Tag: migration

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Migrant Lives

Niger, Inside The ‘Model’ For Preventing Migration Into Europe

In Agadez, Niger
In Agadez, Niger Kristin Palitza/DPA/ZUMA

AGADEZ — Mahamane Ousmane is an unrepentant people smuggler. He makes no effort to deny having transported migrants “countless times’ across the Sahara into Libya. When he is released from prison in Niger’s desert city of Agadez, he intends to return to the same work. The 32-year-old is even more adamant he has done nothing wrong. “I don’t like criminals. I am no thief. I have killed no one,” he says. As Ousmane speaks, a small circle of fellow inmates in filthy football shirts and flip-flops murmur in agreement. The prison at Agadez, where the French once stabled their horses […]

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In The News

Paving Paradise? In Poland, Calls To Block Forest Road Construction

Poles march to save their primeval forest
Poles march to save their primeval forest Jan A. Nicolas/DPA/ZUMA

-OpEd- WARSAW — The Narewkowska trail runs through the middle of one of Europe’s last remaining protected nature reserves, Poland“s Białowieża Forest. But now, the trail is slated to be paved over to become an automobile roadway. If plans ultimately move forward to pave the 24-mile trail, the entire forest would become vulnerable to industrial […]

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In The News

Forced To Flee, Forced To Return: Syrian Refugees Trapped Again

Syrian refugee children in Lebanon
Syrian refugee children in Lebanon John Owens/SOPA via ZUMA

-Analysis- BEIRUT — More than 12 million Syrians have been displaced since 2011 — that is more than half of Syria’s pre-war population. And most want nothing more than to return home. Yet the situation in the country remains too unsafe at the moment. Whole cities have been destroyed, and many areas are cluttered with land mines and unexploded explosives, posing further challenges to the safe, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of refugees to Syria. Yet despite these risks, a small number of refugees do return to Syria each month. While this may seem like a positive development, research by the […]

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In The News

Venezuela Exodus: Migrants Now Crossing Into Northern Brazil

BR-174, on the way to border
BR-174, on the way to border SallesNeto BR

An estimated 40,000 Venezuelans have taken up residence in Boa Vista, the capital of Brazil’s Roraima state. Many are roughing it in the city’s 53 public squares. And their numbers are rising.

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In The News

Buenos Aires Postcard: Why Dominican Barbers Conquer The World

Imperio Flow barbershop in Palermo, Buenos Aires
Imperio Flow barbershop in Palermo, Buenos Aires Official Instagram account

Their close cuts, unusual trims and friendly demeanor have made Dominican barbers a hit in the Argentine capital, after making their name in the U.S. and Europe.

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In The News

Nigerians Trade Europe’s Greener Pastures For Rice Farming At Home

Rice farming in Wushishi, Nigeria
Rice farming in Wushishi, Nigeria Jeremy Weate

After a drop in oil prices left the Nigerian economy reeling, new government policies have boosted rice and other agricultural production. It’s a boost to stay home for Nigerians eyeing emigration to Europe.

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Geopolitics Society

The Jobless Youth Of Gaza Have Lost Faith In Everyone

Palestinian youth looking over Gaza City
Palestinian youth looking over Gaza City Mahmoud Issa/Quds Net News/ZUMA

GAZA CITY — Their world doesn’t extend much beyond this piece of sidewalk that never seems to change. Glued to their white plastic chairs, Khaled, Mohammed and Abdel Rahman spend their time talking about everything and nothing while fiddling with their smartphones. There’s no 3G coverage, so their only connection to the rest of the […]

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives

Fleeing Violence, Central American Child Migrants Flock Into Mexico

MEXICO CITY — As the Trump administration threatens to expel nearly a million undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children, Mexico is seeing a spike in arrivals of children fleeing violence in Central America. Over the past four years, the number of unaccompanied minors from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador seeking asylum in […]

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In The News

The Calais ‘Jungle’ Is Gone, But Migrants Are Back Already

Refugees are back in Calais, nearly a year after the refugee camp known as The Jungle was dismantled
Refugees are back in Calais, nearly a year after the refugee camp known as The Jungle was dismantled Michael Debets/Pacific Press/ZUMA

The French coastal city was home to the infamous makeshift village of migrants seeking to cross to the UK. The ‘Jungle’ was dismantled less than a year ago, but immigrants are now back in town.

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In The News

As Libyan Route Shuts Off, Migrants Turn To Tunisian Coast

Migrants landing in Italy in June
Migrants landing in Italy in June Bledar Hasko/Pacific Press/ZUMA

We have seen far fewer grim accounts of rescues and drownings of would-be immigrants in the Mediterranean in recent weeks, as the human trafficking route-of-choice between North Africa to Europe shuts down. But another dangerous route appears to be opening up right next door. The recent efforts to crack down on traffickers operating along the […]

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives

Can A Libyan Warlord Help Europe Solve The Migrant Crisis?

Illegal migrants rescued by Libyan coast guards
Illegal migrants rescued by Libyan coast guards Hamza Turkia/Xinhua via ZUMA

Hundreds of thousands of refugees want to reach Europe via Libya, constituting a billion dollar trade option for smugglers. But a local warlord, armed with only one boat and plenty of opaque motives, has declared war on the trafficking gangs.

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In The News

Open Borders Are Immoral And Dangerous — For The Migrants

After a rescue last year off the coast of Calabria, Italy
After a rescue last year off the coast of Calabria, Italy Antonio Melita/Pacific Press via ZUMA

-OpEd- BERLIN — Last year Angela Merkel said that “the welfare of Africa is in the German interest.” Since then, the Chancellor has spoken more about Africa than any of her predecessors and has made the continent a priority for Germany’s G-20 chairmanship this year. On Monday, the German Chancellor invited eight African leaders to […]

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In The News

In A Small Ethiopian Town, That Fateful Choice To Flee To Europe

The prospect of a better life elsewhere is on everyone’s lips in rural Ethiopia
The prospect of a better life elsewhere is on everyone’s lips in rural Ethiopia Tobias Hase/DPA/ZUMA

While the EU seeks an agreement with Libya to halt the influx of migrants across the Mediterranean, the prospect of a better life elsewhere is what all in rural Ethiopia talk about.

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In The News

New Armed Faction Muscling Into Tripoli Reflects Chaos in Libya

Libyan National Guard members in Tripoli
Libyan National Guard members in Tripoli AfricaNews screenshot

TRIPOLI — As the sun sets on the Libyan capital, the sky takes on an ochre shade over the old city walls surrounding Martyr’s Square. Children play on carousels and the muezzin’s call to prayer fills the air, booming from loudspeakers in the streets. It’s an arresting scene that — for a moment — makes […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics

Mexican Smuggler: Trump’s Wall Is A Business Opportunity

Walking along the Mexico-U.S. wall in Matamoros
Walking along the Mexico-U.S. wall in Matamoros Tom Pennington/TNS/ZUMA

Illegal border crossings won’t stop, but prices will rise.

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In The News

Libya Chaos: If Italy Fails To Lead, Watch Out For Russia (Again)

Heightened security outside
Heightened security outside Hamza Turkia/Xinhua/ZUMA

-OpEd- ROME — The ongoing crisis in Libya poses the gravest threat to Italian national security, for multiple reasons. Halting flows of undocumented migrants and maintaining energy security are important, but a far more fundamental interest is at stake: ensuring that Libya recovers from chronic instability and civil war and avoids becoming a safe haven […]

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In The News

Reverse Migration? Germans Move To Orban’s Hungary To Flee Immigrants

A quaint (and Christian) setting across the border in Hungary
A quaint (and Christian) setting across the border in Hungary kirandulo

Up close with some of the growing numbers of Germans settling in Hungary, a country that has shut out refugees from the Middle East.

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Migrant Lives Society

Calais To Paris, The Grim Mobility Of Migrant “Jungles”

Migrant camp in Stalingrad, Paris on Oct. 31
Migrant camp in Stalingrad, Paris on Oct. 31 Manolo Mynolas via Instagram

Near the French capital’s Gare du Nord train station, migrants have expanded yet another shantytown just days after the controversial Calais “Jungle” was dismantled by the state. Locals are not pleased.

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Geopolitics Ideas

How Orban Is Trying To Take Europe Away From Merkel

Viktor Orban and Angela Merkel at a press conference in Berlin
Viktor Orban and Angela Merkel at a press conference in Berlin Wolfgang Kumm/DPA/ZUMA

Viktor Orban is the only leader in the European Union who has benefited from the refugees crisis. But his ambitions know no boundaries.

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blog

African Migrants’ Transatlantic Route Floods Tiny Costa Rica

In San Jose, Costa Rica
In San Jose, Costa Rica Kevin Demmer

SAN JOSÉ — A troubling new sea-bound migration route has opened up, as some 20,000 migrants from African countries are believed to have flocked to Costa Rica, according to a recently released International Organization for Migration (IOM) report. La Nación, a daily in the Costa Rican capital of San José, reports that the figure of […]

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blog

Just 38 Granted Refugee Status In Poland

In the eastern Polish town of Terespol
In the eastern Polish town of Terespol Grzegorz W. Tężyck

WARSAW — Of the nearly 4,000 foreigners who have applied for international refugee protection in Poland since the start of the year, just 38 have received refugee status. Though the majority of those granted the refugee protection (21) were from Syria, the largest number of applicants were from Russia, and other former Soviet countries, which […]

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives Syria Crisis

Refugees: Escaping Syria Is More Dangerous Than Entering Europe

In Oncupinar, Syria, trying to enter Turkey.
In Oncupinar, Syria, trying to enter Turkey. Depo Photos via ZUMA

The dangerous sea and land crossings that Syrian refugees are making to Europe have been well-documented. Less well known are the equally perilous journeys people take to leave Syria itself.

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Food / Travel Rue Amelot

Soil And Blood: National Identity Is More Than My Passport

Somewhere in between
Somewhere in between Karen Gowen via Instagram

It’s never been easy to categorize people according to their origins, despite the hand-wringing of nationalist political parties. An American raised in France and married to an Italian explores how and why modern notions of nationality are troubli

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives Syria Crisis

Billions In EU Aid To Turkey Hasn’t Stopped Wave Of Refugees

Refugees arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing from Turkey on a dinghy
Refugees arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing from Turkey on a dinghy Christian Minelli/Pacific Press/ZUMA

Turkey is supposed to guard our borders against more refugees and receive financial aid for its services. But refugees fleeing to Europe across the Mediterranean keep coming.

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Economy Geopolitics Terror in Europe

The Multi-Billion-Euro Pricetag Of Shutting Down Schengen

The Multi-Billion-Euro Pricetag Of Shutting Down Schengen
Will Bakker

With six European Union countries instituting new border controls, the end of three decades of free movement comes with a heavy price.

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Geopolitics Ideas

Why Cologne Attacks Have Killed Taboo On Muslim Immigration

Cologne's cathedral, where violence happened on NYE
Cologne's cathedral, where violence happened on NYE giantkuu via Instagram

It has been considered not politically correct to talk about challenges of integrating Muslim immigrants in German society. That has changed forever after the New Year’s attacks on women in Cologne.

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Society UNCUT: The War Against Female Genital Mutilation

When Migrants Carry Scars, Female Genital Mutilation In Europe

Still life of the instruments used in the practice of FGM in Kenya.
Still life of the instruments used in the practice of FGM in Kenya. Simona Ghizzoni

LONDON — According to a new British law, any teacher, doctor, nurse or social care professional who comes across a case of a girl who has undergone genital mutilation has the duty to report it to the police. This law, which took effect on Oct. 31 and applies to any victim under the age of […]

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Ideas Migrant Lives

On Refugees, A Dissenting Voice In Germany Sees Hypocrisy

Syrian refugees arriving in Germany
Syrian refugees arriving in Germany Geovien So/ZUMA

Humanitarian, demographic and economic reasons have been cited by much of the German establishment for welcoming migrants. But what’s the real end game?

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blog

Extra! 8,000 Migrants Stranded At Sea In Southeast Asia

“Out at sea with nowhere to go,” reads the Friday front-page headline in Malaysian daily The Star, alongside a photo of Rohingya migrants waiting on a boat adrift off the coast of Thailand. According to the UN, about 6,000 refugees fleeing Myanmar (also known as Burma) and Bangladesh are stranded at sea, a budding humanitarian […]

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Society

Germany Has A Big Old Demographic Problem

Old man in Wuppertal, Germany
Old man in Wuppertal, Germany Georgie Pauwels

Germany is expected to lose more than 13 million inhabitants by 2060. Even when immigrants and higher birth rates are factored into the equation, Germany is growing too old too quickly. Only drastic political solutions, such as moving the retirement age u

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives

A New Clandestine Crossing Into The EU, Via Serbia

Migrants driving through the serbo-hungarian border
Migrants driving through the serbo-hungarian border Vedat Xhymshiti

At the border between Serbia and Hungary, the number of illegal arrivals has increased dramatically over the past few months. Syrians and Afghans who take the road in the Balkans cross paths with migrating Kosovars.

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blog

Extra! Mediterranean Tragedy Seen From Italy

La Repubblica, April 20, 2015 “The Migrant Apocalypse.” Rome-based daily La Repubblica, like other newspapers around Italy and the world, featured the deadly accident in the Mediterranean Sea on the front page of its Monday edition. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called the traffic of undocumented immigrants a “new slave trade.” The newspaper featured both […]

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Migrant Lives Society

Spain-Latin America Migration: A Two-Way Track

In Buenos Aires. Need a return ticket?
In Buenos Aires. Need a return ticket? Patricio Murphy/ZUMA

Hundreds of thousands have left Spain, until recently a land of plenty with a booming real estate sector, to seek work abroad. American countries are favored destinations, even if recession is now raising its ugly head there.

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blog Geopolitics

The Mortal Danger Of Being Egyptian In Libya

On the Egypt-Libya border
On the Egypt-Libya border Joepyrek

The Cairo regime is facing criticism after the ISIS beheading in Libya of 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt. Too many poor Egyptians risk it all in search of work across the border.

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Geopolitics Ideas

What Is Driving Turkey’s Secular Elite To Emigrate

Istanbul University
Istanbul University Augapfel
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Migrant Lives Syria Crisis

Landing On A Hopeful Shore, Italy’s 100,000th Migrant

On Lampedusa island
On Lampedusa island Wang Qingqin/Xinhua/ZUMA

A former cook for the Free Syrian Army, Iftikar al Daye is the 100,000th migrant who has arrived in Italy since the beginning of the year, and a symbol of hope for fleeing refugees.

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Eyes on the U.S. Migrant Lives

Sharing Blame For Central America’s Child Migrants

A May 2014 demonstration in support of child migrants in Los Angeles.
A May 2014 demonstration in support of child migrants in Los Angeles. David Bro/ZUMA

There was shock after the latest report from U.S. Border Patrol found an explosion of young people being sent northward from Central America. Why it isn’t just about the parents.

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Migrant Lives Society

Haiti-To-Brazil Migration, Along A New Route For Human Trafficking

In Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
In Port-Au-Prince, Haiti Lannis Waters/The Palm Beach Post/ZUMA
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blog

Going The Distance: Loved-Up Storks Edition

Going The Distance: Loved-Up Storks Edition

While this may sound like something from a Disney film, we assure you that it is nothing less than true love: A male stork flies 13,500 kilometers every single year to be with his beloved. This year, for the twelfth time, the male known as Klepetan has made the journey all the way from southern […]

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Society

The Most Enchanting And Disgusting Thing About Rome

Starlings over Rome's Ponte Sant'Angelo
Starlings over Rome's Ponte Sant'Angelo RaSeLaSeD - Il Pinguino

Look up in the sky. No wait, don’t!

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