May 28, 2010
| Maureen Lynch
| Tagged as: Kuwait, Middle East, Statelessness
The Arabic word “bidoon,” meaning “without” and short for “bidoon jinsiya” (without citizenship), is used to denote longtime residents of Kuwait who are stateless and, according to government figures, presently number about 93,000. Lack of legal status impacts all areas of life for bidoon: their identity, family life, mental and physical health, residence, education, livelihood, political participation and freedom of movement.
May 26, 2010
| Melanie Teff
| Tagged as: DR Congo
My colleague, Camilla Olson and I are currently on mission in Goma, researching the implementation of a new comprehensive strategy on gender-based violence (GBV) in Democratic Republic of Congo. During this trip we have met with many local women’s groups that support victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence, many started by women who are survivors themselves.
One woman explained to us how she was motivated to start a support group to help others who had gone through what she had. She told us, “I was a victim, but I am not a victim now.”
May 24, 2010
| Dan Glickman
It’s been nearly two months since I joined Refugees International. I am still learning about the many complex challenges we face in addressing the world’s displacement crises and I’ve been inspired by my many teachers, including RI’s staff and board members who have traveled to the most war-torn regions of the world to meet with people whose lives have been upended. I look forward with great anticipation to being a witness myself as I join missions to Pakistan, Haiti and the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya in the coming weeks.
May 20, 2010
| Briana Orr
Refugees International is often called on to bring the struggles of displaced people into the halls of power where laws and policies are created that influence the conditions under which they live. Yesterday, RI’s president, Dan Glickman testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on proposed changes to U.S. asylum law.
May 18, 2010
| Charlotte Ponticelli
| Tagged as: Kuwait, Statelessness
At an open-air rally in Kuwait, Refugees International’s Maureen Lynch and I were escorted to the front of the seated gathering as honored guests. We were there in the country for an eight-day visit to assess the current circumstances under which Kuwait’s approximately 90,000 stateless persons, the Bidoon, are living. We also met with government officials, private-sector experts and advocacy groups to identify concrete actions to secure the Bidoon’s right to nationality in their own country.
