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FEATURE ARTICLES
Where is home for refugees?
by Purnimaa Arun
Home! What a terrific thought it really is! Conjuring up
feelings of safety and love. However, put the words
refugee and home together and the picture
becomes terrifying.
Being forced to leave our homes – worse, running away to
seek shelter – is something we can't imagine or
grasp. But this is the way of life for millions of people
categorized as refugees.
Many have left their homeland because of the fear of loss of
life, freedom and dignity. One or more of their basic human
rights have been violated or threatened or they are being
persecuted in a country where poverty, political turmoil and
corruption are prevalent.
Where is home
Refugees Stranded in Nigeria!
by Francis Abayomi
RESPECT Nigeria Country Coordinator
On my recent visit to Oru, the only refugee camp in Nigeria, a
few days after the United Nation High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officially declared it
closed, it was business as usual.
In other words, refugees are going about their normal duties:
children are going to school, refugees are going to the farm,
others are selling goods and domestic items, women are plaiting
their hair, some people are playing football with spectators and
others are waiting for something to happen.
If not for the forced-to-close administrative offices and health
center I would state that the camp is not closed. More than 3,000
Sierra Leoneans and Liberians are still stranded.
Refugees Stranded
Human Rights Course In Sierra Leone And Guinea
by Luba Salam
A human rights course has just been completed for internally
displaced person (IDP) students in Sierra Leone and another
started for students in Guinea. Ms. Rudo Dhliwayo volunteered
as the tutor for the courses. She is from the United Kingdom
and is an LLM (holds a masters in law) from Staffordshire
University. She is also a volunteer at
Amnesty International, the
Fair-trade Foundation
and Oxfam International.
Mr. Alex P. Columbus, RESPECT
Sierra Leone Country Coordinator, worked as the bridge
between Rudo and the students. He worked in collaboration with
RESPECT
University Coordinator Mr. Ashok Pillai.
Human Rights
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bienvenidos a RESPECT
by Will Wallace
VP, Information Technology
Bienvenidos a RESPECT
is how visitors are greeted when they go to the
Spanish pages
on the RESPECT website.
This was made possible by a group of volunteers who took
on the task of translating the content of the
RESPECT website into Spanish. They completed
the first set of pages in less than a week.
We offer a big Thank You to the volunteers of the first phase
of the project:
- Nicholas Enersen
- Raquel Garcia
- Pilar Guerrero
- Jose Guillermo Lopez
- Patricia Morgan
- Olga Saborio
The next phase of the project has already begun. When the
project is completed the majority of the website will be
available to the Spanish speaking world.
PHOTO GALLERY
Displaying a RESPECT T-shirt, a lunch bag, and book bags
made by RESPECT Art Director for the Run for Rights, are
(Left to Right) Judy Huynh, RESPECT Volunteer; Marc Schaeffer,
RESPECT International Coordinator; Dr. Robyn Mossman, RESPECT
Board Member; and Jillian Todd, WREN Volunteer.
Marc, Robyn, and Jillian stopped to see Judy in Michigan, USA,
during their road trip to Ottawa, Canada. Judy presented Marc with
a $1000 USD check (about €725.32 EUR). The money was raised
by Judy's students at the
Palo Community
School, Palo, Michigan, USA, and is to be used to support the
establishment of a computer resource centre in Ghana.
As in any newsletter or magazine, RESPECT e-zine is committed
to striving for interesting articles and announcements
concerning refugee issues all around the world.
If you have any suggestions or would like to contribute an
article, contact the e-Zine editor, Angela Carter, at
editor@respectrefugees.org.
To be removed from our mailing list, please complete the
online form at:
subscriptions.respectrefugees.org.
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