| Fear and isolation for Myanmar’s remaining Rohingya. Around 150,000 Rohingya are thought to remain in northern areas of Myanmar’s Rakhine State spread among isolated villages that were spared from last year’s violence. Yet, according to this report by AFP, their lives are still shaped by tension and fear . Rights groups say many Rohingya communities are hemmed in by hostile neighbours and unable to work freely. Further south, another 130,000 are confined to camps created following previous rounds of violence. During a visit to one such camp in Rakhine State this week, the UN’s deputy humanitarian chief Ursula Mueller described the conditions as “really dire”. UNHCR’s Asia director, Indrika Ratwatte, told a press briefing on Wednesday that the agency, together with the UN Development Program, is negotiating an agreement with the Myanmar government to gain access to northern Rakhine State. Ratwatte said the conditions for Rohingya refugees to voluntarily repatriate to Myanmar were not yet in place and there is no humanitarian access. For returns to go ahead “it is imperative we have a presence and meaningful access to northern Rakhine State,” he said. | | |
| Brazil steps up relocations of Venezuelans from border area. More than 800 Venezuelans are entering Brazil every day, according to the government’s latest estimates, with most arriving to the isolated northern state of Roraima. Pressure on public services such as health care and sanitation is growing in the state capital, Boa Vista. Although two new shelters have opened in Boa Vista in the last two weeks, many Venezuelans are still living on the streets and in parks, as described in this report by a humanitarian affairs officer for UN Environment. He writes of finding 14 Venezuelan families sleeping under a stage in a park where some had been living for 18 months. Local authorities are now working with UNHCR to identify those willing to relocate from Roraima to other parts of the country. Two flights took 380 Venezuelans to Sao Paulo and Cuiabá, the capital of the Mato Grosso state, yesterday and today. So far, some 600 Venezuelans have agreed to be transferred to other states, according to UNHCR. Many more have said they would like to relocate. | | |
| Cholera still threatening Congolese refugees in Uganda. An outbreak of the waterborne disease has killed more than 40 people in two overcrowded refugee settlements in western Uganda since mid-February. More than 2,000 cholera cases are still being managed, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross. Uganda has received nearly 70,000 people fleeing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri region since the beginning of the year and local health facilities are over-stretched. In a statement, the IFRC’s regional director said access to clean water and proper sanitation were urgent priorities for refugees in the two settlements. | | |
| Turkey struggles to integrate Syrian children into public schools. The Turkish government is moving ahead with plans to close Arabic-language refugee-only schools by the end of this year, moving hundreds of thousands of mainly Syrian children into the Turkish-language public education system . IRIN reports on some of the challenges including limited classroom space, language barriers and discrimination. Financial barriers have been lessened by an EU-funded program to provide subsidies to refugee families who send their children to school regularly. | | |
| UN rights watchdog urges Hungary to halt hate speech targeting refugees. The UN Human Rights Committee issued findings from an independent review of Hungary’s rights record on Thursday, three days ahead of a general election. The panel of experts voiced concern about the prevalence of hate speech in Hungary’s political discourse and in the media targeting minorities, including refugees and migrants. It urged the government to reject draft laws that would empower the interior ministry to ban NGOs supporting asylum-seekers. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has conveyed a strong anti-migration message to drum up support for a third consecutive term in office. | | |
| The four things Syrians want before they’ll return home. According to research by the Carnegie Middle East Center, summarised by the Centre’s director in this report for the BBC, there are four main issues preventing Syrian refugees from returning home. Parents have major concerns about the safety of their children while various armed groups remain in the country while young male refugees are worried about forced conscription. Many of those interviewed in Jordan and Lebanon fear arbitrary arrests and deteriorating security conditions under the current regime. Many refugees have no home to return to with 30 per cent of homes having been damaged or completely destroyed by the conflict. | | |
| Since escaping Taliban violence in Afghanistan when they were small children, brothers Jalal and Kamal have lived in Turkey, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Iran, but they’ve had no permanent home. Now they’ve found sanctuary at a Catholic friary in northern California thanks to the interfaith outreach efforts of Jewish resettlement agency, HIAS. The friary has taken in six refugees and been established as a place for emergency transitional housing. “Muslims, Jewish family, Christians…it’s really amazing,” says Kamal. | | |
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