SFHS IHL ACTION CAMPAIGN

Apparently the backlash against African refugees in Israel is more intense than even I was aware of.

From members of the Israeli government to the person on the street numerous Israelis have spoken against what they describe as African “infiltrators”.

It’d be wise to keep an eye on this.

Warning: The language used in this clips is brutal.

"There is war in my country." 

Godstime (which is an awesome name in my opinion) is from Nigeria. He fled his homeland out of security reasons: “There is war in my country”, he says with a firm look into my eyes. 

It is Boko Haram he talks about, and as he names the militant movement, a few things click inside my head. I’ve heard about Bokoh Haram alot, but this is the moment I meet a fellow who actually knows what that means through his life. 

Godstime first fled to Italy overseas, with a boat. Again, a few things click in my head. I’ve heard about that, too. “It’s very dangerous”, Godstime adds. 

After two months in Italy, he found his way to Germany. And he is obviously very glad that he made it.

But with a few words, he explains to me that he has no family anymore. No family. I have to pause. These words pierce their way into my heart in seconds. 

Without further needing to explain, I do not ask how that happened. I think I know it. And I do not want to push our conversation too far. But I look into his eyes and respond, that I am very sorry. Godstime nods.

_

Welcome to Germany, Godstime. May you be safe. May you find people in our country, that give you warmth. May you find a home, that feels safe. May we help you, as much as we can.  

“The area where my family lives is sorrounded by military from the government. They can’t get out.“

This is Tamim from Syria. He just arrived the same morning when I met him. Tamim was very kind and open to me, but I saw what the past had done to him. 

But he had no option. Had to leave his country, because either is family could get out of their neighborhood to him, nor could he get back in.

So the very shy boy from Syria he gave up everything he had, to come to us. At least to be secure. No military.

Tamim misses his family very bad.

And how much I would! 

Tamim, welcome to Germany. May this country give you a safe place and a future that can heal your inner wounds. Stay strong. Stay strong.  

A Syrian Kurdish woman waits with her daughter at the southeastern town of Suruc.

Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty

SOMALIA, Mogadishu : Somali refugees stand amongst their scattered belongings after their temporary shelters were destroyed by Somali soldiers on March 4, 2015 at the Sarkusta refugee camp in southern Mogadishu. Dozens of houses and shops were destroyed in the area after the Somali government ordered the demolition of makeshift homes. AFP PHOTO / Mohamed Abdiwahab                        

A Syrian refugee girl stands outside of a tent at a refugee camp in Zahlé, Lebanon. (Photo Credit: Reuters)

Suruc, Turkey A Kurdish refugee from the Syrian town of Kobani walks in a camp for displaced people

Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

An Afghan refugee girl stands in an alley of a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo Credit: Muhammed Muheisen)

What if Manhattan…

Afghan refugee Sayma Naseeb, four, stands by the doorway of her family’s house in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo Credit: AP)

We’ve noticed the terms ‘immigrant’, ‘asylum seeker’ and ‘refugee’ are often rolled into one. But they’re not the same thing. You’re all busy people, so we’ll keep this quick.

An immigrant has deliberately moved to a new country – it was their choice. There might be lots of reasons why: love, work, better prospects, a change of scene. This can work both ways: you may know someone who’s hotfooted it to Australia, in search of sun, big skies and giant prawns.

But an asylum seeker has left their country suddenly, faced with persecution and lacking any protection.

To expand on that definition, let’s turn to the 1951 Refugee Convention. They describe this as someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”

It’s completely legal, under these circumstances, to escape and find safety elsewhere.

Once you’ve claimed asylum in another country, you will need to wait while the government looks at your case. They will decide what your legal status will be – a refugee or something different.

The number of refugees and asylum seekers goes up and down, depending on what’s happening in the world. For instance, the four-year conflict in Syria has swelled recent figures.

However, the UK has not been ‘flooded’ by those looking for safety. An estimated 63.7 million people currently live in the UK – and only 0.24 per cent are refugees.

Even within Europe, we are not the scapegoat. In terms of asylum seekers per head, the UK ranks 16th out of 28 EU countries.

Most asylum seekers (80 per cent) flee over their nearest border – which is usually a developing country, where they’re likely to live in camps.

An asylum seeker has left everything behind: friends, family, photographs, job, home, clothes, favourite views or sentimental gifts… The list goes on.

To do something so drastic, anyone can see that you’d have to be desperate.

But ‘coming over here’ isn’t easy, either. The streets aren’t paved with gold and you’re not exactly welcomed with open arms.

We’ve spoken to people who were lawyers, doctors and teachers in their home countries: all keen to lend their skills here.

Yet 56 per cent of the asylum seekers we see are destitute: penniless and struggling to feed themselves. While they wait for a decision on their asylum claim (which can take years), they live in limbo: unable to work and living off a tiny amount from the government.

"I said ‘Show me what you see that I can’t see. Show me the real life here that maybe the outside world never sees’" - photographer Michael Christopher Brown

Their homes are dusty refugee tents - and life is hard. Using cameras on smartphones - and with the support of Save the Children and professional photographer Michael Christopher Brown - Syrian teenagers have created unique portraits of conditions inside the Zaatari camp in neighbouring Jordan.

Over the course of a week, the girls and boys aged 14 to 18 were taught photographic techniques, and then asked to capture images of their daily reality. The iPhone files were then converted into distinctive square Instagram images.

Listen to their stories and see some of their photos.

At the beginning of September, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that 260,000 people had been displaced within Ukraine by Russia’s annexation of Crimea and by the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Read on here.

Graphics by Simran Khosla/GlobalPost

Hope & Happiness

(Arbat refugees camp in Sulaimaniya)