· August, 2008

Stories about Refugees from August, 2008

Georgia: Unfrozen Conflicts

Marilisa Lorusso's Blog comments on the conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia and says that the military solution has brought the world closer to a new Cold War....

31 August 2008

Georgia: Photo Blogs

Georgia & South Caucasus posts a selection of images from two photo blogs taken in the aftermath of the Russian-Georgian conflict over South Ossetia. The photos include those of IDPs...

26 August 2008

Georgia: Dispatches

My The Caucasian Knot has posts accompanied by photographs of a press conference given by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, an account of attempts...

25 August 2008

Georgia: Dispatches Under Russian Occupation

When Russian forces rolled into the strategic Georgian town of Gori, information on the occupation was scarce. Journalists died during Russian bombing runs in the military campaign leading up Gori's capture, others were shot at, and access to the town was not only limited, but also perilous with South Ossetian, Chechen and Cossack militia hijacking cars and robbing occupants. The posts by the radio station's Goga Aptsiauri are a fascinating account of life under Russian occupation. In his final post made two days ago, Aptsiauri reports that the Russian military had finally left.

24 August 2008

Palestine: Boats break siege of Gaza

The latest news on the two boats attempting to sail to the Gaza Strip as an act of solidarity is that they have reached Gaza, despite earlier warnings that they might not be permitted to do so. Bloggers have reacted to the action with both excitement and concern.

23 August 2008

Georgia, Russia: The War's Virtual Dimension

Like most other contemporary conflicts, the ongoing one in Georgia and South Ossetia has had a virtual dimension from its very start. Below are two bloggers' reflections on the wars raging outside the actual conflict zones.

16 August 2008

Video of Colombian refugees attacking a family in Chile raises concerns

A cell phone video where a group of people are seen attacking a family with sticks and stones, and leaving most of them unconscious, has been determined to show 10 Colombian refugees attacking a family of Peruvian residents getting home from a party in the town of Iquique in Chile on August 3rd 2008. This video evidence was used by the District Attorney in processing and imprisoning at least two of the Colombian refugees who were later released.

14 August 2008

Georgia, Russia: Tbilisi Reports

Three bloggers who are currently in Tbilisi describe what life there has been like in the past few days. According to LJ user oleg_panfilov, everything is quiet in the Georgian capital this night, while tomorrow "there'll be plenty of politics," because presidents of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Ukraine are expected to descend on the city.

12 August 2008

Palestine: The children who forgot how to have fun

The situation in the Gaza Strip has affected every aspect of life, and every age group. Blogger Samaher Al Khazandar describes the difficulties a kindergarten had when trying to hold a party at the end of the school year. But can children living in war zones enjoy their childhood?

9 August 2008

Croatia: Anniversary of Operation Storm

On the 4th of August 1995 the largest European land offensive since World War II started in Central Croatia, in the area of Krajina. Until then Croatian Serbs were the majority population there, but a few days later there were no Serbian families left in this area. For that reason it was called Operation Storm (Operacija Oluja). Bloggers comment on the anniversary.

5 August 2008