November 03, 2010
Eileen Shields-West
Africa, Ethiopia - Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Statelessness
It is impossible to get your arms around the complexities of housing close to 290,000 refugees in Dadaab, in northeast Kenya. Dadaab is made up of three adjoining camps: Ifo, Hagadera, and Dagahaley. It is especially difficult when the three camps, which were originally meant to accommodate only 90,000 people, have been forced to shelter over 300,000. Today the swelling continues as the conflict in Somalia continues. Somali refugees are streaming into Dadaab at the rate of 6,000 or more a month (400 alone registered the day we came) and there is literally no place for them to go.
October 18, 2010
Eileen Shields-West
Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Humanitarian Response, Return and Reintegration
Like reading tea leaves, it is hard for any outsider to really decipher how steadfast President Obama’s administration is about its Sudan policy. The only thing many can agree on is that there has been a flurry of activity lately and that is a good thing because in just three months, on Jan. 9, 2011, there will be a referendum in South Sudan about whether it will remain part of the North or make itself a brand new country. Right now, it looks as if the South is bent on independence and the world needs to be ready.
February 18, 2010
Eileen Shields-West
South Sudan, Sudan
Refugees International launched its “Year of Sudan” at historic Walpole House, on Chiswick Mall overlooking the Thames, last Tuesday, February 9. The house, which is famous for its depiction in William Thackery’s Vanity Fair, was filled to the brim with over 90 guests to hear Africa Editor for the Economist, Richard Cockett, interviewed by acclaimed Sudanese-born anchor of BBC’s World News Today, Zeinab Badawi.
March 23, 2009
Eileen Shields-West
South Sudan, Sudan, Humanitarian Response, Return and Reintegration
For all of the young people we met in our ten days in southern Sudan, the future was bleak. To learn more about what they needed to rebuild their lives, we sought out "returnees" -- those who had returned after fleeing to neighboring countries or to other areas of Sudan during the 21-year civil war between north and south Sudan. This war only ended when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January 2005.
March 06, 2009
Eileen Shields-West
South Sudan, Sudan
This week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its formal arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and the atmosphere inside Sudan, as RI discovered last week, is very tense. The staff of the United Nations, as well as other humanitarian organizations, have been told to be on the highest alert. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has warned, "Whatever happens (Sudan) must protect UN personnel" and act responsibly.
Bashir mockingly told the ICC to "eat" the expected warrant. This is the first ICC arrest warrant ever issued for a sitting president.
Blog Posts by Eileen Shields-West
