Issue 8: January 4, 2021
Staff
Avery Wang: Co-Editor-in-Chief, Layout
Xander Starobin: Co-Editor-in-Chief, Web Design
Maya Britto: Contributor, Communications
Diya Britto: Contributor, Social Media
Wongel Gebru: Contributor
Jade Xiao: Contributor
Julie Chen: Contributor
Marin Theis: Contributor
In this issue...
We're covering the withdrawal of Tanzania's efforts to help refugees, the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region of Africa, the rise in migrant usage and dangers of the Darién Gap, and Hurricane Iota and Eta's damage in Central America.
Tanzania's Efforts to Help Refugees Coming to an End in Dire Time for Displaced People
By Maya Britto
The United Republic of Tanzania’s continuous efforts to help asylum seekers may be coming to a halt, despite the country’s long history of providing asylum for refugees fleeing neighboring countries.
The Tanzanian government has withdrawn from the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), a United Nations initiative to foster global support for refugees’ inclusion to provide them with greater access to education and labor markets. The government is also urging Burundian refugees, who had fled from Burundi to escape violence to return home. Many of them have been abused by Tanzanian police.
According to a report by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a humanitarian aid organization, the escape of over 100,000 Burundian refugees to Tanzania in 2015 occurred after former Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term, triggering violent clashes throughout the East African nation.
Although Tanzania has been generous in its efforts to support the influx of Burundian refugees entering the country in 2015, it is now becoming harder to be a refugee there. According to reports from the Norwegian Refugee Council, a humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO), Tanzania joined the CRRF in 2017. However, in early 2018, the Tanzanian government announced that it would be withdrawing from the CRRF and declined all funding provided by the agreement. Since 2018, no arrivals from Congo or Burundi have been allowed to enter the country.
According to reports by the Human Rights Watch, an international NGO, Tanzanian police and intelligence services have tortured at least 18 Burundian refugees since 2019 and have likely abused many others. The same report states that between October 2019 and August 2020, Tanzanian authorities had tortured and detained at least 11 Burundian refugees at a police station in Kibondo. The forced removal of many Burundian refugees has not been condemned by Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who urges Burundian refugees to go back home.
The Burundian government has supported these actions; new Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye also insists on the return of Burundian refugees. According to a public statement by Amnesty International, an NGO focused on human rights, the governments of Tanzania and Burundi have been working together to encourage the return of Burundian refugees since 2017. At least 75,000 refugees have returned to Burundi since September 2017.
Approximately 335,000 refugees live in Tanzania. The country primarily hosts Burundian refugees, but many are also from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Tanzania is home to the world’s third-largest refugee camp, Nyarugusu. According to statements by the UNHCR, the Burundian refugee crisis, though just as severe as other global humanitarian crises, has received the least help. The organization and its partners received only 33 percent of the $391 million (USD) they had requested to support Burundian refugees. Refugee camps in Tanzania are full, temporary shelters are inadequate, health centers are struggling to provide sufficient care, and hundreds of children lack basic materials to succeed in school.
Burundian refugees remain displaced within Burundi and Tanzania and cannot trust either nation’s leadership anymore. Burundian refugees are being ignored despite their worsening situation. You can aid the situation by donating to the organizations below and by encouraging your congressperson and senator to push for policies that assist these desperate people.
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Climate Change and Violence Exacerbate Humanitarian Crisis in Sahel
By Jade Xiao
Climate change and ongoing political insecurity in the Sahel region are causing “one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises,” according to a report from Danish Refugee Council (DRC). Over 13 million people are in urgent need of basic humanitarian resources, including access to food, water, shelter, and education.
According to a statement by the United Nations, between 2018 to 2020, the number of internally displaced people in the region rose from 70,000 to 1,500,000. In a report from the DRC, Charlotte Slente, the Secretary General of the Council, states, “the situation in Central Sahel is spiralling out of control at a frightening pace. Millions of people are displaced because of escalating violence. They are affected by poverty, hunger, lack of access to basic services and rights, and further compounded by the consequences of climate change.”
The Sahel in western and northern-central Africa is located in the transitional area between the Sahara Desert and the Sudanese Savannas made of primarily grasslands, savannas, and shrublands. The climate is extremely arid, with an eight-month dry season and an annual average of 4-8 inches of rain in June, July, and August. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports deforestation, excessive cropping, and overgrazing in over 80% of the land in the region, causing an increased frequency and severity of droughts and floods. According to a report from the United Nations Environmental Programme, a “lack of coherent environmental policies and misplaced development priorities” place Sahel in imminent danger of desertification.
Unfortunately, some experts expect the Sahel’s climate crisis to worsen. In his report, Crisis In Sahel, Professor Malcolm Potts of the University of California-Berkeley predicted an increase of 3°C to 5°C Celsius in the region by 2050, a rate which is 1.5 times faster than the global average, according to data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Drastic climate change consequently will decrease the region’s agriculture production, causing both food scarcity and slow or possibly negative economic progression. According to a recent estimation by the Norwegian Refugee Council, after three consecutive droughts in 2008, 2010, and 2012, 33 million people in the Sahel region are food insecure. The United States Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.
The region’s high economic reliance on its agricultural industry, insufficient access to technology and inadequate connections to international trade markets, combined with its unpredictable climate, hinders economic developments. The FAO recently reported a production deficit that created a widespread shortage of supplies and drove up the prices of the agricultural goods, detrimentally impacting trade and citizens.
The political and social violence exacerbates the competition for scarce resources. Starting in Northern Mali in 2011, an outbreak of violence led to severe poverty, rising unemployment, and increased presence of armed terrorist groups. These armed groups, along with approximately 500,000 refugees, expanded into the neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Niger, both of which already suffered from internal violence. In Burkina Faso, over one million people have been displaced and fled the country. In Niger, according to data from the International Crisis Group, during their 50-year period of independence, there have been 2 armed rebellions and 4 coups.
Attacks on civilians and public structures from the military and terrorist groups caused 6,500 deaths in 2019 alone. In a UNHCR report, a Burkinabé refugee commented, “I’m so traumatized that I can’t even remember what happened,” after witnessing the murder of her husband just days prior.
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International Organizations such as the DRC, NRC, UNHCR, and FAO all actively support the region by providing agricultural support, purchasing domestic products, and distributing food, portable water, and money. However, as of 2020, the efforts are still significantly underfunded. Based on the December 2019 report from the FAO, a three-year program spanning from 2018 to 2021 is falling dramatically short of its funding goals. In a DRC report, Charlotte Slente states, “[the crisis] is truly disturbing. Yet, the situation is both under-covered and underfunded.”
You can help the Sahel crisis by donating to the following organizations:
The Darién Gap: A Popular Yet Treacherous Migrant Route
By Marin Theis
Migrants from around the world have been utilizing the dangerous Darién Gap at alarmingly increasing rates along their journeys to find new homes as other migration routes have become obstructed.
Infamous as one of the most dangerous migrant routes in the world, the Darién Gap is a stretch of jungle located between Colombia and Panama. It is so remote and the jungle is so dense that experts are unable to make estimates about how many migrants die each yearwhile crossing it. Human traffickers, smugglers, exposure to harsh conditions, exposure to dangerous wildlife, risk of robbery, a lack of clean water, and countless other dangers characterize the notorious Darién Gap region.
According to a press release from UNICEF in March 2020, the amount of migrant children crossing the Darién Gap has increased nearly sevenfold from 522 in 2018 to more than 4,000 in 2019. “Nearly 24,000 people from more than 50 nationalities, 16 per cent of whom are children, crossed the dangerous jungle in 2019,” the press release states.
More than half of the children were under the age of six, according to the same UNICEF press release. The danger of this region is especially potent for children because children are a vulnerable population, as they are most susceptible to kidnapping, trafficking, or death due to starvation or thirst, dangers which commonly turn into reality in the Darién Gap.
Immigration via South America is often one of the easiest routes to get to the United States from overseas locations because many South American countries have few visa restrictions. The majority of refugees flying into South America are African. After reaching South America, migrants aim to continue north with the goal of crossing the Darién gap, then continuing through Latin America to México and then finally to the United States. The journey through the Darién Gap alone takes multiple weeks, and in some cases, months.
New immigration restrictions from the United States have been a cause for increased traffic in the Darién Gap. The tightening immigration regulations during the Trump administration such as lowering caps on yearly green card issuances and refugee admissions has concerned desperate people who are considering immigration by conventional and legal means. Due to their worry about being denied legal entry, potential migrants look for other routes to the US. Because trekking through South America and Latin America can be accomplished by foot, this method is one of the most accessible, albeit quite dangerous as well.
The Darién Gap has no roads, no maps, and is known for hosting Colombian guerilla groups, paramilitary forces, and human traffickers. It is sparsely populated, because the rainforest is exceedingly dense and home to much wildlife, and is the only break in the Pan-American highway, which stretches from Alaska to Argentina.
Venezuelans and members of two Colombian indigenous communities called Embera and Wounaan have been crossing the Darién gap at higher rates recently as well. These people hear through word of mouth that reaching the United States through Latin America is “tough but not impossible,” according to a Reuters report, leading them to attempt to cross one of the most dangerous migrant routes in the world.
Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota Uproot Thousands in Central America
By Julie Chen
On November 3, Hurricane Eta, a Category 4 hurricane, collided into Central America, causing the most damage in Honduras. On November 17, Hurricane Iota, a Category 5 hurricane, hit this coastal area once more. Battered by destruction and floods from these natural disasters, nations in Central America face the displacement of thousands of residents and the deaths of hundreds.
According to a press release by UNHCR, the “heavy winds and rains have damaged homes, roads, energy infrastructure, and health centers,” and throughout Central America, over “120,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes.”
A study by the Permanent Contingency Commission of Honduras (COPECO) reports that, as of November 22, there are 969 operating Collective Centers, housing 88,722 people in Honduras alone after being hit by Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota. According to an initial estimation reported in a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) press release, at least 3.4 million people require urgent support throughout communities in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras.
Organizations in Honduras are currently discussing ways to provide relief to communities damaged by Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota, while still supplying emergency care. In a statement released by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), the Honduran Red Cross has already completed 11,706 evacuations, 147 air rescues, 4,707 water rescues. As of November 30, more than 3,000 food packages have been distributed to residents. by November 20. In the same report by the IFRC, COPECO’s request allowed the Honduran Red Cross to implement the Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis, an operation that quickly and objectively describes the health impact of a destructive event while considering the possible response facilities of the sector, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Giovanni Bassu, UNHCR’s Regional Representative for Central America and Cuba, stated in a recent report, “the impact of the storm comes amid an already critical economic contraction in the region as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing further hardship to forcibly displaced people and host communities alike.” The aftermath brought on by Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota has only increased the overall death toll and exacerbated the strain on the health system initially caused by COVID-19.
Various relief organizations are cooperating to provide aid for communities in the affected regions. According to a press release from the American Red Cross, the IFRC stated, “The rivers are still high, and floodwaters have not yet drained in many communities affected by the hurricanes.” The American Red Cross is providing assistance by “transporting [critically ill or injured] directly and safely to hospitals,” and “distributing food, fuel, hygiene kits, and kitchen kits.”
According to a statement released by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the organization plans to deploy a Disaster-Assistance Response Team (DART) to support struggling communities.
In an article by UNICEF, a victim of Hurricane Eta’s and Hurricane Iota’s destruction commented, “I have been helping my dad to build this place, I have lived here for 13 years and now we have lost everything and it hurts me not to be able to come back home.” This Guatemalan resident’s situation is not an isolated case, and many people all over Central America have encountered similar hardships.
In a time of destruction brought on by Hurricane Eta, Hurricane Iota, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, any donations to relief organizations are valuable for restoring the struggling communities of Central America. The people whom this crisis devastated have no place to go, have limited food and clothing, and many don’t have jobs. It is important for those of us who are not struggling with these challenges to help those in need.