缅北禁地

Propects

My new skills have given my family hope

Fleeing Congo鈥檚 civil war, widowed Angelique Kahindo, trekked her way through the treacherous Congo jungles with her children until she reached Nakivake refugee settlement in southern Uganda. Through PROSPECTS, she was shortlisted for a six month apprenticeship, where she learned and perfected her tailoring skills. The world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement ever recorded. In recent years, forced displacement has increased not only in scale but also in complexity.  , spearheaded by the Government of Netherlands in partnerships with several international bodies, was initiated to improve the access of host communities and forcibly displaced people to employment and livelihood opportunities.

From supporting themselves on their farm in Namande village in Mozambique, Ali鈥檚 family had no choice but to leave everything behind when insurgents attacked their village. Ali, his wife Florinda and their five children are among the more than one million people who have been displaced from their homes, and who are now relying on support from and its partners to help them restart their livelihoods. Local authorities in the neighbouring Montepuez district soon allocated Ali and his family a 0.5-hectare plot of land to farm and FAO provided a farming kit to get back to prodcution.

Shebulike and his family fled the violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after surviving two attacks by armed men invading their home. A few months after arriving in Burundi, Shebulike realized that he needed to provide for his wife and seven children and keep himself busy, so he fell back on his profession as a baker. 鈥淩ather than sit idle and depend entirely on the help we receive from the and other humanitarian organizations, I found it useful to roll my sleeves up and get to work on the thing I know best.鈥

host country economies

Contributing to host-country economies

Ludmila arrived in Wroclaw from Ukraine shortly after the outbreak of the war, and now works in an NGO supporting Ukranian refugess in Poland.  highlights that accepting refugees is not only the right thing to do, but it also provides significant economic benefits to the host country. The countries that welcome refugees from conflict-affected areas, recognizing their right to reach safety and access opportunity, find that many have valuable skills and make important contributions to their new homes.

Amal Abu Snan from Gaza, received a loan from and was able to purchase a sewing machine and some materials to start work as a seamstress. Twenty years later, she has made a name for herself creating quality dresses and embroidered gowns, and is well-respected for her craftsmanship. Today, she is keen to pass on her skills to the next generation. 

"There are certain images that will stay with me for a very long time. Because those are the images that cannot be forgotten overnight." Sajjad Malik witnessed terrible suffering during the Syrian crisis. As UNHCR鈥檚 former representative in the country, he oversaw one of the 缅北禁地Refugee Agency鈥檚 toughest and most dangerous operations.

Since the war in Syria started in 2011 more than 5.7 million people have fled the country. Another 6.9 million are internally displaced. In this special bitesize episode, Sajjad Malik reflected on the catastrophic conditions he witnessed there and the lasting impact of those memories.

"You have to maintain your mental strength and courage. It鈥檚 fine to say it and reflect and cry if need be."

A hidden crisis is enveloping neighbouring Ituri Province, in North Kivu, where civilians face extreme daily violence that has forced 1.5 million to flee their homes. and its partners in Ituri are providing emergency shelters, distributions of household items, and vital services including psychosocial and legal support to survivors of violence.

brings us the story of the many migrants caught between uncertainty and hope, who continue to risk their lives in the Darien Gap, an infamously perilous trek, seeking to reach North America.

With the onset of the cold weather, people in Ukraine would not leave their land and started preparing for the worst 鈥 teams supported 109 families in the Kyiv Region with renovation works.

Ghazzal -  a ninth-grade student from the Beit Surik Girls School in the West Bank 鈥 invented a device that opens windows automatically as soon as it senses gas, with the potential to save countless lives across the West Bank and beyond.

brings us the story of Yash, 17, who writes to his refugee grandfather, now deceased. His grandad fled as a teenager in 1947 during the partition of India, leaving everything behind.

Undocumented and displaced

Living in legal limbo during wartime

Due to his complicated upbringing, Ievhen has never been able to get a passport or access many of his rights: to have an education, get a decent job, officially marry his partner Marharyta, open a bank account, or receive state benefits 鈥 which he should now be entitled to as an internally displaced person. He reached out to 鈥檚 partner NGO Caritas who referred the family to IOM鈥檚 tailored protection services. Legal identity is central to enabling regular migration and to protecting the rights of migrants throughout their migration journeys.

As the war in Ukraine continues, psychotherapists are concerned for the mental health and well-being of refugees. A partner provides stress relief from therapists and a support dog named Noir.

Most people are familiar with the phenomenon of refugees, those forced to flee their country of origin, because of fear of persecution or because of armed conflict or natural disaster. Internally displaced persons don鈥檛 cross international boundaries but find it necessary to relocate to a different region of their country. On , Conor Lennon met with Cecilia Jimenez-Damary 鈥 the 缅北禁地Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons 鈥 on the link between conflict and the climate crisis, which is increasingly causing people to search for safety.

brings us the story of Ana Marvez, who found a home in Chile, after finding the Music Foundation for Integration, a group composed mostly of musician refugees and migrants from Venezuela.