When Lily Eftetahi arrived in Greece three years ago as a refugee from Iran, she spoke neither Greek nor English. She had countless questions about how to start a new life as a refugee, but wasn’t sure who to ask for accurate answers.
That chan…
Category: Refugee Crisis
LEGO Foundation gives Sesame Workshop $100 million to help refugee kids
Since 2015, Sesame Workshop and LEGO Foundation have worked together in India, Mexico, and South Africa to give children in need the opportunity to learn through play. Now, for the first time, they’re teaming up to address the specific needs of child…
View More LEGO Foundation gives Sesame Workshop $100 million to help refugee kidsHow the U.N. Refugee Agency will use big data to find smarter solutions
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It took a devastating photograph to get the world to pay attention.
The image of 3-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi went viral in September 2015, showing the toddler’s lifeless body washed ashore in Turkey after his family tried to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to find safety in Greece. It was a wake-up call for the international community, particularly people in rich, developed nations who had yet to grasp the scope of continued human suffering caused by the years-long Syrian conflict.
But today, as more than 22.5 million people have fled countries like Syria, South Sudan, and Myanmar because of civil war, famine, and ethnic cleansing, sentiment around the crisis has become nearly as complex as the crisis itself. Politicians continue to spout harmful rhetoric that stokes fears and misconceptions about refugees and migrants, while people who do want to help often resign themselves to feeling that it’s an intractable issue — too overwhelming to make a difference. Read more…
More about Social Good, United Nations, Refugee Crisis, Refugees, and World Bank
Ai Weiwei makes bold statement about the refugee crisis with giant inflatable boat
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Controversial Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has unveiled a colossal installation that’s a stark reminder of the global refugee crisis.
The human rights activist has brought a 196-foot-long inflatable installation to Sydney’s Cockatoo Island, as one of the cornerstones of this year’s Biennale of Sydney exhibition.
Titled Law of the Journey, and sitting inside the large Turbine Hall on the island, the work resembles a colossal black rubber life raft, bulging with hundreds of anonymous human figures wearing life jackets.
Image: shannon connellan/mashable Read more…
More about Australia, Art, Refugee Crisis, Installation, and Ai Weiwei
View More Ai Weiwei makes bold statement about the refugee crisis with giant inflatable boatMillions of refugees could benefit from big data — but we’re not using it
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Today, 65 million people live as refugees or are displaced within their home countries — more than at any other point since the U.N. Refugee Agency began collecting data. Many countries have opened their borders to those displaced by war and famine, but struggle to handle the large influx.
This global crisis is often misunderstood as an overwhelming challenge for which no one can offer a satisfactory solution. But there is a set of tools that would help us, as a global society, take major leaps forward in addressing this crisis. I’m talking about predictive analytics — the statistical science (some would say art) that mines current and past data to predict future outcomes. Read more…
More about Tech, Social Good, Refugee Crisis, Refugees, and Big Data
View More Millions of refugees could benefit from big data — but we’re not using itLena Headey on her work with refugees and what inspired her to share her #MeToo story
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Refugee mother shares family’s journey to the U.S. in powerful animated video
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Layla’s journey has been anything but easy.
She’s a refugee from the eastern Somali Region of Ethiopia, which she and her husband fled because of conflict and persecution in the early 2000s. They eventually found a temporary home in Saudi Arabia, where they had children and stayed for seven years — before Layla’s husband was deported in 2010. Her employers helped her family escape to Syria.
“I began to start my new life,” Layla says. “My kids had a little education at home.”
But before she could truly settle, civil war erupted in Syria, contributing to one of the worst refugee crises of our time. Layla made the difficult decision to once again flee the country where her family lived, walking for two to three days to the Turkish border, where she ultimately learned of her husband’s death back home. Read more…
More about Videos, Politics, Social Good, Refugee Crisis, and Refugees
View More Refugee mother shares family’s journey to the U.S. in powerful animated videoEverything you buy in this pop-up store will be given to refugees
“Choose Love” in central London is a peculiar kind of pop-up store where you purchase stuff but don’t actually bring anything home.
SEE ALSO: Heart-wrenching newspaper feature lists names of 33,000 dead refugees
Do not worry, though, we are not talki…
Before-and-after satellite images show massive influx of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
The severity of the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis becomes even clearer when viewed from space.
An estimated 624,000 Rohingya refugees, a Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since la…
Heart-wrenching newspaper feature lists names of 33,000 dead refugees
It’s difficult for people to conceptualize quantities in large numbers, such as the tens of thousands of people who have died on their journey to Europe, seeking refuge from conflict and poverty.
On Friday, the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel…
Follow the desperate flight of Rohingya refugees with this moving map
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Amid a global refugee crisis that’s seen more than 22.5 million people flee countries like Syria and South Sudan because of civil war and famine, southern Bangladesh is poised to build the largest refugee camp in the world.
In recent months, more than 582,000 Rohingya refugees — a Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar often described as “the most persecuted minority in the world” — have fled oppression and extreme violence in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state. The resulting humanitarian crisis has worsened even more over the past few weeks.
More about Social Good, Refugee Crisis, Refugees, Unhcr, and Rohingya
View More Follow the desperate flight of Rohingya refugees with this moving map11 influential Hispanic activists you need to know
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Whether it’s through grassroots organizing or artistic self-celebration, Hispanic activists have been working for decades to create better lives for those who share their heritage and culture.
Activists who originate from Spanish-speaking countries have a vast history of fierce activism for their communities, pushing social progress and creating tangible change. But we rarely hear of their contributions, leaving their impact largely uncelebrated — even if it’s widely felt.
During Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, it’s essential to take time to recognize the pioneers of progress for Hispanic communities. Read more…
More about Education, Children, Social Good, Refugee Crisis, and Refugees