fled Dara’a, Syria, five years ago, when she was 14 years old. Among the handful of belongings she carried were her schoolbooks. “I was very worried about education. It is the greatest weapon that can help us fight for our rights and achieve our dreams,” she said. Muzoon regained hope when she was able to attend school in Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. She has since campaigned to help other refugee children gain access to education. | | |
| Over 3,100 people are believed to have lost their lives at sea last year while travelling to Europe. | | |
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