What does it mean to become a refugee before you’ve even had the chance to grow up? From Syria to Sudan, Myanmar to Afghanistan, children around the world are being displaced at unprecedented levels. Some are too young to understand why they’re running; others carry memories of war, persecution, or violence no child should ever […]
Category: Refugees
When the Law is Not Enough: The Persecution of LGBTQ+ Colombians
June is Pride Month in commemoration of the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, an uprising against the state-sponsored persecution of queer-and-trans people. Today, more than fifty years later, queer-and-trans people remain persecuted. On paper, Colombia has some of the strongest protections in the Americas for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LBGTQ+) individuals. But it […]
Supporting Relationships: Refugees and Host Communities
Cover Image Source: SuSanA Secretariat A refugee camp is a temporary settlement for the protection and aid of displaced populations. For refugees, a refugee camp can be an immediate safe haven. Host countries and international organizations establish refugee camps for a number of reasons. Refugee camps can be a politically expedient method of influx management, a […]
Defining “Refugees”—An Exclusionary Legacy
International organizations were born in the aftermath of devastating world wars. Nations set up international institutions and covenants, seeking to never repeat the devastation arising out of those wars. But first, they had to tackle an unprecedented mass displacement crisis. Due to warfare, destruction, and persecution, millions of people were driven out of their homes. […]
50 Years After the Fall of Saigon: Refugee Stories From Vietnam
Photo credit: Les Bird, Along the Southern Boundary On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell. In the years that followed, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees left. Families were separated in the chaos. At least 800,000 took to the seas in search of safety. Many would spend weeks at sea, denied rescue by passing ships. This […]
From Libya to Syria: Navigating Displacement Crises Post-Regime
Background The First Libyan Civil War and the Syrian Civil War were part of the broader Arab Spring uprisings that began in Tunisia in late 2010 and spread across the Middle East and North Africa. Both civil wars began in 2011 and emerged from a wave of protests demanding economic and social dignity, democracy, and […]
Situation Update: Sudan April 2025
The situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate as the country approaches two years in a civil war that has caused humanitarian catastrophe. War between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on April 15, 2023. Both sides have committed atrocities. In January 2025, the U.S. Department of State determined that […]
Children in Migration Need Protection, Not Barriers
The international community once held a strong consensus that children are inherently entitled to protection, with the belief that their needs and rights should be prioritized above all else. No matter their country of origin, their religion, their identity, their legal or migratory status—they are children, first and foremost. This principle was enshrined in various […]
Lessons from Libya for Addressing Syrian Displacement
The First Libyan Civil War and the Syrian Civil War were part of the broader Arab Spring uprisings that began in late 2010 and spread across the Middle East and North Africa. Both civil wars began in 2011 and emerged from a wave of protests demanding democratic reforms and an end to authoritarian regimes. In […]
Three Years of War in Ukraine: We Must Support Women-Centered Refugee Solutions
Today, we memorialize three years of full-scale war in Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Russian forces launched a military invasion into Ukraine, sparking one of the largest displacement crises in modern history. People in Crimea and front-line regions have endured years of emergency displacement. People throughout Ukraine have shown resilience in the face of indiscriminate […]
