| By Tim Gaynor | 1 March, 2019 | | UNHCR urges critical support for refugees in Egypt. Support for refugees in Egypt is under severe pressure due to increased arrivals and inadequate resources, UNHCR has warned . Ongoing conflicts in Yemen and in sub-Saharan Africa have forced more people to flee to Egypt. Over the past two years the number of registered refugees and asylum seekers there has increased 24 per cent. Meanwhile, current refugee programmes in Egypt are just four per cent funded. The population surge, coupled with funding shortfalls, are leaving many without critical support and protection. Among those struggling is 15-year-old Syrian refugee Abdallah who told UNHCR he works exhausting 12-hour shifts at a busy Cairo barber shop sweeping floors and making tea for just US$12 per week. “I would love to go back to school, but I cannot afford to stop working," he said. | |
| Around 30,000 Nigerians return from Cameroon. An estimated 30,000 Nigerians have returned from Cameroon to their home town in northeast Nigeria since Tuesday despite ongoing militant violence in the region. The returnees were among some 40,000 Nigerian women, men and children who sought refuge in the Cameroonian village of Goura following deadly attacks by Boko Haram in Rann in December 2018 and January 2019. The Rann residents who decided to return did so following visits by Nigerian local authorities who encouraged them to go, and gave assurances that security would be restored in the area, Reuters reported, citing UNHCR. “They have responded to this appeal and many have opted to take the return journey home,” UNHCR said. “We have also advocated with the authorities to guarantee admission and protection of those seeking asylum and government support so that humanitarian organisations can deliver assistance.” Rann has been attacked four times since 7 December 2018 by non-state armed groups. Earlier this month, Nigerian refugees told UNHCR staff in Cameroon they fled as militants opened fire on them. | | |
| Bangladesh tells U.N. Security Council it cannot take more Myanmar refugees. Bangladesh told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that it cannot take any more refugees from Myanmar, Reuters reported. “I regret to inform the council that Bangladesh would no longer be in a position to accommodate more people from Myanmar,” Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said. Bangladesh hosts nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, more than 740,000 of whom fled since a military crackdown in Rakhine state in August 2017. Myanmar says it has been ready to accept returning refugees since January, but the United Nations says conditions are not yet right for their return. The Rohingya say they want guarantees over their safety and to be recognised as citizens before returning. Earlier this month, UNHCR expressed concern at the humanitarian impact of continuing violence in Myanmar and said it was ready to offer support. | | |
| 320,000 Somalis fled conflict and insecurity in 2018. The number of civilians who fled their homes is up 50 per cent from the previous year, according to newly released figures. In 2017, 202,000 people were displaced, the Norwegian Refugee Council said in a press release . “The root causes remain complex, but conflict-driven displacement and continued armed conflict, violence, and insecurity inside Somalia remain the major concern,” UNHCR spokeswoman Dana Hughes said. A lack of funding has been a challenge for UNHCR in responding to humanitarian needs, with the organization only receiving about a third of what it needs to meet the vast assistance and protection needs across the country. Overall 2.6 million Somalis are currently displaced internally. | | |
| Syrian refugee swimmer sets sights on 2020 Olympics. A Syrian refugee has stunned swimming experts by learning how to swim in just 12 months and is now training for the 2020 Olympics, the BBC reports. Eid Aljazairli, who is 24 years old, risked drowning trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe in 2016. Now he is living with a British family and training at the London Aquatics Centre. In October, Aljazairli’s hopes got another lift. At a meeting in Buenos Aires, the International Olympic Committee announced that it would field a team of refugees – as it did in Rio in 2016 – under the IOC flag, at the 2020 Toyko Games. “I’m proud to be a refugee, but I am not just that. I’m a dreamer,” he told UNHCR. | | |
At the end of last year, Egypt hosted 242,873 refugees and asylum-seekers of 58 different nationalities. More than half - 55 per cent - from Syria.
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