Stories about Refugees from August, 2009
Sri Lanka: Let The IDPs Go
Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca visits a Sri Lankan IDP camp and shares his observations: “Everyone just wants to go home, or at least to stay with relatives. They don’t need charity anymore, they need the freedom to rebuild their lives with dignity.
East Timor: Abe Barreto Soares’ Poetry for Nation Building
He calls himself a “wanderer like anyone else” but Abe Barreto Soares is also a poet, a translator and an active blogger. In this interview, he talks about Timorese nationalism, language and poetry.
Bangladesh: Mourning Senator Edward Kennedy
Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009), the second most senior member of the US Senate, died of cancer last Tuesday. Bloggers recall him as a true friend of Bangladesh and explain why Bangladeshis will remember him forever.
Bhutan: Starting Over in America
At Dal Bhat Tarkari photographer and documentary film maker Anya Vaverko writes about her recent documentary about the Bhutanese refugees of cultural repression and their new life in USA as a part of their resettlement efforts. The Documentary is titled “Big Buildings: Starting Over in America” and you can watch...
Sri Lanka: Images Of The Flood In An IDP Camp
Groundviews posts pictures of the flooding in Menik Camp and updates on the increasingly desperate situation for the IDPs.
Sri Lanka: Blogs Only Source Of Information From IDP Camps
Committee To Protect Bloggers quotes an Amnesty International report, which says that anonymous blog entries are the only source of information from IDP camps where: “attacks on journalists, relentless intimidation, and government-imposed restrictions on reporting threaten freedom of expression in Sri Lanka and jeopardize the safety and dignity of civilians...
Sri Lanka: Flood In IDP Camps
GroundViews informs that “torrential rains in Vavuniya throughout the day have severely affected IDPs interned in Menik Camp, particularly in Zone 3 and Zone 4.” See Vidura's Twitter messages http://twitter.com/apelankawe for updates from the ground.
Taiwan: Southern Taiwan devastated by typhoon Morakot
On Aug. 7, 2009, typhoon Morakot landed on Taiwan. The Central Weather Bureau urged residents in Northern Taiwan to be prepared for the heavy rain and strong wind brought by Morakot. However, it turned out that southern Taiwan has suffered from more devastating landslides and floods when compared with northern...
Palestine: Remembering Shafiq Al Hout
On 2 August, founder member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Shafiq Al Hout died. Al Hout helped found the PLO in 1964, was appointed PLO representative in Lebanon, and survived ten Israeli assassination attempts during the Lebanese Civil War. Arab bloggers have been paying tribute.
United Kingdom: Asylum seekers telling their stories
More and more refugee organizations are using online social media and asylum seekers' own words in their advocacy work and outreach to donors.
Palestine: Palestinians and the Nakba
“I used to wonder what it would be like to be part of the so-called nakba generation. i don't wonder anymore, as i realize now that despite the passage of time, i am in fact a part of it,” admits Al Falasteenyia as she laments the reality of Palestinians.
