| Calls for calm following refugee death at Rwanda camp. Confrontations between authorities and Congolese refugees at western Rwanda’s Kiziba camp have led to the death of one refugee and the arrest of 23 others. Tensions began last Friday after Rwandan authorities deployed more police in and around the camp. On Monday, police and government officials were pelted with stones as they arrived at the camp, reportedly in order to arrest members of the refugees’ executive committee. The committee members stand accused of organizing a protest in February that resulted in more than 10 refugees dying when police fired shots. On Tuesday, refugees tried to block police patrols from entering the camp. Refugees told Reuters that the police responded by firing tear gas and live rounds. One refugee was wounded and later died, while 14 refugees and four police officers were wounded. UNHCR issued a statement this morning calling on authorities to handle the situation “with calm and restraint” and appealing to refugees to respect local laws and express grievances through dialogue. | | |
| Greece vows to address overcrowding at reception centres on islands. During a visit to the island of Lesvos on Wednesday, Migration Minister Dimitris Vitsas said the government would aim to cut the number of asylum-seekers on five islands from the current level of 15,500 to 6,500 by the end of September. He also said additional staff would be hired to clear a large backlog of asylum claims. Overcrowding on the islands has contributed to mounting tensions and protests by both locals and asylum-seekers. With Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras due to visit Lesvos today, AP reports that islanders are planning street protests and a strike by businesses in the main port. | | |
| Uganda launches vaccination drive to combat cholera. The campaign will target 360,000 people, including 70,000 Congolese refugees ahead of the rainy season. An outbreak of cholera that began in February has resulted in 2,276 reported cases 45 deaths of refugees. The number of reported cases has gradually declined, but Andie Lambe of International Refugee Rights Initiative told the Guardian that, with new cases still being identified, the vaccination programme was essential . The outbreak has diverted much-needed resources from the humanitarian response to some 70,000 Congolese refugees who have arrived in Uganda since the beginning of 2018. | | |
| Yemeni mothers skipping meals to feed their children. AP reports from a hospital in Aden where doctors are encountering increasing numbers of mothers like Umm Mizrah, who, despite being pregnant, is starving herself in an effort to feed her children. Despite her efforts, her 17-month-old son is acutely malnourished . Yemen’s hunger crisis is now so severe that around 2.9 women and children are acutely malnourished and nearly a third of the population rely on food aid to survive. It is not known how many have already died from hunger, but Save the Children estimates that 50,000 children may have died of extreme hunger or disease in 2017. | | |
| Syrian refugees happy to be in Canada but struggling financially. A survey 241 Syrian refugees who arrived in Canada two years ago as part of a government-supported resettlement programme has found that while many are still struggling to find jobs and support themselves, they are gradually settling into life in their new country. The survey, released on Wednesday by British Columbia’s Immigrant Services Society, found that 27 per cent of respondents were in full-time work, compared to 17 per cent a year ago, and that 87 per cent felt their English had improved. The survey didn’t track the number of refugees who were self-employed – an emerging trend according to other research. | | |
| Two French pilots pool savings to help save lives in the Mediterranean. The two men have bought a light plane which they will use to provide aerial observation support to NGO organizations carrying out search-and-rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean. José Benavente and Benoît Micolon told Euronews that with more than 3,000 people dying in the Mediterranean every year, often after their small boats sink without being noticed, “We had to do something”. Their non-profit organization, Pilotes Volontaires, will coordinate with Italy’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and carry out its first mission from Malta on Friday. | | |
| Kakuma camp in northwest Kenya is home to 185,000 refugees from 19 countries and a thriving informal economy worth an estimated US$56 million annually. In this short film by the International Finance Corporation we meet some of Kakuma’s entrepreneurs who are providing camp residents with services ranging from taxis, internet and electricity to savings schemes. Recent research by the IFC found that with more private investment, such services could be scaled up and improved, lowering prices and creating more opportunities for refugees. | | |
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