Podcasts about united nations refugee agency

For their weekly catch up, producer Evie spoke to the ACT Party's Simon Court about the government's failure to deliver on the promised funding for cancer drugs, and the ACT party's views on politicians involvement with Pharmac. They also talk about the party's policy surrounding social media, as old concerns arise surrounding party leader David Seymour's use of Snapchat.  Host Sofia speaks to the director for ActionStation, Kassie Hartendorp, about a new report by ActionStation called ‘Protect Māori Wards' and the government's proposal to reverse changes made to increase Māori representation in local government by reverting the Māori ward rules to restore the referendum mechanism. Evie also caught up with Students for Fair Rent organiser, Matthew Lee, about the decision to end their month long rent strike at the University of Auckland, and what actions the group plans to take next.  And Sofia spoke to Dr Ritesh Shah, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland about the global refugee crisis, in light of the United Nations Refugee Agency reporting 117.3 million people being forcibly displaced in 2023 - a record high.  Whakarongo tonu mai!

The UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, recorded that 117.3 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2023 due to conflict, violence, or climate-related disasters - a record number.  In light of World Refugee Day last week, Dr Ritesh Shah, a senior lecturer of comparative and international education in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, says that the global refugee crisis is a symptom of a failed global system.  Host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Ritesh about the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which provides the internationally recognized definition of a refugee and outlines the legal protection, rights and assistance a refugee is entitled to receive, as well as the global refugee crisis more generally.

As we approach World Refugee Day, it's so good to know that there are people like Suzanne Ehlers who are making an extraordinary difference and people's lives and providing real hope for the future. Suzanne is the Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR, a nonprofit organization that supports the United Nations Refugee Agency. It helps raise awareness and makes funds available to aid refugees around the world, providing them with the resources and support they need to rebuild their lives after being forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or disaster. Previously, Suzanne was CEO of Malala Fund, and before that she was President and CEO of Population Action International. She speaks with Eric about how she parlayed her temp job at the Wallace Global Fund to a career that led to her being named CEO of an organization that aims to raise a billion dollars over the next ten years. Suzanne speaks with Eric about how she uses storytelling to inspire empathy for the millions of refugees in some 40 crisis hotspots around the globe who desperately need our help.    Oh, and she also happens to be fun, funny, and fabulous. We hope you enjoy this really delightful conversation as much as we did.

As we approach World Refugee Day, it's so good to know that there are people like Suzanne Ehlers who are making an extraordinary difference and people's lives and providing real hope for the future. Suzanne is the Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR, a nonprofit organization that supports the United Nations Refugee Agency. It helps raise awareness and makes funds available to aid refugees around the world, providing them with the resources and support they need to rebuild their lives after being forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or disaster. Previously, Suzanne was CEO of Malala Fund, and before that she was President and CEO of Population Action International. She speaks with Eric about how she parlayed her temp job at the Wallace Global Fund to a career that led to her being named CEO of an organization that aims to raise a billion dollars over the next ten years. Suzanne speaks with Eric about how she uses storytelling to inspire empathy for the millions of refugees in some 40 crisis hotspots around the globe who desperately need our help.    Oh, and she also happens to be fun, funny, and fabulous. We hope you enjoy this really delightful conversation as much as we did.

More than 117-million people will be forced from their homes or stateless in 20-23 according to the United Nations Refugee Agency – that's more people than live in the entire country of Turkey. Already vulnerable, refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons often experience human rights violations. The data of the human rights of displaced persons and refugees is the focus of this episode of Stats and Stories with guest Volker Schimmel. Volker Schimmel is the Head of the Global Data Service UNHCR. Having worked on conflict and displacement research and policy in London, he joined the UN in 2003 starting with UNHCR in the Great Lakes. He worked with OCHA, rolling out the Field Information and Data Management System, and with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on camp improvement projects and innovative solutions to protracted displacement. Since 2012, when he rejoined UNHCR, he has worked in the Middle-East region and was the Deputy Head of the UNHCR-World Bank Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement. He is currently UNHCR Chief Data officer, heading UNHCR's Global Data Centre in Copenhagen.

Conflicts raging on three continents have driven the global number of refugees to a new record of more than 114 million. The United Nations Refugee Agency says this number does not include people displaced by the current war between Israel and Hamas. Australian refugee organisations are demanding more action from the government in response. Lavanya explains more about this. Produced by Renuka - உலகின் பல்வேறு பகுதிகளிலுமுள்ள அகதிகளின் எண்ணிக்கை முன்னெப்போதும் இல்லாதளவுக்கு அதிகரித்துள்ளதாக UNHCR அமைப்பு அண்மையில் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கை சொல்கிறது. இச்செய்தியின் பின்னணி தொடர்பில் அகதிகள் செயற்பாட்டாளர் லாவண்யாவுடன் உரையாடுகிறார் றேனுகா துரைசிங்கம்

Conflicts raging on three continents have driven the global number of refugees to a new record of more than 114 million. The United Nations Refugee Agency says this number does not include people displaced by the current war between Israel and Hamas. Australian refugee organisations are demanding more action from the government in response.

The UK's interior minister says the international asylum system is outdated and needs to be reformed. Her views have been strongly rejected by the United Nations and human rights organisations. So what's behind them and do they have any support?    Join Host Mohammed Jamjoom  Guests:  Steve Valdez-Symonds - Director of Refugee and Migrants Rights, Amnesty International UK. Shabia Mantoo - Global spokesperson, United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR. Tim Bale - Professor of politics, Queen Mary University of London. 

There have never been as many displaced people in the world as there are today. This is shown by the latest figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency. The conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan and Afghanistan have played a major role in this. - Weltweit hat es noch nie so viele Vertriebene gegeben, wie heute. Das zeigen die jüngsten Zahlen des Flüchtlingshilfwerks der Vereinten Nationen. Daran haben vor allem die Konflikte in der Ukraine, im Sudan und in Afghanistan ihren Anteil.

Title: World Refugee Day: Our Rights & Responsibilities Synopsis: World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives. In this episode of Pathway to Peace, the team delve into the global context of forced displacement. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, there are more than 80 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, which shows just how big the issue is. Additionally, we'll discuss the role of international organisations, governments, and local communities in providing protection and assistance to refugees. We'll also be examining the Islamic perspective around the rights and responsibilities that are due to those in need and how such acts can foster a more peaceful and harmonious society.

On this episode of Intrigue Outloud, Ambassador Rick Barton joins to discuss his career as a peace-builder in war zones across the world, why conflict might be getting more common after decades of relative peace, and what strategies diplomats use to end wars. Ambassador Barton is the founding director of the Office of Transition Initiatives at the U.S. Agency for International Development, former Deputy High Commissioner of the United Nations Refugee Agency, and former Assistant US Secretary of State. Break Haiti's death spiral by empowering its police by Ambassador Barton. Thanks to our sponsor,

Full show notes at: https://learncardano.io/podcasts/donate-crypto-unhcf-charity-stake-pool/

The home secretary has acknowledged 80,000 people could cross the channel on small boats this year. Suella Braverman was defending new proposals for anyone found to have entered the UK illegally to be removed from the country within 28 days, but also be blocked from returning or claiming British citizenship in future. The United Nations Refugee Agency has accused the government of violating the Refugee Convention introduced after the Second World War through its proposals to tackle small boats. The BBC's Nick Robinson spoke to the home secretary and then to Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. (Image, Migrants disembark border vessel, Credit, Gareth Fuller PA)

On Daybreak Africa: The Nigerian Court of Appeal is expected to Wednesday rule on a petition by opposition candidates who are looking to inspect the materials used to conduct the February 25 presidential election. Plus, the United Nations Refugee Agency is calling on urgent support to help thousands of Somalis fleeing conflict in the breakaway Somaliland region. For this and more, stay tuned to Daybreak Africa!

This week on the Inside Geneva podcast, we answer questions from our listeners about migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Our listeners asked us the following questions: What's the difference between asylum seekers, stateless populations, and undocumented migrants? How does third country resettlement work? Does the United Nations Refugee Agency, or the International Organization for Migration, have the power to prosecute countries if they violate their obligations to UN conventions? Podcast host Imogen Foulkes is joined by experts to provide answers on a topic that is often controversial.  “Refugees are forced to leave their countries because of war, conflict and human rights violations. Basically, their lives are in danger,” says Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). “Most people don't want to leave. They leave because they feel like there's no other option but to leave,” says Paul Dillon, spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “You just can't push back people at borders if they're seeking international protection. They need to be afforded that right to seek asylum,” says Mantoo. “The conversation is toxic, divisive, and dangerous. Those conversations are not really fact-based, they're emotive,” says Dillon.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review.

Andrew Cusack was born and raised in Sudbury, ON, and studied Outdoor Recreation and Natural Science at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, ON. He spent more than ten years working in outdoor education for organizations across Asia and North America, including NOLS Project DEAR, Asia Pacific Adventure, Hong Kong International School, Hong Kong University and Kingfisher Outdoor Education Centre. Upon leaving outdoor education, he worked the following ten years with the United Nations Refugee Agency, responding to humanitarian crises in multiple countries. In 2020 he left the agency and relocated to Victoria, BC, where he now works as a city planner for housing policy. In this episode, David Perry joins us, a former student on the course Andrew and I worked together in the Yukon's Ogilvie Mountains. As you will hear, David was a part of a significant medical evacuation on this course, and I thought it would be nice to bring him on and hear the story from a student's perspective. Currently, David has a unique business making 3D-printed violins, which we touched on in the conversation.  OPENFAB PDWhttps://openfabpdx.com/fiddle/ Full Circle Everst  https://www.fullcircleeverest.com/

As more than three million people flood across Ukraine's borders escaping conflict, it's now being called the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. The Agenda welcomes Rema Jamous, Canada's representative for the United Nations Refugee Agency in Canada, to discuss how world powers, including Canada, are helping those who now find themselves homeless. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Dr. John Sweetenham, of the UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, interviews Professor Piotr Rutkowski, of the Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology in Warsaw, Poland, about plans to provide cancer care for Ukrainians fleeing the war in Ukraine.   Transcript Dr. John Sweetenham: Hello, I'm John Sweetenham, the associate director for Clinical Affairs at UT Southwestern's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, and host of the ASCO Daily News Podcast. As many of you all know, 2 million people have now fled the war in Ukraine, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency—the UNHCR. Today, we'll be discussing efforts underway in neighboring Poland to provide health care and other support to Ukrainian refugees, particularly for patients with cancer. It's an honor to welcome Professor Piotr Rutkowski, who leads the department of Soft Tissue and Bone Cancer at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology in Warsaw, Poland. He also serves there as the deputy director of the Institution for National Oncological Strategy and Clinical Trials. Additionally, Professor Rutkowski serves as the President-elect of the Polish Oncological Society. My guest and I have no conflicts relating to our topic today. Our full disclosures are available in the show notes, and disclosures relating to all guests on the podcast can be found on our transcripts at asco.org/podcast. Dr. John Sweetenham: Professor Rutkowski, thank you for coming on the podcast today. We are really pleased to have this opportunity to speak with you during what must be an incredibly difficult time. Dr. Piotr Rutkowski: Thank you for the invitation. That's true, with this horrible time. And to be honest, we haven't expected how it can be going on. But now we have a new reality, and we have to fight on. Dr. John Sweetenham: Just beginning with that new reality, my first question to you was going to be to ask you a little bit about details of the decisions made by Poland's parliament. So, your parliament has adopted new legislation that provides health care for Ukrainian refugees and enables the creation of a call center at Poland's National Health Fund. Could you give us some more details about these new developments, and how you anticipate this will help the Ukrainian refugees who are suffering, particularly those who are suffering with cancer? Dr. Piotr Rutkowski: Yes, that's true. Until now, we have nearly 1 and a half million people from Ukraine who arrived in Poland during the last 2 weeks. And because of the increasing numbers of patients with cancer coming to our institution but also all the oncology call centers in Poland, the Polish parliament—together with the Polish National Health Fund decided that all refugees of war from Ukraine are authorized to receive health care the same as citizens of Poland. This is very important because it resolves a lot of bureaucratic issues. We do not need to get specific permission to treat the patients. And we can provide them the same care as every citizen of Poland, in terms of outpatient treatment, admission to the hospitals, surgical procedures, access to the drug, prescriptions of the drug . . . it is absolutely important. It also means that within the framework of this new law, we can treat the patients according to all the same regulations, or the same standards, as Polish oncological patients. Of course, I have to stress it, but Ukrainian oncological patients—except, of course—have no priorities. They are going to the same queue and [are under] the same care as Polish patients. Moreover, this is very important because for newly diagnosed oncological patients in Poland—we have so-called oncological cards, which allow for faster diagnosis including pathological evaluation, molecular evaluation, and imaging. So, they are undergoing the same diagnostic procedures as Polish patients. Of course, last week, we have admitted around 100 children in need of oncological treatment to centers in Poland. But probably it was the first wave of patients. Now we have an increasing number of normal adult patients with lung cancer, breast cancer, [and] GI cancers, coming to us. Some of them also need the continuation of the treatment, or they have to start specific treatment with innovative drugs—if they are reimbursed in Poland—it's also allowed to treat with all these medicines in Poland. So, the second point which you mentioned that the Polish National Health Fund established this special, general, official hotline for oncological patients from Ukraine—and also a webpage. This hotline is in Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Polish languages, and with the use of this hotline, we are trying to direct the patients to the proper oncological centers because this hotline from the National Health Fund cooperates with 20 top Polish comprehensive cancer centers. So, using this official hotline, it's much easier to be directed to the correct hospital treating the given type of cancer. This is very important because [patients can] contact directly to the hotline of the National Health Fund or the hotline of the oncology call centers in the region where the patients are temporarily staying in Poland. So, it's the best we can recommend and this is what has been done until now in our country. Dr. John Sweetenham: It's incredible how quickly the Polish government has moved to help the many Ukrainian patients with cancer and other patients who are coming into the country. The cancer centers in countries such as yours, who are accepting and treating these Ukrainian patients, presumably are going to struggle to have sufficient resources in terms of space, equipment, drugs, and staff to handle the large number of patients from Ukraine who will be showing up at your doors. What resources does Poland have? And what do you need from the international community to be able to help with this very large additional patient load that you'll be seeing? Dr. Piotr Rutkowski: Yes, thank you. This is an excellent point because now, of course, the enthusiasm dominates, and normal human help—we involved everybody. So Polish oncological societies are working together, and we are providing different materials: translation for the patients; we also ask the pharmaceutical companies to provide the Ukrainian language material, which we had in the countries, and also patient advocacy groups are really helpful. And we are sending the required medical resources to Ukraine in some official actions. However, of course, you are right that the Polish oncological system had, even before, this increasing number of patients which we can calculate means that we'll have 10 percent more patients with cancer in this year. So, it's a really huge number. Until now, we also had some limitations in resources. The basic drug reimbursement was at a good level when we compare it to other central-eastern European countries, so we had a relatively good system. We also started, 2 years ago, our new national oncological strategy. However, we also transformed to this 3-level system of comprehensive cancer centers of reference.  So, we are also at the level of some transformational oncological systems. So, it's not the easiest time, especially, but generally, the numbers of nurses and health care providers, including different oncological specialties, are limited in Poland. And when we calculate per number of patients, it's one of the lowest in Europe. Generally, we can expect a shortage of human resources. Of course, we can count that we easily and temporarily facilitate the qualification of Ukrainian medical staff for Poland. And this is also included in this package of new laws. But on the other hand, still, we are facing the problems of communication, even with medical staff. So, it's not so easy. Moreover, when we calculated nowadays this number of patients, it costs about 50 to 70 million Euros per month additionally. So, it changes the priorities in health care in Poland. So, I cannot tell you now, but maybe we can make some calculations in 2 or 3 months. But nowadays, we can still resolve these issues, but what will be in 3 or 4 months, I really don't know, And how delayed will the oncology health care be due to [the] increasing number of patients? So, it is what we can anticipate, and we try to reorganize at the level of different hospitals now. We had some meetings with the Ministry of Health and our National Health Fund. And the normal functioning levels—we cannot see. Things are changing. We have first patients now, but the numbers are increasing every day. So, I cannot definitely say what resources, except human resources, and of course, increasing funding, we need in the near future. We try to collaborate with different organizations. I really appreciate the meeting with ASCO and ECO that took place recently about how to transfer some patients to other oncological centers. However, it's not so easy when we can't transfer the patients somewhere else if the patient started the treatment in 1 given center. So, this is the situation now, and what we expect, but it can be more difficult in a few weeks or months. Dr. John Sweetenham: Yeah, thank you. I'd like to perhaps, pick up on that last point you made about medical information on patients that you're accepting. So as a clinician yourself, how are you handling the issue of prior treatment history, and medical information of patients who are coming into your system? For example, are you able to get access to their pathology reports, their imaging, or their prior treatment reports? And if you don't have access to those, how are you facing the challenges of treating those patients with an incomplete medical history? Dr. Piotr Rutkowski: Of course, we have to translate it. So, we have help in our institution, but it's not common practice everywhere. Some of the patients have translated documents. We do not insist on the certified translations, just the original documents or copies of the documents with translation into Polish, because not all words are even well understood. The problem is that the level of health care in Ukraine is sometimes lower, and pathology reports are not perfect. So even if the pathological report, which we are receiving . . . if it's even available from the patients . . . sometimes we need to redo the biopsy and establish some molecular factors. One patient who was admitted to my department yesterday with sarcoma, we redid the biopsy last week because the report was not complete. And we completely changed the diagnosis in 3 days. Other patients will probably also need [to be] re-biopsied. Sometimes we are lacking imaging . . . but some of the patients arrive with at least CDs of CTs or MRIs, so it's much easier. Some of the refugees have only the copy in their mobile phone . . . so the documents are at a very different stage. If we have information about how the patient was treated in Ukraine, it's perfect because they can continue the treatment. But not all kinds of treatment in Ukraine were provided according to the standards which we have in Poland. So, it's also difficult because we have to discuss with patients how to change their treatment. There are really individual situations. This is what I can say. We have a lot of volunteers now helping with translation. We also employed some additional staff and it's easier. But the problems with the documentation probably will also be increasing, that's true. However, we try to simplify as much as possible, and in some situations, redo the biopsy and re-establish the diagnosis, if we have enough information. It's really resolved case by case. Dr. John Sweetenham: Yes, gotcha. It sounds as if it certainly can add to everybody's workload and degree of stress, unfortunately. Because of the additional tests that some of these patients are now having to face, on top of everything else that they've already confronted over the last couple of weeks. One of the other things which I think will be of interest to our listeners in that regard is whether you're experiencing patients who are coming in, who have been part of a clinical trial? And if so, whether there are any mechanisms in place for that situation, or perhaps, a patient on a relatively early-phase clinical trial, who may have received part of their initial treatment in Ukraine? Dr. Piotr Rutkowski: Probably it is the easiest part because, for the last year, I have treated several Ukrainian patients in a clinical trial where they had access to new drugs. And we had the possibility, at least before the pandemic because the pandemic also complicated the transport or movement of patients.  But before, we had several patients in clinical trials, and many of them have relatives and are accompanied by translators who provided for compliance with the requirements for informed consent and of course, understanding all procedures. But because some companies ask us for [the] possibility to transfer patients from Ukraine to Poland within the clinical trials, so they are providing us the certified translation of the documents and also the informed consent in Ukrainian—at least 2 or 3 companies, because I'm responsible for clinical trials in our institute. So, they contacted us and of course, we agreed. This is much easier because it's professional machinery and they have at least documents in the forms of CRF (case reporting form) so we can get the full history, and how the patient was treated, [and] in the majority of cases also imaging. So, it's much easier because everything is provided, and we also inform the bioethical committee about the situation. But it's probably, also, a little more work in the next few weeks. Dr. John Sweetenham: Yes, well it is good to hear that those patients are able to continue their treatment on trial, thanks to all of the backup support that you've been able to provide. I want to conclude by saying thank you, Professor Rutkowski, for coming on to the podcast today. And for everything that you and your colleagues, your institution, and the Polish people—are doing to support patients with cancer during what are obviously extremely difficult times. Dr. Piotr Rutkowski: Thank you very much. You know, cancer is a matter for all of us, and cancer has no borders, so we have to help each other in these difficult times, that's true. Thank you very much. Dr. John Sweetenham: Thank you to our listeners, for your time today. If you're enjoying the content on the ASCO Daily News Podcast, please take a moment to rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.    Disclosures: Dr. John Sweetenham: Consulting or Advisory Role: EMA Wellness   Dr. Piotr Rutkowski: Honoraria: Bristol-Myers Squibb, MSD, Novartis, Roche, Pfizer, Pierre Fabre, Sanofi, and Merck Consulting or Advisory Role: Novartis, Blueprint Medicines, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pierre Fabre, MSD, Amgen Speakers' Bureau: Pfizer, Novartis, Pierre Fabre Research Funding (institution): Novartis, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Orphan Europe, Pierre Fabre   Disclaimer:   The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform, this is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.

The United Nations Refugee Agency is appealing for nearly $60 million for tens of thousands of victims of intercommunal clashes over dwindling resources in Cameroon's Far North region. UNHCR spokesman Boris Cheshirkov says the appeal will provide critically needed relief over the next six months for both the displaced and those sheltering them in Chad and Cameroon. Cheshirkov says the situation has calmed down in the last few weeks. He says security has been reinforced. He notes government-led reconciliation efforts, supported by the UNHCR are underway adding that urgent action is needed to address the root causes of the conflict.

The United Nations Refugee Agency is appealing for nearly $60 million for tens of thousands of victims of intercommunal clashes over dwindling resources in Cameroon's Far North region. UNHCR spokesman Boris Cheshirkov says the appeal will provide critically needed relief over the next six months for both the displaced and those sheltering them in Chad and Cameroon. Cheshirkov says the situation has calmed down in the last few weeks. He says security has been reinforced. He notes government-led reconciliation efforts, supported by the UNHCR are underway adding that urgent action is needed to address the root causes of the conflict.

The United Nations Refugee Agency is appealing for nearly $60 million for tens of thousands of victims of intercommunal clashes over dwindling resources in Cameroon's Far North region. UNHCR spokesman Boris Cheshirkov says the appeal will provide critically needed relief over the next six months for both the displaced and those sheltering them in Chad and Cameroon. Cheshirkov says the situation has calmed down in the last few weeks. He says security has been reinforced. He notes government-led reconciliation efforts, supported by the UNHCR are underway adding that urgent action is needed to address the root causes of the conflict.

Formalise It! Rights for All Workers How can we expand rights to all garment workers, no matter where they work – in factories or their own homes, or as refugees or migrants far from their country of origin?  In this episode: How workers from Myanmar fought for the pay they were owed, from a factory in Mae Sot, Thailand (Brahm Press, MAP Foundation) Some of the challenges faced by migrant workers in Thailand, and what support is needed (Reiko Harima, Mekong Migration Network) The story of Hussain, a refugee garment worker in Turkey How home-based workers – mostly working in the garment sector – have got organised over several decades, and some of their wins (Janhavi Deva, HomeNet International; Zehra Khan, Home Based Women Workers Federation; Poonsap Tulaphan, Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion) Building collaboration between home-based worker and other worker rights supporters (Marlese von Broembsen, WIEGO)  Please tell us what inspired you about this show, and share your feedback, comments and questions, by emailing: podcast@cleanclothes.org  Speakers: Brahm Press, MAP Foundation, Thailand Reiko Harima, Mekong Migration Network, Japan Hussain, Turkey Mariam Danishjo, Turkey Janhavi Deva, HomeNet International, India Zehra Khan, Home Based Women Workers Federation, Pakisan Poonsap Tulaphan, Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion Marlese von Broembsen, Women in Informal Employment Globalising and Organising  Host: Febriana Firdaus (febrianafirdaus.com)Field Reporters: Petra Ivsic and Aca VragolovicSound Engineering Support: Steve Adam (www.spectrosonics.com.au) Producer: Matthew Abud Clean Clothes Podcast Team: Anne Dekker, Johnson Ching-Yin Yeung, Liz Parker, Tanne de Goei Full Transcript HOST:Welcome to the show, in our second instalment of the Clean Clothes Podcast.  I'm Febriana Firdaus.  Today we're talking about rights for all workers – meaning migrant workers. Refugee workers. Home-based workers.  Workers who might not have all the right documents, or who might be hidden from view.  Sometimes governments and employers, don't see them as workers at all.  But they still demand their rights.  Mae Sot is in Thailand near the Myanmar border.  Refugees and migrant workers from Myanmar, have lived there for decades.  Now it has hundreds of garment factories that depend on migrant workers.  They're often underpaid to an extreme degree.  The Kanlayanee factory there made clothes for famous brands: Starbucks, Disney, NBC Universal, and Tesco. In 2019 the workers demanded their proper pay.  Brahm Press takes up the story. And just a note: Kanlayanee is the name of the factory, and the name of the factory owner as well.  BRAHM:My name's Brahm Press, the Director of MAP Foundation. MAP Foundation started in 1996, and one of the things we do is we have a process of developing peer leaders, and other migrant worker leaders, identify people who are potential leaders, give them training, and eventually even have passed some through paralegal training. So these workers are able to organise other workers, so that they can collectively bargain with employers for improved working conditions.  In 2019, we invited a reporter from Reuters to Mae Sot to look at the issue of underpayment of wages to migrant workers in factories, and found workers from the Kanlayanee factory. Everyone was being underpaid and there were massive labour rights violations going on. And this developed into a story mainly because these factories were producing for American brands.  Soon after that, the factory closed once Starbucks withdrew its order. So out of the 50 workers around half decided they wanted to take their case for redress, they wanted to make claims for unpaid back wages, unpaid overtime including working on days off and holidays. This group as it turns out, had also passed through some paralegal trainings that MAP had provided so they were very active and very aware of their rights.  Kanlayanee wanted to negotiate with the workers, and so she started negotiations at around half a million Baht, and there were a couple of rounds of negotiation but it was unsatisfactory. So that was around the time that we decided that maybe we should look at the brands. MAP, CCC and WRC, Worker Rights Consortium, worked together along with our community partner CBO, known as Arakan Workers Organisation. The factory owner actually put up pictures of all the workers who were part of the claims, and said do not hire these people, basically put out a blacklist and everywhere they went they found that they were not accepted even though they have obviously extensive experience in garment factories. A lot of them stayed together and they were sharing food which included foraging for like bamboo shoots and morning glory and other things that were just available in the jungle or on the roadside and then eat that with the rice. So it was difficult.  So finally in August or September the court ordered Kanlayanee to pay thirty per cent of the total, or around one point one million Baht. She was able to pay that pretty much right there and then, and so from that, we then turned around and asked the brands to simply pay a portion of the remainder divided between the four brands. Reuters was covering the situation and giving updates on who was paying and who was not, so again that media back-strategy was really helpful.  That left Universal as the last company not to pay any compensation. Three companies paid, including Starbucks. In order to pressure Universal, we decided to focus on their character the Minions from the Despicable Me cartoon, which I think was what was being produced there. And so there were videos and photos of workers dressed as Minions doing the same things to survive as the workers. It was rather cute and creative but at the same time very meaningful.  Later in February NBC approached us and Clean Clothes Campaign saying they would pay, kind of out of the blue. The workers are amazing because besides taking care of their debts and remitting back to their families, mostly they've also decided to use funds to help improve the workers' centre by the CBO that I mentioned, Arakan Workers Organisation, and that centre will help receive similar complaints, and they also put together funds to purchase dry foods to assist other workers in the area who are out of work due to COVID. So that's our story. HOST:That was Brahm Press from MAP Foundation.  The situation for migrant workers is often complicated.  It depends on labour law, but also migration laws. The details are different, in different countries.  Mae Sot is just one example. But it shows many common challenges.  Reiko Harima is Regional Coordinator at Mekong Migration Network, based in Japan. Their work includes Mae Sot and Thailand. REIKO:A lot of policies in relation to labour rights and migration have to a certain extent improved, or have been clarified. So for example migrant workers in garment industry are protected for their labour rights, they are entitled to minimum wage protection, they're entitled to overtime arrangement, and they're entitled to social security system enrolment, just as example. But in reality if the migrant workers complain when they're not receiving minimum wage, they would be, they would lose jobs, they would be blacklisted from the industry, they would not be able to find any other job, and so on. So this lack of enforcement of existing legislation, this has not been improved very much for the past decades.  One of the unfortunately common challenge for migrant women garment factory workers, is the lack of maternity protection. Again it's the issue of lack of enforcement of law, because in Thailand even if migrant women get pregnant they're entitled to maternity protection, they shouldn't be losing a job because of they're getting pregnant, they should be entitled to paid maternity leave, but in reality, most of the migrant women we have talked to are even thankful if they could keep jobs unpaid. Why are they not enforcing it, I think that comes from several reasons. One is that there is less pressure, especially in case of migrant women, because as you know in Thailand, migrant workers are not allowed to start the trade union of their own. They're allowed to join but they cannot start their own trade union. In border areas like Mae Sot where all the workers are migrant workers, how do you start the union, how do you join the union because there are no local workers there who can start the union. So without this kind of collective pressure the government, again, or employers, have less pressure to actually implement the law.  Despite the fact that migrant workers are not allowed to form a trade union there have been a number of actually cases where migrant workers in garment factories did come together and use their collective bargaining power or jointly filed a case, launched a complaint, against their employer through the labour office. And there have been actually several landmark victory cases where the court declared that the employers must pay the unpaid wages to these workers. But in reality, employers did not pay. Nothing changed. And all this workers unfortunately lost the jobs and they could not find any other job in the area or in the same industry because of blacklist.  What we probably need to probably strengthen the support, is what happens to workers after they actually win the cases. Because quite often we celebrate the victory but not necessarily being able to follow up thoroughly over the threats and really difficult conditions that these workers face after they win the cases.  HOST:Reiko Harima from Mekong Migration Network. Migrants and refugees work in the garment industry in many parts of the world –  In Turkey their role is enormous.  As well as Syrian refugees, others from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and former Soviet Union states can all be found, in garment factories.  Hussain is a twenty-five year old refugee worker there.  He tells his story here, with interpretation by Mariam Danisjo.  HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:I just arrived, and I'm starting my work.  That's Hussain. He's lived in Istanbul, Turkey for the past year. I first met Hussain when I was working for a refugee organization here -- He's from Afghanistan, like me. I'm interpreting for him here. My name's Mariam.   HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:He tells me that he's from the city of Bamyan.  HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:It's a very peaceful place. I can say it's the safest city in Afghanistan. I spent my whole life in Bamyan. Those are my best memories. Since then, I've faced so many problems.  HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:My parents passed away. I joined the military. The government sent me to Logar Province. // But visiting my family was dangerous, because the Taliban had informants along the way. Many of my friends were found this way and beheaded by the Taliban. That's why my family asked me to leave the country. It was difficult for me to leave. I was a little bit young. I wasn't ready. But I had to accept.  HUSSAIN:  [Original in Dari] MARIAM:From Kabul, I got a passport with a visa for Iran. From Iran I walked to the border. It took us five or six days. I was scared. If the Iranian police saw, they would shoot. We would run at night. During the day, we would hide in old houses, in the mountains.. I hardly dared to hope we would reach Turkey alive  HUSSAIN[Original in Dari] MARIAM:But when I arrived in Ankara, I lost my hope. I was expecting UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency – to help me get registered as a refugee. Or at least find a good job. But the Turkish government and UNHCR never helped us. The first place where I started working, I wasn't a garment worker. I didn't have any experience sewing clothes. So at first, I worked as a cleaner. But it wasn't enough. I was sending money to my family as well. We had a lunch break between 1 and 2 o'clock. That's when I tried to learn how to use the machines. I'd ask others to teach me. I learned how to work the machine in a month.  HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:My shift starts at 8:30. Every two or three weeks, the designs are different. Right now we're sewing clothes for five or six year old boys. The clothes are being sent to Germany. I don't know the name of the brand. We work until 7 o'clock in the evening. If I mess up the clothes, my boss shouts at me. I work hard, I'm not paid well. And I still get yelled at. I come home very tired. I'm not working legally, so I don't have sick days.   Hussain tells me how much he makes. He says he is paid 12 Turkish lira an hour -- Which makes 1 euro, 33 cents. In a month he makes 2 thousand, 500 Turkish lira … That's only 277 euros. It is a little bit more than half of minimum wage in Turkey. HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:I spend a thousand liras a month on rent and groceries. There are five of us in a three room flat. On the weekends, before the coronavirus lockdowns, I used to go outside. Now, on Saturdays and Sundays, I read books. Inspiring books, on how to develop myself. How to have a better life. When I'm older, I'm planning to open my own business. I'm learning how to build websites, so I can help people set up an online business. I want to make my own future.  HOST:That's Hussain. This piece was produced by Durrie Bouscaren.  Around two million people work without legal status in Turkey – mostly refugees or migrants. If you like this podcast – please share it with your colleagues in the Clean Clothes Network! And if you haven't subscribed already – make sure you do! You'll get an email every time we publish a new episode, so you won't miss a thing You don't have to be a migrant or a refugee to face extra exploitation at work.  It can find you right in your own home.  Home-based work has been described as ‘invisible labour'.  But home-based workers across the world have been getting organised. Matthew Abud has this report.  REPORTER:Last February saw the launch of HomeNet International  That's a new global network of home-based worker organisations. Janhavi Dave is its international coordinator, based in Delhi. She's been part of India's home-based worker movement / for several years now.  JANHAVI:You know whenever I meet home-based workers especially in garment sector, I always ask them why do they work as home-based workers. And you know what we've found is generally three key reasons which they provide. One is the unfair burden of care work, and this is quite big. You know they have to take care of their children, families, cooking, cleaning, and many developing countries they spend a lot of time fetching water. So there is no other option for them to do any other form of remunerative work apart from home-based work. The second reason is also lack of mobility. They don't have affordable and safe you know or accessible transportation systems to go for example to factories. Or the other part is also, you know due to the patriarchal system women are not allowed to go to the factories or outside their own homes and work. The third key reason you know why they work from home is that there is no other form of work, so this is the only option that they have.  Home based workers as a category of labour is not recognised. Not recognised by and I feel mostly by the primary employer which are the brands. Once they're not recognised, you know there's this entire space where everybody has the capacity to exploit them. You know if they're recognised at the top, and say they have a policy for home-based workers a lot of exploitation can be reduced.  REPORTER:HomeNet International might be new. But in India – as well as elsewhere – organising home-based workers has a long history. JANHAVI:It started somewhere in the 1970s and it was started by Self-Employed Women's Association, and with the garment workers.. The first time when they went for one of the registrations, with the Labour Department, they asked them what is the category of worker, and because you know they had to come up with something quickly, one of the leaders said home-based workers. From 1970s you know, of course SEWA was organising a lot of women home-based workers in India, they also were closely working with ILO, and they got in touch with other organisations in Europe, and Asia, and realised that they were not the only ones organising home based workers, there were many other organisations across the world.  That is the time when they received support and solidarity from three global unions, as far as I remember. One is IUF, second is FNV, and the third is ITGLWF. Now this comes to the early 90s, and when all of them got together and pushed for ILO Convention 177…  REPORTER:C-177 is the ILO Convention on Home Work JANHAVI:…ILO Convention 177, in 1996 this Convention was adopted. You can imagine, you know, there are these big companies, they don't want a Convention for home workers. The brands also, these big companies went back to their countries and ensured it was never adopted.  REPORTER:Only ten countries have ratified Convention 177 so far, with the last being the Netherlands in 2012.  But organising home-based workers hasn't stopped. The path this follows, is different in each country.  In Pakistan for example, home based work is an enormous part of the labour force – but just how big, nobody knows.  Zehra Khan says the best estimate is that the country has around twelve million home-based workers, with eighty percent women.  She's the General Secretary of the Home Based Women Workers Federation – the first union for these workers.  ZEHRA:So there's no fixed wage for them, working in a very low wage, having health issues, not considered part of the economy. Previously this issue was raised on the basis of gender, and most civil society organisations saw it as an issue of the poor women. But we took home based worker issue purely as a working class issue, not just a gender issue, and we said home based workers was being exploited as both a women and the labour. So home based workers get work in their home and it is thinking in the society that the woman was getting the job by staying at home so she don't have any problem.  REPORTER:Zehra and others started to organise home-based workers over ten years ago – the union was first registered in 2009.  Because workers are in their own homes, this organising perhaps looks a little more like community development, rather than conventional industrial union work.  ZEHRA:We started meeting and study circles with these women workers, and made these women realise that they are working and have some rights. This was a difficult stage.   So we formed union at provincial level and then at federal level, and it was first ever trade union of home based workers in Pakistan and led by all the women from the working class and were themselves engaged with the home-based sector. Majority of these home based workers were not literate one but consciously they were far ahead.  REPORTER:They had a union, but home-based workers were still not recognised in the law – so changing this, became the next objective. The Federation first targeted the government in the province of Sindh. ZEHRA:We have participated in draft of policy and even in act as well. And along with this we were building pressure by rallies and demonstrations, and finally by May 2018, the Act of Home Based Workers was passed in provincial assembly. So after passing this law in 2018, the whole workers in Sindh, the first thing is they become legally recognised as worker in Pakistan. The main thing is that now their wages have been fixed, they will be calculated as the minimum wage or you can say the living wage.  And the more important thing is that any issue with the employer, middle man or their contractor, they can now sue them in the arbitrary committee. Any cases, in terms of wages, in terms of any harassment, in terms of anything from their contractor or from their employer, they can go to sue the employer.  REPORTER:Meantime, in Southeast Asia, Thailand has around three point seven million home based workers. That's out of around twenty million informal workers in total.  The mobilisation and campaigning story there, is a little different.  Poonsap Tulaphan is Director of the Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion.  POONSAPSince 2000, we try to mobilise and organise home based workers. We need to develop the understanding, because normally the home based worker they not consider themselves as a worker. Most of them are women so they consider themselves as a house wife, not a worker. We have to draw the supply chain, that the finished product will go back to the factories and factory export to other country, and they also support the economic growth of the country. That is how we explain to our members REPORTER:Thailand didn't have a formal organisation for home-based workers until 2013 – that's HomeNet Thailand. This is an NGO rather than a trade union. But even before then, after ten years of organising by Poonsap and many others, the country passed the HomeWorker Protection Act in 2011.  POONSAP:The main message in the bill is that it's like, if the worker produce the same product as the factory, they should get the same income, or the same piece rate the factory pay for them. And at the same time there is no law on occupational health and safety. So under the homeworker protection act it state that the employer shouldn't sub-contract the work that are not safe, and if the sub-contract they should educate or training in terms of occupational health and safety, and they have to provide the PPE, the personal protection equipment.  REPORTER:Poonsap says the HomeWorker Protection Act still hasn't had enough impact on the ground.  It took the government three years to even set up the HomeWorkers Committee, as required by the law – so more work is needed.  But that's not the only legislative advance they achieved.  Thailand's social security scheme was set up in the 1990s, and relies on contributions from workers, employers, and government.  For a long time, home-based workers and other informal workers, were supposed to pay for all three – which was impossible.  POONSAP:Informal worker we also contribute for the economic growth of the country, so the government have to take responsible on this. So we advocate and we success in 2011, that the government will co-pay. But the government co-pay only from their side, only about one part of the contribution fee. So if you pay one hundred baht for the contribution fee, the government will co-pay thirty baht and we have to pay seventy baht.  REPORTER:In South and Southeast Asia, home-based workers have been getting organised.  Regional networks were also established.  Here's Janhavi again. JANHAVI:So in 1998 HomeNet South East Asia was formed, and in 2000 HomeNet South Asia was formed. Over the years these organisations strengthened in numbers, but in the early 2010, there was a need felt to actually go beyond Asia and start organising home based workers. This is when WIEGO came into support…  REPORTER:WIEGO is an NGO – the name stands for Women in Informal Employment, Globalizing and Organizing JANHAVI…WIEGO came into support, they did a lot of mapping work, supported local organisations, and in 2013 we had HomeNet Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and now a lot of organising efforts are happening in Africa and in Latin America.  REPORTER:After many decades of organising, and building regional networks, it was time for a global network – and that's HomeNet International.  JANHAVI:And WIEGO coordinated this effort as a central organisation. And we were hoping to have a first congress, launch congress in the year 2020. We couldn't have it because of the pandemic, but very recently in February we had the launch congress of course virtually, but now there exists a global network of home-based workers.  HomeNet International currently has thirty six affiliates, and collectively we represent over six hundred thousand home-based workers from over eighteen countries. And a first step is actually going to be solidarity building between all our affiliates. While everybody's a home-based worker they're also very different, because you know they work in very different political climates, economic situations, they come from different class, ethnicity, and we have a big, big task of building solidarity between all our affiliates. So that's going to be our first step.  And the third is, which is going to be big for us, is building partnerships with other trade unions, which is ITUCs and SNVs and IUF. And when we say these trade unions, we also want to build partnerships with other organisations which can support the cause of home-based workers, the campaign organisations, Clean Clothes Campaign, Asia Floor Wage Alliance, and ETI. So we're on the lookout what are the other global partnerships that we can build for our network.  HOST:All workers deserve to have their rights defended.  That means greater collaboration, across different worker rights organisations. Marlese von Broembsen, is Law Programme Director at WIEGO – Women in Informal Employment, Globalising and Organising. MARLESE:It's not helpful to from a solidarity perspective and from a political perspective to distinguish between workers inside the factory and workers outside the factory. I mean we know for example from an ILO study done in 2017 that approximately fifty per cent of these factories are taking orders below cost, and so they have to seek mechanisms to download costs and risks onto workers. So typically the workers inside the factory, the pressure on them is unpaid overtime. But the other way of doing that is to outsource further down. They download a range of production costs. So that's the cost of space, it's the cost of electricity, it's the cost of equipment, the sewing machine, the needles. And they can pay them so much less. It's totally unregulated and therefore you know factories can pay nothing. I think it's endemic in the model and unless the procurement terms change it's here to stay.  When we've approached brands, we being WIEGO but also HomeNet Southeast Asia and HomeNet Southasia, when they've approached the brands to say can we track, we know there are home workers in your supply chains, can we trace the supply chain. Sometimes the brands have been quite keen and when we ask them well what would you do, well they'll ban homework then. And I think that's a particular concern for us as we enter this period of the EU mandatory due diligence, because unless we explicitly say it covers the entire chain, and unless we explicitly say all workers should be covered and homeworkers are legitimate workers, the concern for us is that brands will simply say we don't authorise home work. And then it goes further underground and will have further implications for, particularly for wages.  So I think that the point that I'm wanting to make is that you know, do we want to be having first class, second class, third class, some are protected, some are not, some are, only formal ones are protected, and in a sense we really should be transcending the sort of labour law categories of employment and what should be protected and that in fact all workers, whether they're formal or informal, standard, non-standard, should be entitled to labour rights.  HOST:That's Marlese von Broembson, and that's the end of our show.  We have three more shows to go in this series. Like always – we want your feedback! Please email us at podcast@cleanclothes.org. Matthew Abud produced this episode, with Anne Dekker, and the Clean Clothes Podcast team. Liz Parker, Tanne de Goei, and Johnson Chin-Yin Yeung. Sound engineering support is by Steve Adam  I'm Febriana Firdaus.    

世界上第一条短信售出 成交价近15万美元︱World's first SMS sold as NFT for $150,000 at Paris auction houseThe world's first SMS has been sold as a non-fungible token (NFT) for $149,729 (€132,680) at auction in Paris, according to the auctioneer Aguttes.据法国奥古特拍卖行称，世界上第一条短信在巴黎的拍卖会以149729美元（约合人民币95.4万元）的价格作为非同质化代币（NFT）售出。Reading "Merry Christmas," the message was sent by British programmer Neil Papworth from his computer on December 3, 1992 to Richard Jarvis, the director of UK telecommunications company Vodafone.1992年12月3日，英国程序员尼尔·帕普沃思在电脑上向时任英国电信公司沃达丰总监的理查德·贾维斯发送了一条“圣诞快乐”的短信。Jarvis received the message on his Orbitel 901 cellphone during the company's Christmas function.贾维斯在Orbitel 901手机上收到了这条信息，当时该公司正在举行圣诞活动。The NFT is a replica of the original communication protocol that transmitted the SMS, the auction house said. The unknown buyer, who was to pay in the cryptocurrency Ether, will also receive a digital frame with a 3D animation of the message being received.奥古特拍卖行表示，这次拍卖的NFT是传输短信的原始通信协议复制品。拍下该NFT的匿名买家将以加密货币——以太币支付，他还将收到一个数码相框，其中包含这条短信的3D动画。 Papworth and his colleagues were trying to develop a type of communication whereby their client, Vodafone, could offer users the ability to send messages to each other's phones, Aguttes explained on its website.奥古特拍卖行在其网站上解释称，当时帕普沃思和他的同事想开发一种通信方式，让他们的客户沃达丰可以为用户提供用手机相互发送信息的功能。They eventually refined the code, and the transmission of texts via Vodafone's network became a reality.他们最终完善了代码，使在沃达丰的网络中传输文本成为现实。"In 1992, I had no idea just how popular texting would become, and that this would give rise to emojis and messaging apps used by millions," Papworth was quoted as saying by the auctioneer.拍卖行援引帕普沃思的话称：“1992年的时候，我不知道短信会变得这么流行，会促使数百万人使用表情符号和通讯软件。”Initially, texts could not be sent from cellphones because they did not have keyboards. However, by 1994, they were able to be transmitted from phones thanks to the arrival of the Nokia 210.起初，手机里不配有键盘，无法发送短信。而到了1994年，诺基亚210的出现使手机能够发短信了。Five years later, text messages could be sent on various telecommunications networks, giving rise to their popularity. Texting as a means of communication began to overtake the use of phone calls, according to the press release.五年后，各种电信网络都可以发送文字短信，短信大肆流行起来。据新闻报道，短信作为一种交流方式开始取代打电话。The 160-character limit of SMS -- which stands for "Short Message Service" -- has since been incorporated across digital platforms including Twitter.短信的长度限制为160个字符，此后推特等互联网平台都加入了这一限制。The way that users choose to express themselves has developed over time with the introduction of Internet acronyms and emojis.随着网络缩写词和表情符号的引入，用户表达自己的方式随着时间的推移而变化。Just as the world's first SMS revolutionized the way people communicate, NFTs are shaking up the art world.正如世界上第一条短信彻底改变了人们的交流方式，NFT也在撼动艺术界。Non-fungible tokens are a form of cryptocurrency that convert digital pieces of art into unique, verifiable goods that can be traded on the blockchain.NFT是一种加密货币形式，能把数字艺术品转换为独特的、可验证的商品，可在区块链上交易。Each NFT is one-of-a-kind, meaning that no two tokens are the same. Since March, when the first NFT artwork was sold for $69,346,250 during an online auction by Christie's, virtual art has broken into the mainstream.每个NFT代币都是独一无二的。自3月份佳士得拍卖行以69346250美元（约合人民币4.4亿元）的价格售出第一件NFT艺术品以来，虚拟艺术已经成为主流。Recently, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales sold an NFT of the first ever edit made on the website -- a testament to how virtual art can be used to commemorate moments in Internet culture history.最近，维基百科联合创始人吉米·威尔斯出售了该网站首次编辑词条的NFT——这证明了虚拟艺术可以用来纪念互联网文化史上的时刻。Speaking about the sale of the SMS NFT, Maximilien Aguttes, the development manager at Aguttes auction house, said, "The first printed book, the first phone call, the first email, all these inventions have changed our lives and communication in the world."在谈到出售首条短信NFT时，奥古特拍卖行的业务拓展经理马克西米利安·奥古特说：“第一本印刷书籍、第一个电话、第一封电子邮件，所有这些发明都改变了我们的生活和交流方式。”"This first text message received in 1992 is a historic testament to human and technological progress. It transmitted a message of joy, 'Merry Christmas'," Aguttes added.他补充说：“1992年收到的第一条短信是人类和技术进步的历史见证。它传递了一条溢满欢乐的信息——‘圣诞快乐'。”Vodafone said earlier this month that proceeds from the sale would be donated to the United Nations Refugee Agency.沃达丰本月早些时候表示，此次拍卖所得将捐赠给联合国难民署。fungible 英 ['fʌndʒɪbl]；美['fʌndʒəbəl]adj.可代替的；可互换的n.（偿还债务时所用的）代替物cryptocurrency英 [ˈkrɪpto kʌrənsi]；美[ˈkrɪptoʊ kɜːrənsi]n. 加密通货；加密货币auctioneer英 [ˌɔːkʃəˈnɪə(r)]；美[ˌɔːkʃəˈnɪr] n. 拍卖人；拍卖商verifiable英 [ˈverɪfaɪəbl]；美[ˈverɪfaɪəbl] adj. 可证实的

At the end of August, amidst the US military's withdrawal from the country, the Taliban swept to victory in Afghanistan. Tens of thousands of foreigners and Afghans have been flown out of the country, but many remain, including American and EU citizens as well as Afghan allies. As the Taliban swept through and took Kabul the Afghan military disintegrated within the space of two weeks. The result has been a wide-scale humanitarian crisis which the United Nations Refugee Agency has warned will result in the displacement of half a million more Afghans by years end. The threat of terrorism and Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for terror groups such as Al Qaeda is a prominent security concern. Concerns of a large-scale migration crisis. Concerns even for the Transatlantic relationship between Europe and the US due to the US' lack of consideration or consulting of its European allies in the build-up to its withdrawal. In this episode, Lucinda Creighton is joined by Polish MEP Radek Sikorski to discuss Afghanistan from an EU perspective. He is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA) and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE). Sikorski also served as Poland's Minister of Defence between 2005 and 2007, Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2007 and 2014, and Speaker of Parliament in Poland between 2014 and 2015. 

The increase in extreme weather events worldwide is evidence that climate change is already impacting our lives. The hardest hit of the global population are people in developing countries. Host Imogen Foulkes puts the spotlight in this episode on what humanitarian agencies are expecting from leaders at COP26, the UN Climate Change conference taking place in Glasgow. "Ninety per cent of the world's refugees originate from countries that are on the front lines of the climate emergency. There is a linkage," says Andrew Harper, special adviser on climate action with the United Nations Refugee Agency."We are collectively driving towards a cliff.  There are many people who have already lost their lives at the bottom of that cliff in countries that are already two or three degrees warmer," says Gernot Laganda of the World Food Programme."The fact that Switzerland did not pass a law about CO2 indicates that it's the developed countries that have been more difficult to convince," says political analyst Daniel Warner.

Chris Chancey is the Founder and CEO of Amplio Recruiting, the only certified B Corp staffing agency. Amplio Recruiting helps companies hire from the refugee community. At a time when many companies find themselves short-staffed, Amplio Recruiting offers an interesting way to diversify the workforce while impacting lives and communities at the same time. I want to share some statistics and a personal story that will shed light on why I'm so excited about the work Chris does. Globally we've never had more displaced people than we do right now. Displaced people count both refugees - those who have crossed an international border - and internally displaced people (IDP), those that have been displaced within their home country. At the end of 2020 the number of displaced people was estimated at 82.4 million. That means, 1 in every 95 people on Earth has fled their home as a result of conflict or persecution. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, among the globally displaced are nearly 26.4 million  , around half of whom are children under the age of 18. The scale of this humanitarian crisis is hard to comprehend, and it hits close to home. I am the daughter of a refugee. My father and his family spent 3 years searching for safety during WWII (my Aunt was literally born in a barn along the way), followed by 2 years in a refugee camp before coming to the United States when my father was 7 years old. Once resettled, the journey of learning a new language and adjusting to a new country began.  My grandparents were, fortunately, able to get work. My grandmother worked cleaning office buildings after hours, and my grandfather got a job in a Nabisco factory. Work is an important part of dignity, identity, stability, and personal agency. If you're interested in learning how to diversify your own workforce through hiring refugees, you can find information on Amplio's Diversity Consulting Services here. You are also welcome to connect with Chris directly by emailing him. In this episode we cover: The unexpected paths revealed when we choose to lean in with curiosity to things we're unfamiliar with How Amplio Recruiting has been able to achieve a 90% full-time hire rate for placed staff The importance of personal networks and the power of storytelling  Key Takeaways: I'm struck by the importance of language. As Chris mentioned, there's a huge difference when talking to companies about roadblocks versus hurdles. Words matter. Words prime the way our brains look at a problem. One word might make us feel like a problem is insurmountable, while another might be an exciting invitation to problem solve a solution. The importance of networks and community surfaced multiple times during this conversation. Amplio Recruiting has stepped in to create the network that refugees need to find work. I really appreciate that as Amplio looks at businesses to partner with, they vet businesses on their culture and how well a refugee hire will be integrated into the work community. As the daughter of a refugee, if you're in a position to diversify the hiring pool for your company, I strongly urge you to consider how you can add refugees to your workforce. How can you help support one of the most vulnerable populations through employment, and become a stronger company because of it. References: Refugee Workforce: The Economic Case for Hiring the Displaced by Chris Chancey and Katie Gibson Read more of Amnobe Pilipili's story here Amplio Ventures Businesses for Refugees Learn how you can welcome and support Afghan refugees at US Connect & Share: If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading them! If this episode resonated with you, I ask you to send it to a friend. Help bring even more visibility to these leaders that are using business as a force for good!  Subscribe to the Purpose and Profit newsletter to make sure you don't miss future episodes. This podcast is for you, the listener. I'd love to hear what resonated with you, or if you have a suggestion on who would be a great guest for this show. Please send me a note at info@KathyVarol.com.

World leaders at a UN Conference approved the 1951 Refugee Convention 70 years ago. This created the framework for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). To mark the milestone, the UNHCR has a new podcast called Forced To Flee. It tells the stories of a few of the more than 82 million people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. One such story is that of Mary Maker. She left South Sudan as a child, and now has a theatre scholarship at the University of Minnesota. We'll hear from her, as well as Gillian Triggs, Deputy High Commissioner for Protection with the United Nations Refugee Agency.  

Y'all WE DID A LIVE SHOW!!! Behold Becca and Ryan discussing asylum seekers/refugees in the universes of Trek and "the real." Recorded live as part of the IDIC Podcast Festival hosted by Women at Warp this past July 17-18, 2021. Donate to Never Again Action.   Hit it.   P.S. seriously check out the other podcasts in this festival, they are LEGIT        What We Watched Sanctuary DS9 2x10    Short Treks S1: Brightest Star    Masterpiece Society TNG 5x13    Cogenitor ENT 2x22    Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night DS9 6x17    Honorable Mentions    The Disease VOY 5x17    Generations    The Sound of Thunder DIS S2E6    Absolute Candor PIC 1x04      References Memory Alpha - Refugee Memory Alpha - Political asylum   Migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants: What's the difference? via International Rescue Committee  Currently, there are 68.5 million men, women and children escaping war, persecution and political turbulence. These are refugees and asylum seekers. There are others who are looking for jobs or an education—they are usually called migrants—and people who want to live permanently in another country—immigrants. A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her home because of war, violence or persecution, often without warning…. An official entity such as a government or the United Nations Refugee Agency determines whether a person seeking international protection meets the definition of a refugee, based on well-founded fear.  An asylum seeker is someone who is also seeking international protection from dangers in his or her home country, but whose claim for refugee status hasn't been determined legally.   America's asylum system is broken. Here's how Biden could fix it. by Nicole Narea via Vox Since 2014, the majority of asylum seekers arriving at the US Southern Border are from  “Central America's “Northern Triangle” — Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. For years, these countries have suffered from gang violence, government corruption, extortion, and some of the highest rates of poverty and violent crime in the world. The pandemic-related economic downturn and a pair of hurricanes late last year that devastated Honduras and Guatemala, in particular, have only exacerbated those longstanding problems. Many of the migrants arriving on the southern border, sometimes in large caravans, likely felt they had no choice but to seek refuge elsewhere — as is their right under US and international law.” Reproductive Abuse is Rampant in the Immigration Detention System by Brigitte Amiri via ALCU ***a government-contracted doctor repeatedly performed sterilizing procedures on women in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody without their knowledge or consent.   In 2017, groups working with young immigrants discovered that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which has custody over immigrants under age 18 who come to the country without parents, had instituted a policy of blocking pregnant young people from accessing abortion care and trying to coerce them to carry pregnancies to term against their will. Numerous pregnant women detained by Border Patrol recounted being told by officers to get abortions, all while being held in crowded, unsanitary facilities with little access to food or water.   During the first two years of the Trump administration, the number of undocumented women who miscarried while in government detention nearly doubled.   More immigrant women say they were abused by Ice gynecologist by Victoria Bekiempis via The Guardian ***“Petitioners were victims of non-consensual, medically unindicated and/or invasive gynecological procedures, including unnecessary surgical procedures under general anesthesia, performed by and/or at the direction of [gynaecologist Dr Mahendra Amin],” the petition said. “In many instances, the medically unindicated gynecological procedures Respondent Amin performed on Petitioners amounted to sexual assault.”     *** at ICE privately operated Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Georgia. 3 asylum seekers on why they decided to flee for the US via VOX  

The management of unaccompanied children's migration involves a complex legal framework laid out in international law which aims to give internationally recognised human rights to children. These rights involve policies and legislations to be implemented by supranational, national and local actors- creating a multi-layered infrastructure for the management of the refugee populations arriving in the EU. United Nations Refugee Agency (now IOM in Greece) is the most authoritative power that produces and circulates legal texts that materialise in the governance of the refugee children. These legal texts involve conventions/treaties, guidelines, standards, policies and legislations prepared by and for the United Nations agencies, governments and non-governmental organisations. The texts are written for specialists working in the field of refugee management in refugee camps and the UN's experts at their headquarters. These texts that are written for the governance of children, (re) invent the label of the “child” and more specifically the “unaccompanied child” (UAC), a legally prescribed lexical label, discursively producing “the child” as a legal, psychological and biometric surveillance (Jacobsen 2015) subject, resulting in an ambivalent management of the unaccompanied children. In this paper, I explore how this figure of the unaccompanied child is (re) invented in legal texts and practice, when circulating in the humanitarian world via processes of decontextualization and recontextualization on national and local levels in Greece. Linked to this, I explore the tensions and disruptions/refusals that arise when this definition of the child is implemented in a shelter for unaccompanied children through a nine month long ethnography on Lesvos island. Date: 25th May 2021 About the speaker: Dr Birgul Yilmaz, British Academy Postdoctoral Researcher, UCL Institute of Education. Dr. Birgul Yilmaz is a British Academy Postdoctoral Researcher at UCL Institute of Education. Her research deals with ethnographies of refugees' language practices in spaces such as refugee camps, shelters and squats in Greece. Her research interests are language and migration, language and humanitarian governmentality, language and international law as well as the intersections of language ideologies, identity, nationalism, gender, religion and social class in diasporas. She holds a PhD in Linguistics from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, an MRes in Language Discourse and Communication from King's College London and a BA in English and Linguistics from Queen Mary University of London. Free to attend, live stream or watch online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Popset0Fc8 More info: events.ucl.ac.uk/lhl Join the conversation on Twitter at #UCLMinds #MadeAtUCL

Amidst a decade-long war that has devastated the country, Syrians went to the polls last week in an election that gave another seven-year term to current leader Bashar al-Assad. With a turnout of over 78%, Assad achieved an overwhelming victory against his nearest opponent, Mahmoud Ahmad Marei.Supporters of the president took to the streets in the hundreds of thousands as the results were publicized, celebrating what they saw as a repudiation of violence and a step forward for the beleaguered nation.The results were endorsed by many nations friendly towards the government, such as China, Iran and Cuba. "A decisive victory was won by the incumbent head of state," wrote the foreign ministry of Russia in a statement. "We view the elections as a sovereign affair of the Syrian Arab Republic and an important step towards strengthening its internal stability," they added.However, opponents of the Assad administration described the contest as a sham and hopelessly rigged, claiming that his opponents were controlled stooges, that people inside Syria were forced to vote for him, while refugees were blocked from voting. “The Assad regime's so-called presidential election is neither free nor fair. The U.S. joins France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K. in calling for the rejection of the regime's attempts to regain legitimacy without respecting the Syrian people's human rights and freedoms,” said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Many of the countries Blinken mentioned, including the United States, blocked Syrians from voting at diplomatic missions in their countries.Despite the Western reaction, Assad, in power since 2000, looks set to govern for seven more years. His major task will be attempting to break armed opposition groups in Idlib and to repair a nation destroyed by 10 years of war and crippling sanctions. The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that over 13 million Syrians, including 6.7 million internally displaced people, require humanitarian assistance. A further 6.6 million people have left the country since fighting began in 2011.Joining MintPress to discuss the elections, the humanitarian situation and the future of the Syrian Arab Republic is Dan Kovalik.Dan is a human rights lawyer and adjunct professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh. A prolific author, Dan's work and activism has taken him around the world, including to Colombia and Venezuela. He spent a week in Syria, where he observed the elections first-hand.Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud.Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTubeSupport the show (https://www.mintpressnews.com/donations/)

Yonathan Moya grew up on the U.S./Mexico border and sought out a way to tell the stories of the people living there. Following a nine-day photographic journey in 2017, he launched an organization supporting families along the border. Border Perspective leads service-learning trips along the south Texas border to provide opportunities to support local immigrant ministries and to better understand the complexity of immigration. In this episode, Yonathan and Branden discuss what’s currently happening at the U.S./Mexico border, the nuanced and complex historical and political contexts of immigration, and opportunities to create solutions. Guest: Yonathan Moya, executive director of Border Perspective Learn more about Border Perspective’s work on their website, follow @borderperspective and @yonathanmoya on Instagram, and donate to Yonathan’s father’s memorial fund Show your support: Buy something from Border Perspective's Amazon Wish List to provide humanitarian relief to migrant families at the border. Volunteer with Border Perspective to support shelters that are overwhelmed by vulnerable migrant families navigating a lawful immigration process. Volunteer with Catholic Charities to care for unaccompanied minors in San Antonio. Take action through RAICES, the largest immigration legal services nonprofit in Texas. Donate to the United Nations Refugee Agency to support their work in solving the root causes within Central America that cause people to flee. Contact your representatives and tell them you want to see immigration reform that 1) respects people’s dignity and rights, 2) responds to both short-term and long-term problems, and 3) creates infrastructure that allows for a fair immigration process. Call 1-844-USA-0234 and enter your zip code to be connected with your representatives, or text RESIST to 50409. Learn more: Child migrants: What is happening at the US border? 9 questions about the humanitarian crisis on the border, answered Sponsor: With Libro.fm, get 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 with the code GOOD (and shop local bookstores online with Bookshop) Sponsor: Save 20% on Riff cold brew and sparkling energy drinks at LetsRiff.com with the code GOODGOODGOOD → Become a Member and get the Goodnewspaper at goodgoodgood.co/membership → Join 30,000 weekly Goodnewsletter readers at goodgoodgood.co/goodnewsletter

It's been two weeks since the city of Palma in Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique was attacked by heavily armed rebel forces on March 24. The attacks continued until April 2, leaving many people dead, displaced or injured. Those who managed to escape the violence arrived in surrounding areas like Pemba, with harrowing stories of murdered neighbour and family members, missing loved ones and communities destroyed. The Mozambican army has stated that Palma is now secure, but the residual collateral damage is weighing heavily on survivors and under resourced surrounding communities. Close to 700 000 people have been displaced in their own country, since the insurgency involving Islamist militants initially began in 2017. However, since 2017 the motives behind the attacks have not been concretely established. The United Nations Refugee Agency’s Head of Office in Pemba, Margarida Loureiro, who has been on the ground with those displaced by the recent attacks, describes just how dire the humanitarian situation in Mozambique is. She warns that if the situation is not controlled, the humanitarian concerns are likely to impact neighboring countries as well. 

Originally shy and introverted, Leanne Manas found a voice and a dream. As one of South Africa's most prominent journalists and news anchors, she certainly found her way. What sets Leanne apart from many others who do what she does is her steadfast belief in what she's there to do. Leanne wholeheartedly maintains that she's not there to teach anyone a lesson or change their mind − she's there to listen and give people a voice. “I'm not a court of law and never will be,” she says. From Leanne's perspective, her role is to inform people and let them decide for themselves. In this week's Top Women podcast, Topco Head of Marketing, Karla Fletcher, sits down with Leanne to discuss a host of topics, from the importance of having a safe space to what keeps her grounded in South Africa. Leanne shares some of the vital lessons she's learned throughout her career and dives into what it really means to make a change. Leanne Manas is a South African TV presenter at the SABC especially known as the anchor of the flagship show, Morning Live. Manas has a BA (Hons) in English and Communications and a diploma in Speech and Drama teaching from Trinity College London. Her interest in finance journalism led her to completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics Journalism from Rhodes University. Manas's broadcasting career started in 2001, with the anchoring role at the Essential Business Channel Summit TV. This lasted until 2003. While working in Essential Business Channel Summit TV, she started hosting the SABC 3 programmes, Business Update and Business Focus. In 2004 Manas became the presenter on South Africa's longest-running breakfast programme, SABC 2's Morning Live. Manas has worked for radio stations such as Radio Algoa, Jacaranda FM, SAfm and East Coast Radio. She was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency in January 2019.

Originally shy and introverted, Leanne Manas found a voice and a dream. As one of South Africa's most prominent journalists and news anchors, she certainly found her way. What sets Leanne apart from many others who do what she does is her steadfast belief in what she's there to do. Leanne wholeheartedly maintains that she's not there to teach anyone a lesson or change their mind − she's there to listen and give people a voice. “I'm not a court of law and never will be,” she says. From Leanne's perspective, her role is to inform people and let them decide for themselves. In this week's Top Women podcast, Topco Head of Marketing, Karla Fletcher, sits down with Leanne to discuss a host of topics, from the importance of having a safe space to what keeps her grounded in South Africa. Leanne shares some of the vital lessons she's learned throughout her career and dives into what it really means to make a change. Leanne Manas is a South African TV presenter at the SABC especially known as the anchor of the flagship show, Morning Live. Manas has a BA (Hons) in English and Communications and a diploma in Speech and Drama teaching from Trinity College London. Her interest in finance journalism led her to completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics Journalism from Rhodes University. Manas's broadcasting career started in 2001, with the anchoring role at the Essential Business Channel Summit TV. This lasted until 2003. While working in Essential Business Channel Summit TV, she started hosting the SABC 3 programmes, Business Update and Business Focus. In 2004 Manas became the presenter on South Africa's longest-running breakfast programme, SABC 2's Morning Live. Manas has worked for radio stations such as Radio Algoa, Jacaranda FM, SAfm and East Coast Radio. She was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency in January 2019.

Dalal Mawad is a Lebanese journalist currently working as a senior Middle East and North Africa video producer with the Associated Press. She previously worked as a regional video producer for the United Nations Refugee Agency covering displacement in the Middle East and the world. Relevant links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/dalalmawad Website: https://dalalmawad.com/ Support the channel: Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/decafquest Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/decafquest Twitter: https://twitter.com/Decafquest

I speak with my friend Edith Champagne in London UK who was the Head of the Video Unit for the in United Nations Refugee Agency in Geneva and Beirut. Edith was also a TV producer for the CBC in Canada and has spent a lot of time in the middle east and conflict zones. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/forfriendsandfamily/support

An interim court order has been granted by Western Cape high court acting judge, Daniel Thulare, to the City of Cape Town, to have the refugees and asylum seekers removed from the Central Methodist church and surrounding areas. More than 700 Cape Town refugees have been living in and around the Central Methodist Church on Greenmarket Square for nearly four months. They refugees were forcefully removed from the United Nations Refugee Agency offices. They are demanding to be moved and resettled to other countries. We speak to our reporter Chris Mabuya at the Western Cape High Court...

This week, Alyssa and Haley talk to Yursa Mardini, Syrian refugee, 2016 Olympic swimmer, and author of the book Butterfly. Yursa talks about growing up as a swimmer in Syria, living through the civil war, and the reasons why she left. She shares her feelings about being a representative of displaced people worldwide, how her experience as a refugee has changed her as a person, and the importance of sport in her life. Plus, how she's training for the 2020 Olympics and continues to represent refugees as the youngest Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency. + Our hosts recap all the amazing sporting events from the weekend and a mailbag question about how to warm up for a cold water swim.

Episode 003 – Paladin Preacher PodcastIt’s just after supper in your hut. Your mother and father are tending the fire and tidying up as they ask that you go to bed. Tomorrow, father is going to take you out into the fields for the first time as a young boy. It’ll be your first time learning about the tills the ground using hand-tools. He’s going to show you all of the corn crop that was planted from the prior season and it will be your turn to help him plant seeds in preparation for next season harvest.You tell your mother you’re still hungry so she hands you a fresh mango from the basket of fresh fruit she picked from the massive mango tree growing just outside your hut from early today.You sink your teeth deep into the mango. The sweet juice seeps out of your mouth as you pull your mouth back from your bite still lipping the bits of mango fiber stuck between your teeth. “Mango is my favorite,” you say to yourself as you finish eating down to the pit.“Now off to bed,” says mother, “tomorrow is a big day for you.” You hope into bed, place your head down on the pillow still half licking your fingers or the mango juice and picking the strands from between your teeth. As you fall asleep you think about the exciting time you are going to have with Father tomorrow, and you can’t wait to wake up.You awake to the sounds of footsteps in the hut. It sounds like father and mother talking in the next room. You rub the sleep out of your eyes and look out the window – it’s still dark outside. It can’t be morning yet; father usually wakes up early for work, but this seems too early.You begin to hear muffled, distant shouting coming from outside the hut. Father and mother are talking more loudly now and it’s beginning to sound like the whole village is has awoken. You hear more voices outside, and the voices are sounding louder and with more excitement in their voices about something.Your father and mother run into your room and pull you up out of bed. “We have to run,” they say to you. Their here.”There’s not enough time to grab anything from your room as you’re hurried out of the hut by the arms, fathers firm grip around your around your forearm and mother’s in his other hand.As the door to your hut opens, your mind is flooded watching the other huts in your village as people begin to poor out of them and begin running in different directions.The screams and yelling of the people outside are now far surpassing the volume level you are used to hearing even when hearing mother and father most excited. And then unfamiliar sounds begin to happen that you’ve never heard before like snaps, pops, hissing, and thuds all around you. People are beginning to fall over as they run and struggling to keep their step.You realize in your paralyzed stupor that you’ve stopped moving because of the things you are seeing, and nothing is making sense. I grew up with these faces and I have friends lying about the ground still frozen with their gazes fixed on nothing. Your father is pulling on your arms really hard, and yells, COME ON, WE HAVE TO GO NOW!As you, father, and mother make for the tree line, three dark figures step into your path and suddenly something else grabs you by the back of the neck and hard crack to the back of your head makes your eyes cease to see and suddenly you feel nothing.According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, “At the end of 2018, some 41.3 million people were internally displaced due to armed conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations, according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).”During my recent trip to Nigeria with Integrita’s Men’s Ministry we visited one of these IDP camps for displaced boys due to conflict in and around Jo’s due to cult activity, secret society activity, and in most cases, terrorist activity.This was our opportunity to meet with these boys who had lost everything and there was still no one they could turn to for help either from family or friends. When I say camp, I use that term loosely because even if I were camping up in the Los Angeles recreational areas there would be cleaner living conditions and facilities in which to live. Yet it was a safe haven for these boys who had nothing, who lived together, all suffering the same fate as the other and all sharing a commonality between the story by which brought them to this place.We played soccer with the boys for about an hour or so before they gave us a tour or the facility. I met a little boy named job while we were playing soccer with all of the boys. He kept staring at me while we were in the backfield playing defenders so I decided to say hello, give him a high five, and ask his name.“Job,” he said. It’s not uncommon, especially for new Christian boys and girls, to adopt a new biblical name as their new name. This is because when they are rescued, they are assisted with living and immediate health concerns, then they teach them to read and write in the camps, as well as, teaching them the gospel of Jesus.When studying the bible, the little boys and girls will select which biblical name they like the most and fits within the context of their own lives.I responded back to Job, “Rogers,” I said, pointing at myself. “Rogers?” He replied as he giggled and smiled as if my name wasn't a name you were supposed to have like “toaster” or “lamp.”During our tour of the facility Job wanted to show me where his bunk was. The facility had four large walls and an open courtyard in the center with two medium sized trees in the yard on which there were already boys climbing the branches to see who could reach the highest point first. The boys living quarters lined the outer walls with three or four bunk beds inside. Muddy and dilapidated little boy’s shoes lined the walls of the sleeping areas.He walked me into his room with two other boys right behind him. “This is mine,” he said as he pointed to the top bunk of a tri-bunk bed. “Top bunk!” I said, “very cool. I love the blanket you have. Its very nice”As we continued to walk the facility I felt called to ask him more about his story after asking him about his time there and what sports he loves to play.I asked Job, “What happened? Why are you here?”“I don’t have a mother or a father,” he said.“How come?” I asked.He was quiet for a moment and then he said allowed, “Boko Harahm. Boko Harahm, they cut them. They cut my mother and they cut my father and people in my home. Then they shot them in the head with a gun.”After hearing him say this I immediately dropped to a knee and I didn’t know what to say. My heart and soul was shattered into a million pieces.It wasn’t until later that I heard the full story.Boko Haram that had entered his village in a night raid with guns and machete’s and began systematically eradicating the people in his village.“After its founding in 2002, Boko Haram's increasing radicalization led to the suppression operation by the Nigerian military forces and the summary execution of its leader Mohammed Yusuf in July 2009. Its unexpected resurgence, following a mass prison break in September 2010, was accompanied by increasingly sophisticated attacks, initially against soft targets, but progressing in 2011 to include suicide bombings of police buildings and the United Nations office in Abuja. The government's establishment of a state of emergency at the beginning of 2012, extended in the following year to cover the entire northeast of Nigeria, led to an increase in both security force abuses and militant attacks.”“When Boko Haram first formed, their actions were nonviolent. Their main goal was to "purify Islam in northern Nigeria". Since March 2015, the group has been aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Since the current insurgency started in 2009, Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands and displaced 2.3 million from their homes and was at one time the world's deadliest terror group according to the Global Terrorism Index”2015, Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, rebranding as Islamic State in West Africa. In September 2015, the Director of Information at the Defense Headquarters of Nigeria announced that all Boko Haram camps had been destroyed but attacks from the group continue to this day.”Many news outlets and online sources will say that 2019 has seen further decline in raids by Boko Haram across Nigeria, Chad, and Niger but this was not the case for Job and his family.When Job and his mother and father were attempting to run away, they were captured, and brought back to the center of the village where the other who were captured were being held. The bodies and limbs of those who had already been cut down were remained buried in the mud where they had fallen.Everyone from the village who had been captured were told to get on their knees. A few of the older boys were selected and pulled aside and taken away.Now imagine for a moment you’re a 9-year-old boy witnessing this firsthand. (Expand)Men from Boko Haram step forward with machete’s and walk toward the group. The grown men and women were approached first. And then the hacking began.The sounds of metal whipping through the air as screams ring out.As you close your eyes you hear men step in front of you, your father and mother. Your eyes can’t help but open at the same whipping sounds and screams from your father and mother happen in front of you.As your begin to see the pieces and limbs of your parents begin to fall you real and convulse at the horror when two shots are fired; one after the next, as an exploding crater is formed out the back of your fathers head as he falls, and then your mothers.I didn’t get the chance to learn more about Job’s story. How did he survive? How did he get here? How had he been at this IDP camp for a year coping with this tragedy as a 10-year-old boy?All I knew was the why behind him being here and that he had taken the name “Job” in his suffering.In this Bible story from the book of Job, there is a wealthy man named Job residing in an area called Uz with his extended family and vast flocks. He was considered innocent, “blameless,” and “upright,” constantly mindful to live in a righteous manner (Job 1:1). God takes notice about Job’s virtue to, but Satan contends that Job is only righteous because God has favored him generously. Thus, beginning the trepidation throughout Job’s life as his faith to God is revealed in suffering.I know that the little boy I met in Nigeria had been through a living hell and somehow survived. I may never know how or why but I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to be with him and his friends, to pray with them, and to love on them the way they all wished their fathers still could.The days and weeks following my trip, the story of that little boy left me with so many questions unanswered.Why wasn’t anybody able to protect his family?How come they couldn’t defend themselves?So, we had some conversations with locals who were our guides and drivers to find out why Job’s story was all too common, especially in Northern parts of Nigeria. We were told that the government, due to the safety and security of the people of Nigeria had taken away the people’s means of which to fight back.Citizens of Nigeria are not allowed to possess machine guns, military style rifles, or handguns. Private possession of fully automatic and semi-automatic weapons, or revolvers is prohibited under law according to the Firearms Act and other firearms regulations. Hunting style/bolt action rifles and shotguns are allowed to be possessed if they are granted a Firearm License and pass a background check which considers criminal, mental health, and addiction records. In Nigeria, gun owners must re-apply and re-qualify for their firearm license everyone year otherwise their firearms are re-possessed by the government.I find it very interesting that a government known for its corruption practices in government, military, and law enforcement and a culture in which is fraught with malpractice and a hierarchy of subversion would remove the weapons from its people in the name of safety and public security without offering the ability to provide aid to it’s people. I mean we are talking about a country who has an Airforce which includes about 23 planes in operation.And yet these IDP camps are filled with children who are all running from the same problem.I hope and pray this same posture to defend one’s self and loved ones is not adopted here.

It's been eight years since the start of the civil war in Syria. Since then, we've seen the rise and fall of ISIS, proxy struggles between world powers, and history's largest refugee crisis. In this episode, Michael sits down with Chris Boian, spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency here in Washington, who reflects on the past eight years of conflict with a focus on media coverage. Boian also speaks about the future of Syria, and the monumental task of resettling refugees back into their home country. Michael is joined later by MediaFile International Editor Shayna Greene, who talks about using media and on the ground journalism to change perceptions about Syria here in the US. The music in this pod was provided by Greenss. If you like this episode of Long Time, No See, leave a rating, subscribe to the show, and keep listening. If you have recommendations for future topics or guests, you can email the host at mkohler@mediafiledc.com. If you would like to donate to MediaFile, the student journalists who power this pod, go to mediafiledc.com/donate. Support the show (http://www.mediafiledc.com/donate/)

Mark Hetfield is the President and CEO of HIAS, the oldest refugee assistance organization in operation. We discuss our humanitarian obligations to refugees, the tremendous benefits that they bring to American society, and bust the misconceptions about the current refugee situation in the US. Taking refugees is an act of humanity: Refugees have escaped persecution, their country, their homes, and their jobs in order to survive. The Refugee Convention of 1951 is an international law that requires countries to give them protection. We bring refugees to the US because it’s a way to protect human rights and our collective humanity. Refugees are a tremendous positive force: They are among the most productive members of society because they have lost everything, and they know that they can’t take anything for granted. In the US, refugees have contributed many billions of dollars more than they take in services. Some of our most successful companies, such as Google and Intel, were started by refugees. We have enormous untapped capacity to resettle refugees: The US can take in hundreds of thousands of refugees without noticing the impact or the stress. Many faith-based agencies are clamoring to welcome and help more refugees, but the exhaustive and extreme vetting process to enter the country and the cut in funding will result in the resettlement of less than 20,000 refugees in the US this year. Find out more: Mark Hetfield is the CEO and President of HIAS, a refugee assistance organization, and a major implementing partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the U.S. Department of State.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, there are currently over 22 million refugees around the world. Of course, this number doesn’t include the many individuals who simply migrate to a new country for other considerations. Many refugees and immigrants come to America and other developed countries every year. As Adventist Christians, how can we reach out to these people groups and make a difference? In this episode of the GYC Beyond Podcast, Esther Louw discusses this challenge with David Skau. A young person with a passion for mission, both overseas and in America, David Skau is currently working for the organization, Reach the World Next Door. Listen in to discover ways you can reach out to refugees and immigrants in your local community.

Sarah Brown speaks to Lord Alf Dubs, Gulwali Passarlay, Melissa Fleming and David Morrissey about the representation of refugees. Millions of words have been spoken and written about refugees but how many of these have been positive? This episode is about the survivors, battlers and new pioneers and explores why refugees are so often feared rather than celebrated. Sarah and guests explore the courage and humanity of the individuals behind the headlines. The families forced to pack up and flee danger at a moment’s notice. Those making a new life for their family in a strange place whilst caring passionately about their homeland. Those taking on any work to bring in an income and making safety and education for their children the greatest priority. Lord Alf Dubs is a Member of the House of Lords in the UK and in 2016 sponsored an amendment to the Immigration Act to offer unaccompanied refugee children safe passage to Britain amidst the European migrant crisis. Gulwali Passarlay is an Afghan refugee currently residing in the UK, he is an activist for refugee rights and author of The Lightless Sky where he tells his own story of being forced to leave Afghanistan at the age of twelve. Melissa Fleming is Chief Spokesperson at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and author of "A Hope More Powerful than the Sea", the story of Doaa, a girl from Syria, who in 2015 crammed onto a fishing boat setting sail for Europe. Melissa's book is being made into a film produced by Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. David Morrissey is an actor, director and producer and Ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency, and using his high profile for good by supporting refugees and other marginalised communities.

What does it mean to oversee more than 35 million internally displaced and stateless peoples? Erika Feller shares her many years of experience working for the United Nations Refugee Agency and contemplates Australia's current refugee policy. Episode recorded: 4 May 2017 Interviewer: Steve Grimwade Producers: Dr Andi Horvath and Chris Hatzis Audio Engineer: Arch Cuthbertson Editor: Chris Hatzis Production Assistant: Claudia Hooper Banner image: Climatalk.in / Flickr

What does it mean to oversee more than 35 million internally displaced and stateless peoples? Erika Feller shares her many years of experience working for the United Nations Refugee Agency and contemplates Australia's current refugee policy.Episode recorded: 4 May 2017Interviewer: Steve GrimwadeProducers: Dr Andi Horvath and Chris HatzisAudio Engineer: Arch CuthbertsonEditor: Chris HatzisProduction Assistant: Claudia HooperBanner image: Climatalk.in / Flickr