Last month, while visiting Nairobi, Kenya to train HIAS local staff on resettling vulnerable refugees, I met “Sylvia”, a refugee living in a HIAS safehouse on the outskirts of the city. For refugees like Sylvia, who have exceptionally serious protection concerns, safehouses provide critical short-term security while they await resettlement—often their only option for long-term safety and freedom from persecution.
Last month, while visiting Nairobi, Kenya to train HIAS local staff on resettling vulnerable refugees, I met “Sylvia”, a refugee living in a HIAS safehouse on the outskirts of the city. For refugees like Sylvia, who have exceptionally serious protection concerns, safehouses provide critical short-term security while they await resettlement—often their only option for long-term safety and freedom from persecution.
For "Adam”, a 31-year-old asylum seeker in Israel who fled Eritrea after being incarcerated and tortured for leaving military service without permission, life has been filled with uncertainty almost as long as he can remember. HIAS' recently launched pro bono legal aid project helped him begin 2015 with a renewed sense of freedom.
A twist of fate (and timing) led to me spending my first week as Policy Counsel for HIAS in Jordan as a member of a delegation from Refugee Council USA. The trip, which was intended as a chance to learn about resettlement for Syrian refugees, became my crash course in the realities of the Syrian refugee crisis.
Three years ago, Natia Kalandia's dream of becoming a psychologist seemed like just that, a dream. She had passed her university entrance exams, but following the death of her father and with her mother unemployed, there was no money to pay for tuition. Today, thanks to a scholarship from HIAS, Natia is back at Tbilisi’s Ilia State University and making progress toward her degree.
Three years ago, Natia Kalandia's dream of becoming a psychologist seemed like just that, a dream. She had passed her university entrance exams, but following the death of her father and with her mother unemployed, there was no money to pay for tuition. Today, thanks to a scholarship from HIAS, Natia is back at Tbilisi’s Ilia State University and making progress toward her degree.
What Does Restoring Dignity Look Like? By Sarah Baradaran, Refugee Policy Intern, HIAS-DC Jan 26, 2015 Visiting with African refugees in Nairobi, Kenya. (HIAS) Kenya is home to more refugees than any other country in Africa. Hundreds of thousands of refugees reside there in camps and urban slums, and originate from various African conflicts of […]
What Does Restoring Dignity Look Like? By Sarah Baradaran, Refugee Policy Intern, HIAS-DC Jan 26, 2015 Visiting with African refugees in Nairobi, Kenya. (HIAS) Kenya is home to more refugees than any other country in Africa. Hundreds of thousands of refugees reside there in camps and urban slums, and originate from various African conflicts of […]
What Does Restoring Dignity Look Like? By Sarah Baradaran, Refugee Policy Intern, HIAS-DC Jan 26, 2015 Visiting with African refugees in Nairobi, Kenya. (HIAS) Kenya is home to more refugees than any other country in Africa. Hundreds of thousands of refugees reside there in camps and urban slums, and originate from various African conflicts of […]
Lev Golinkin, author of the memoir "A Backpack, a Bear and Eight Crates of Vodka," discusses his family's 1989-90 journey from Ukraine to the U.S. during an appearance at HIAS headquarters in New York City.
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