Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Spain is struggling to accommodate thousands of young migrants who over the years have arrived alone on rickety boats or hidden in trucks, some of whom have ended up on the streets or even become involved in crime. There are currently around 14,000 unaccompanied young migrants …
Read More »South Africa struggles with unidentified bodies, many undocumented migrants
Searching for lost lives: S.Africa’s unidentified corpses Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | At Olifantsvlei cemetery on the outskirts of southern Johannesburg, undertakers clad in white plastic overalls, boots and face masks take on a grim task: mass pauper burials. They are burying 46 bodies that have been lying in …
Read More »Migrant rescue NGOs defy European states
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | A Spanish charity that saved 121 migrants in the Mediterranean last week vowed Monday to continue sea rescue operations, the latest NGO to defy moves by European nations to shut down a route exploited by trafficking gangs. Proactiva Open Arms founder Oscar Camps called on EU …
Read More »Nigerian women struggle to raise children born of Libya rape
Benin City, Nigeria | AFP | She was only just 18 when she gave birth without a doctor in a Tripoli apartment, gripping the hand of her best friend who had come on a journey they hoped would lead from Nigeria to Europe. For Joy, who told her story to AFP on …
Read More »Trump announces controversial asylum deal with Guatemala
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump announced Friday that a “landmark” asylum agreement has been reached with Guatemala, as the United States ratchets up pressure on its southern neighbors to stem the flow of migrants towards its border. The White House said Guatemala would now be considered a …
Read More »Iraqi faces verdict in Germany’s ‘Susanna’ rape-murder trial
Wiesbaden, Germany | AFP | An Iraqi man faces his verdict in Germany Wednesday over the rape and murder of a teenage girl that fuelled far-right protests against a mass influx of mostly Muslim migrants. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and other extremists have seized on the brutal killing of …
Read More »Heatwave adds to the woes of migrants stranded Bosnia
Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina | AFP | Stranded in Bosnia, thousands of migrants face yet one more hurdle on their journey towards the European Union: the scorching summer heat in the Balkans. Under a leaden sky, Saleh Alhasan and his friends hurry to reach the shade of the woods after failing …
Read More »UN calls for Libya ceasefire as death toll climbs to 1,000
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | The UN Security Council called Friday for a ceasefire in Libya as the death toll from a three-month offensive on Tripoli reached 1,000, including scores killed in an air strike that hit a detention centre for migrants. The council condemned the late Tuesday attack on the …
Read More »Migrant boat with 86 on board sinks off Tunisia, 4 rescued
Zarzis, Tunisia | AFP | A traumatised young Malian plucked out of the sea off Tunisia after clinging for two days to debris from an inflatable which sank told Thursday of how more than 80 migrants are feared drowned. The latest tragedy came to light the same week as 44 migrants …
Read More »Deadly air strike on Libya migrant centre sparks outrage
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Outrage and calls for an independent probe mounted Wednesday as 44 migrants were killed in an air strike on a detention centre in Libya that the UN said could constitute a war crime. UN chief Antonio Guterres denounced the “horrendous” attack and demanded an independent investigation, …
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