In The News

Sexual Abuse of Migrant Youth in US: Axios

Caitlin Owens, Stef W. Kight and Harry Stevens February 26, 2019
The US Department of Health and Human Services received more than 4,500 complaints of alleged sexual abuse against unaccompanied minors between 2014 and 2018. The Justice Department received 1,300 more complaints. There may be some overlap. Border agents separated immigrants and children attempting to enter the country when they suspected the adults were not parents or had a criminal background....

1 Million Forest Families Evicted in India: Guardian

Jatindra Dash February 25, 2019
India’s Supreme Court issued an order to reject 1.3 million land claims and remove indigenous people from forest lands in 21 states. “The case highlights the plight of India’s underprivileged lower castes and indigenous groups as the world’s second most populated country – with 1.3 billion people – juggles with environmental protection, poverty reduction and economic growth,” explains Jatindra...

New York Times: Pope Francis’ Gulf Tour

Jason Horowitz February 6, 2019
Seeking warmer relations with the Muslim world, Pope Francis established interfaith dialogue during his historic trip to the United Arab Emirates, the sole oasis in the Middle East that provides a somewhat permissive environment for Christianity, allowing worship in private. The UAE has a million Catholics, about 10 percent of the population, many migrants. Jason Horowitz, writing for the New...

Washington Post: Sudan Unites Against al-Bashir

Muhammed Osman and Max Bearak January 23, 2019
Nationwide protests erupted in Sudan and popular opposition to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir continues. Muhammed Osman and Max Bearak report for the Washington Post: “throngs of demonstrators – most in their teens and 20s – have been met with tear gas and bullets. Thousands have been swept up in mass arrests, and at least 40 have been killed.” Protestors have mobilized against a regime they...

Guardian: Disfigured Syrian Girl Refused US Visa

Amanda Holpuch January 23, 2019
Under Donald Trump’s travel ban, the United States denied a visa to a 16-year-old Syrian refugee seeking medical treatment for burns from a bomb attack that left her disfigured. The Guardian notes that Marwa had settled in Nuremberg, Germany, with her family. There, doctors advised the family to seek advance treatment in the United States, “following 13 operations to repair trauma from third-...

New York Times: US Separated More Families

Miriam Jordan January 21, 2019
A US policy that separated more than 2700 children from parents seeking asylum at the border with Mexico shocked the world in 2018. A government inspector’s report reviewing the policies uggests thousands more separations may have occurred before the country’s zero-tolerance immigration policy was launched in spring 2018. With no explanations to parents, border agents placed children in shelters...

Washington Post: Response Needed in Yemen

Missy Ryan January 20, 2019
Aid agencies and the United Nations have put out a warning about the food shortages in Yemen as the civil war rages on. As Missy Ryan for the Washington Post reports, “the civil war is putting more and more civilians on the brink of starvation.” Analysis suggests that 16 million people, more than half Yemen’s population, are regarded as “food insecure.” This announcement comes in the face of...