27 June 2019 (Wall Street International)* — Our inability to disconnect from the Internet and the social media overalls, can often leave us feeling so empty as to have forgotten what compels us; what drives us to engage with the world, which is certainly far beyond the bits.
Transfixed by the digital-glow, we remain convinced we are somehow less than the woman with the perfect body and angel face, less than the man with the Ferrari and less than the successful employee with several awards and the big house in California.
Dakar(Norwegian Refugee Council)* – UN aid agencies and NGOs on 27 June 2019 warned that surging armed violence in the Sahel has propelled forced displacement and humanitarian emergency to unprecedented levels. They called for stepped-up support and greater efforts to address the causes of the region’s crises.
Displaced women at one of the informal sites hosting displaced families in Maiduguri, north-east Nigeria. Photo: Hajer Naili/NRC
In the past year, around 1 million people had to flee their homes due to insecurity and violence. In Burkina Faso, Mali and western Niger displacement has increased five-fold, and the Lake Chad Basin is witnessing a new spike in displacement and attacks. Across the Sahel, 4.2 million people are uprooted.
UNHCR seeks US$210 million to help refugees risking death, rape, arbitrary detention, forced labour and starvation as they travel towards the Mediterranean.| Español | عربي
26 June 2019 (UNHCR)* — Held captive by gun-toting smugglers at a warehouse in southern Libya, newlywed Somali refugee Maryam* was taken from her husband Ahmed* and raped – repeatedly – over several months. Only when she became pregnant was she returned to him.
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 28 2019 (IPS)* – For over 10,000 migrants fleeing to Libya from war and violence, their fate often comes down to the mercy of human traffickers or the dark unknown awaiting in detention centers.
.
The northern shores of Libya – the largest departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe – is a hotbed for modern-day slavery. Captured on land, intercepted at sea, cuffed and injured by militias and human traffickers, migrants are sent to detention centers and exposed to every abuse possible.
Beirut, 28 June 2019 (IOM)* –The International Organization for Migration (IOM) this month (June) noted its 100,000th resettlement of a refugee residing in Lebanon assisted in beginning a new life in a third country since fleeing the crisis in neighbouring Syria. This marks a significant milestone in IOM Lebanon’s resettlement efforts since the Syrian crisis first erupted in 2011.
Jasem, 24, and Jumana, 25, are starting the next phase of their life in France with their son and newborn twins. Photo: IOM/Muse Mohammed