refugees - The African Mirror

Dec

2020

Ethiopia’s war still churns, but relief aid coming

RELIEF agencies in Ethiopia have prepared convoys to truck aid into the Tigray region, where clashes were still reported in a month of war that may have killed thousands and has sent refugees fleeing to Sudan along corpse-strewn roads. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory over the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) after federal forces captured the regional capital Mekelle at the weekend. However, TPLF leaders have dug into surrounding mountains in what appears to be an emerging guerrilla strategy. One aid worker in touch with Tigray told Reuters that fighting continued to the north, south and west of the…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia war may turn into guerrilla insurgency, experts say

NEWS

ETHIOPIA’S nearly month-long war against rebellious northern forces may be transforming into a guerrilla conflict, experts have said, even though federal troops declared victory after capturing the Tigrayan regional capital at the weekend. Fighting since November 4 is believed to have killed thousands of people, as well as forcing refugees into Sudan, dragging in Eritrea, and worsening hunger and suffering among Tigray's more than 5 million people. Reports of clashes between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's soldiers and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) were still coming out of the region, though communications remain largely cut and outside access blocked. Abiy…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethiopian troops push for regional capital, rebels promise ‘hell’

NEWS

GIULIA PARAVICINI ETHIOPIA predicted swift victory but northern rebels promised them "hell" on Wednesday in a two-week war threatening the vast nation's unity and further destabilising the Horn of Africa. The war has killed hundreds, sent 30,000 refugees into Sudan, and called into question whether Africa's youngest leader can hold together Ethiopia's myriad fractious ethnic groups. Rebuffing appeals for talks, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government says its forces are marching on Tigray's capital Mekelle and will soon triumph over the local ruling Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which he accuses of revolt. The rebels say they have captured tanks and…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

From Asia to Africa, refugees hope Biden win could help rebuild lives

HUMAN RIGHTS

BEN LIY YI and NITA BHALLA JOE Biden's U.S. presidential election win has raised hopes of resettlement for refugees from Asia to Africa, many in countries where they are denied work and education and have no formal status. The United States has for years taken in tens of thousands of refugees who are unable to return home or make a new life in the country where they have sought asylum, under a process known as third-country resettlement. But admissions plunged under President Donald Trump from 85,000 in 2016, before he took office, to 30,000 last year, official data shows. Biden…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Explosion rocks Ethiopia as Tigray conflict worsens, refugees flee to Sudan

NEWS

AN explosion under a bridge in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa injured one man on Wednesday, a federal police spokesman said. There was no indication the blast was related to the conflict in the northern Tigray region were federal troops are fighting forces loyal to local leaders. The man lost a leg, the spokesman told Reuters. Refugees have fled to Sudan and the African Union appealed for a ceasefire in a north Ethiopian region where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is waging a military offensive against local leaders defiant of his authority. About 2,500 Ethiopians have escaped across the border to Sudan…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Study sheds light on how South Africa can best tackle prejudice against migrants

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

STEVEN GORDON, Senior research specialist, Human Sciences Research Council XENOPHOBIA is a serious problem in South Africa. Cross-border migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the country face harassment and discrimination. Hundreds of incidents of anti-immigrant hate crime have been reported in the past decade alone. To address this, the government launched the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in March 2019. The plan recognises that without quality data the government will struggle to design effective policies to change public attitudes towards foreigners. Targeted communication campaigns can be very effective in expanding tolerance between groups…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Insights from Morocco into how smartphones support migration

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

MOHA ENNAJI, Professor, Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah FOR undocumented migrants and refugees travelling to new countries, accurate information is vital. Because of this, smartphones – mobile phones that perform many of the functions of a computer, like accessing the internet – have become an important tool. They give migrants access to applications such as Google Maps, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. These can provide them with information from social media and close contacts. In a recent study, my colleague Filippo Bignami and I investigated the role of smartphones in irregular migration. We wanted to know how they helped migrants reach…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

THE LONG READ: What happens to migrants forcibly returned to Libya?

HUMAN RIGHTS

MAT NASHED THE killing last week of three young men after they were intercepted at sea by the EU-funded Libyan Coast Guard has thrown the spotlight on the fate of tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers returned to Libya to face detention, abuse and torture by traffickers, or worse. The three Sudanese nationals aged between 15 and 18 were shot dead on 28 July, reportedly by members of a militia linked to the Coast Guard as they tried to avoid being detained. They are among more than 6,200 men, women, and children intercepted on the central Mediterranean and returned to Libya this year. Since…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Locked out by COVID, refugees’ lives on hold

COVID-19

EDWARD MCALLISTER WHEN Michelle Alfaro left her office at the United Nations in Geneva on March 13, her job finding homes for the world’s most vulnerable refugees was under control. Four days later, the new coronavirus had knocked it into chaos. Governments across the world announced border closures, lockdowns and flight cancellations. The United Nations was forced to suspend the programme. “Everything collapsed that week,” said Alfaro, who manages resettlements for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR. Millions of people have been thrown into limbo by the new coronavirus. Those Alfaro works with had been promised escape from war, violence, conflict…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

British street artist Banksy funds refugee rescue boat

NEWS

BRITISH street artist Banksy is funding a boat crewed by volunteer rescue professionals to rescue refugees in the Mediterranean attempting to reach Europe from Africa. The boat, named "Louise Michel" after a French feminist anarchist, has been operational since last week. On Thursday it rescued 89 people, including 14 women and four children, from a rubber boat in distress, the group said on its website. The 89 migrants are still onboard the boat and waiting for a safe port to disembark. A former French Navy boat daubed in pink and white, the 30-metre long Louise Michel was bought with proceeds…