Mediterranean sea crossings increasingly dangerous despite drop in arrivals

The Refugee Brief, 3 September

By Kate Bond @katebonduk  | 3 September, 2018 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Mediterranean see crossings increasingly dangerous despite drop in arrivals, warns UNHCR. Three years on from the shocking images of lifeless Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi, a new report by UNHCR shows that crossing the Mediterranean Sea has become even more deadly . The report shows that while the total number of people arriving in Europe has fallen, the rate of deaths has risen sharply, particularly for those crossing via the Central Mediterranean. Over 1,600 people have died or gone missing while attempting to reach Europe so far this year. Steep tax stops scholarships for refugees studying at Hungarian universities. Al Jazeera reports that dozens of refugees with scholarships at Hungary’s Central European University will not finish their studies due to a hefty new tax. The surtax, equal to 25 percent of institutions’ entire budget, applies where scholarship programmes are considered to “directly or indirectly aim to promote immigration”. WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR Khaled Hosseini on new book 'Sea Prayer'. Best-selling author and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Khaled Hosseini has published a new illustrated book about refugees. Its publication comes on the third anniversary of Alan Kurdi’s death. The Guardian calls it “the contemplative and poetic story of a father fleeing Syria with his son”. Faith leaders press UK government to do more for child refugees. A letter signed by 42 Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith leaders has urged the UK government to do more to help child refugees. It calls on government leaders to match the efforts of the Kindertransport, a rescue operation that saved thousands of Jewish and other refugee children from Nazi persecution, and ensure protection for child refugees in future years. Rohingya children struggle to get most basic education. Al Jazeera reports from Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where almost 400,000 Rohingya kids have fled in the past year. Many are now struggling to get a formal education, but aid agencies are trying to give them a chance to learn. In a report on refugee education issued last week UNHCR emphasized the need for refugees to follow a formal curriculum with trained teachers. GET INSPIRED When artist Ben Quilty and author Richard Flanagan saw a six-year-old girl draw her life in Syria, they decided to create the book Home – Drawings by Syrian Children. "When you start looking at these pictures in detail, you see the horror, the sadness, the beauty they've lost and what's important to them," says Flanagan. DID YOU KNOW? In the Central Mediterranean, one person died or went missing for every 18 people who crossed to Europe between January and July 2018.

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