10 Facts About Yemeni Refugees

Facts about Yemeni refugees

Though it has not drawn as much international attention as the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the ongoing civil war in Yemen has devastated an already struggling country.

One reason for the lack of attention is because the Yemen conflict has produced a smaller number of international refugees. Yet, almost 200,000 people have fled the country and more than 2 million have been internally displaced. Below are ten facts about Yemeni refugees and the volatile situation that has led to a protracted civil war.

  1. Most Yemeni refugees are foreigners themselves. Yemen has long been viewed as the entry point to the Middle East.  This is the case for many people coming from poorer countries in Africa since Yemen borders Saudi Arabia, a wealthier country home to huge numbers of guest workers.
  2. A large number of Yemeni refugees are internally displaced. As of December 2015, there were an estimated 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Yemen. This is almost 10 percent of the population.
  3. Even prior to the war, Yemen was the poorest country in the Middle East. This means that Yemeni refugees have scarcer resources to draw upon than refugees from other war-torn countries in the region.
  4. Many of the refugees from Yemen are now living in other poor countries. Of note, 33,000 Yemeni refugees now live in Djibouti and 32,000 in Somalia, two countries that are highly unstable and major producers of refugees themselves.
  5. Yemen’s geographic position makes it difficult for displaced persons to leave the country. Yemen is located at the corner of the Arabian Peninsula and its land borders include one of the most inhospitable desert terrains in the world. Several of the closest countries by sea are themselves highly unstable and violent.
  6. Historically, Yemen has been a generous acceptor of refugees. It is the only country in the Arabian Peninsula to be party to the 1951 U.N. Convention and the 1967 Protocol on Refugees. Yemen has welcomed refugees from countries in the Horn of Africa that suffer from persistent civil strife and repressive governments, like Somalia and Eritrea.
  7. Yemen’s civil war is locked in a stalemate. This means that the number of Yemeni refugees may increase  as the nation’s infrastructure continues to be destroyed by war.
  8. Yemen’s internal divisions have deep historical roots. During the colonial era, the north was controlled by the Ottoman Empire and the south by Great Britain. During the Cold War, North Yemen was capitalist while South Yemen was communist.
  9. Water scarcity has reached crisis levels in Yemen. This is one of the most important facts about Yemeni refugees and it also affects the entire population. According to The Guardian, 50 percent of Yemenis struggle to obtain clean water and the capital city of Sanaa may run out of water in the near future. As is the case for many conflicts around the world, water scarcity and control of water supplies are key issues.
  10. Yemen’s population has a high percentage of young people. Over 40 percent of the population is 14 years old or younger, and more than 20 percent falls in the 15 -24 age range.

Raising awareness of these facts about Yemeni refugees is important. Refugees all over the world flee from war and civil strife to seek refuge and find a better life, not just from Syria and Iraq. The facts here may not be an exhaustive list of the Yemeni refugee situation, but they provide insight into the issues this country faces on a daily basis.

– Jonathan Hall-Eastman

Photo: Flickr

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How USAID is Improving Access to Education in Niger

Education in NigerWith a stable democracy and no civil war, it would seem that Niger is ripe for progress compared to many other African nations. Yet Niger struggles with extreme poverty and ranks last on the U.N.’s Education Development Index. In 2003, the government instated a 10-year plan for education reform, but little progress in both quality of and access to education in Niger was made.

Niger’s history as an independent republic is very brief and rather bleak. According to the BBC, after gaining independence from France in 1960, Niger faced political instability, drought and widespread poverty. Slavery was only just outlawed in 2003 but remains a problem to this day.

Fortunately, in a peaceful 2010 election, Mahamadou Issoufou became president of Niger and since then the nation has been relatively stable politically. However, the nation remains one of the “poorest peaceful [countries] in the world.”

Limited access to education in Niger is a significant contributor to widespread and ongoing poverty in the nation. According to the U.N., average expected years of schooling in Niger is 5.4, compared to 16.9 in the U.S.

Niger’s adult literacy rate is a staggering 15.5% and only 5.2% of the population have at least some secondary education. These figures, among others, cause Niger’s education system to rank 187/187 nations ranked in the 2013 U.N. Human Development Report.

2013 also marked the 10 year anniversary of the plan for education reform; in the same year, USAID became involved in the effort to increase access to education in Niger.

A 2007 evaluation of the PDDE (from the French “Programme Décennal pour le Développement de l’Éducation”), revealed that Niger’s education system had improved quantitatively, but not qualitatively. That is to say, access to education improved — access to primary education increased nationally from 51% to 65% – but quality remained sub-par.

USAID aims to increase access to quality education in Niger. Higher quality education in Niger would mean a safer and more welcoming environment for female students, which currently have a 44 percent enrollment rate after sixth grade, increased parental involvement, and strengthened community links to education.

According to their website, the objectives of USAID are “to increase access to quality education in schools through an improved physical and social environment; and to increase early grade reading achievement by promoting a culture of reading.”

USAID calls their program “Niger Education and Community Strengthening.” By addressing the low education rates through the lens of community, USAID will have a sense of the cultural aspects that contribute to Niger’s struggling education system.

Working with the community as well as the Millennium Challenge Corporation will fortify USAID efforts to decrease the 18% gender gap in education and increase the 5.2% education rate.

– Sabrina Yates

Photo: Flickr

Seven Facts About Poverty in the Bahamas

poverty in the bahamas

While many Americans flock to the Bahamas for relaxing beach vacations, these tourists may not think about the economic hardships faced by their island hosts. Here are seven facts about the condition of poverty in the Bahamas:

  1. The poverty rate in the Bahamas currently sits at 12.5 percent. In 2001, the poverty rate was 9.3 percent. In 2014, the poverty line in the Bahamas stood at $4,247 compared to $2,863 as recorded in 2001.
  2. The current poverty rate is the highest for those in the under-20 demographic. Chairman of Citizens for Justice Bishop Walter Hanchell explained this statistic to The Freeport News, saying many recent high school graduates have trouble finding work as they lack the necessary skills.
  3. Unemployment contributes a great deal to poverty in the Bahamas. In 2013, unemployment was recorded at 16.2 percent and has gone down to 15.4 percent according to the 2014 Labor Force Survey. Bahamian scholar Rochelle R. Dean shared her thoughts on unemployment with Tribune242, saying, “the Bahamas has the resources, tools and labour force to reduce the unemployment rate, but lacks the vision and ambition to do so.”
  4. According to the Household Expenditure Survey, larger families are more likely to be in poverty, with 32 percent of households with seven or more members living below the poverty line.
  5. Haitians living in the Bahamas have the highest rate of poverty at 37.69 percent, although Haitians represent only 7.48 percent of the Bahamian population. The poverty rates among the islands in the Bahamas vary greatly: poverty rates are the highest within the Family Islands and lowest in Grand Bahama.
  6. Households led by women are more likely to face poverty in the Bahamas (9.7 percent) than households led by men (7.9 percent). According to the Nassau Guardian, women represent slightly more of the poor population at 51.83 percent.
  7. In 2012, 10,000 people received financial aid from the Bahamian government, an astounding increase from the 3,000 people in 2004.

Although multiple leaders in the Bahamas are at odds about how to improve the economy, all agree that something must be done, soon. With increasing poverty and unemployment rates, the citizens and leaders of the Bahamas must find a way to come together to improve these conditions.

– Carrie Robinson

Photo: Flickr

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Cell Phones in Africa Transform Banking

Cell Phones in AfricaIt is fair to say that cell phones have officially infiltrated Africa’s countries and completely transformed people’s methods of banking and agriculture. The increase of ease for both of these professions have factored into poverty reduction and the betterment of African lives. When it comes to banking, having access to cell phones in Africa is both useful and productive.

Cell Phones and Personal Finances

Cellular devices can easily be used to keep track of funds, to store funds in a safe location and to transfer funds. In 2007, Safaricom–Kenya’s largest mobile operator–and Vodafone developed a money transferring service called M-PESA. By 2012, M-PESA obtained 15 million Kenyan users–more than a third of the population. This newfound access to portable technology has also been extremely helpful in pulling people out of poverty-stricken situations.

For example, many users transfer their funds to individuals who are still trapped in severely impoverished rural areas. M-PESA provides a safer way to send someone money, so it cannot be stolen easily. The individuals who use M-PESA to store their funds also benefit. Their funds can be easily managed, which has caused an increasing amount of families to adopt this technology.

“One study found that in rural Kenyan households that adopted M-PESA, incomes increased by 5-30 percent,” according to The Economist. This proves that mobile phones help people climb the financial ladder to live better lives. There are also many African startup companies who have used M-PESA as a platform to initially pave their way in the business world.

Cell Phones and Agriculture

As previously stated, mobile phones have changed Africans’ way of agriculture as well. Farmers, the largest employers in Africa, now rely on their mobile phones for critical informational tips. “By serving as platforms for sharing weather information, market prices, and micro-insurance schemes, mobile phones are allowing Africa’s farmers to make better decisions, translating into higher-earning potentials,” according to CNN.

Farmers can figure out distant crop prices faster than ever before and effectively track the gestation of their cows. Therefore, the use of cell phones in Africa has allowed farmers to drastically improve their agricultural methods, which makes it easier to sustain their livelihood. The Borgen Project advocates for the world’s poor and knows how essential it is for developing countries to be able to sustain themselves. The use of cell phones in Africa have only helped in that regard, and it looks as if the technology is here to stay.

Cell Phones and Technological Advancements

Due to the technologically advanced world surrounding Africa, most Africans can enjoy the today’s “tech” nuances and pass over the dying technology of the past (such as landlines). In the year 2002, around one-in-10 Africans owned a mobile phone. In 2006, “There were 50 million new mobile subscribers… and in 2007 the total number of mobile subscriptions reached an estimated 200 million.” On average, that adds up to 20-plus active mobile phones for every 100 people.

The decline in cost and simplistic nature of mobile technology are the reasons why so many Africans have chosen to use portable tech. A report by the UNCTAD stated, “A decline in the cost of information and communication technology (ICT) has extended its use by the poor, who capitalize especially on information obtained by telephone to support livelihoods in agriculture and various small businesses.”

It is incredible to see how the proliferation of cell phones in Africa have so positively impacted the continent in such a short amount of time.

– Terry J. Halloran

Photo: Flickr

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6 Facts About Poverty in Indonesia

Poverty in Indonesia
Indonesia is the world’s third most populous democracy, and its people are spread out among thousands of islands in the Indian ocean. The country’s unique geography and turbulent history have made poverty reduction a challenge. However, Indonesia has made strides in addressing poverty thanks to strong economic growth and concentrated poverty alleviation legislation.

6 Facts About Poverty in Indonesia

  1. Poverty in Indonesia is both urban and rural, which makes reduction efforts by the government and international groups a uniquely challenging problem. Furthermore, due to Indonesia’s geography, natural disasters are a much more costly threat than in other nations, and they disproportionally affect poor people.
  2. Poverty reduction in Indonesia has been very effective in the 21st century. Approximately 11 percent of the population lives in poverty, a more than 50 percent reduction since 1999. Between 2006 and 2013, 10 million people climbed out of poverty in Indonesia.
  3. Despite the clear downward trend in poverty numbers, according to Indonesia Investments, “the Indonesian government applies rather easy terms and conditions regarding the definition of the poverty line, resulting in a more positive picture than reality.” As a result, Indonesia has a high population of people who are “near poor,” or in danger of falling into extreme poverty in an economic downturn.
  4. In recent years, however, the economy of Indonesia has been performing very well. Indonesia has the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the 16th largest in the world. The Indonesian economy has seen steady annual growth rates of between four and six percent annually since 2004. Furthermore, the unemployment rate is very low, recorded at just 5.5 percent in 2015.
  5. There has been a recent uptick in public spending by the government to improve public services in the country. The Indonesian government now invests about $30 million every year in its five major poverty reduction programs. The government has also been increasing its loan allocations in order to help small businesses.
  6. The country has a positive growth outlook for coming years. The Indonesian government has shown its commitment to fiscal reforms to increase foreign investment, and economic growth is expected to increase in coming years.

Despite the challenges that Indonesia faces, the last 15 years of economic growth and poverty reduction are encouraging for the future.

– John English

Photo: Pixabay

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3 Types of Education for Refugee Children

Education for Refugee ChildrenWhile the civil war rages, education in Syria fails to be a priority. Unfortunately, those forced to flee suffer a similar fate. The U.N. reports that only 50% of refugees, from Syria or elsewhere, are enrolled in primary education. Education for refugee children is invaluable; it provides safety, stability, psychological support and social support.

Refugee services in various countries have set up different types of education for refugee children. UNICEF calls this initiative the “No Lost Generation.” Below are three different forms of education various countries and organizations have made available for refugee children.

Integration into Local Schools

In some places, refugee children are integrated into the local school system. This is one of the fastest ways to assimilate children into their new environment as well as help normalize their lives.

Unfortunately, many places are not able to handle the extreme increase in the school system. Because of their small populations and large numbers of refugees, 56% of refugee children in Jordan and 80% in Lebanon are not in school. Those who do attend face many challenges and often drop out.

At best, schools are overcrowded and well-intentioned teachers lack the training and resources to assist students who have suffered so much psychological distress.

At worst, refugee children are blamed for the crowding and abused by their teachers and fellow students. UNICEF has set up teaching training to improve education in Syria and nearby countries.

Additional Programing

Some refugee programs provide additional assistance to help ease the transition for incoming students. Refugees are often out of school for months or even years. Returning to school often involves overcoming these gaps as well as language or cultural barriers.

Lexington Refugee Ministries in Kentucky provides after school and summer programming to help children adjust to their new schools. Volunteers assist with tutoring, social adjustment and college readiness workshops. Similar programs are popping up in various countries.

Drop-in Centers

UNICEF and Save the Children International have partnered to set up drop-in centers in refugee camps globally. While this does not have the same advantages as traditional schooling, it provides flexibility necessary for many refugees.

Because of a lack of food security, many refugees prioritize work over education. Although they are not a permanent solution, drop-in centers allow children to keep up their education while they work or move around. The children receive training in a trade, basic education and an opportunity to play with other kids.

Education for refugee children is extremely valuable, but traditional schooling is not always an option. While it can be frustrating to have schools bursting at the seams, it is important to remember that the children are victims, not perpetrators, of the situation.

UNICEF tells the story of a young boy named Ahmed who has been able to receive some schooling by attending a drop-in center. He says, “I feel happy here. At this place, I can have fun, and every day I learn so much. The math I learn here also helps me with my work.” For kids like Ahmed, education is the best hope for a better future.

– Jeanette I. Burke
Photo: Flickr

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Landesa’s Fight for Female Land Rights in India

women's land rights

The nonprofit organization Landesa is taking an important step in the battle against global poverty. Its goal is to increase female land rights in rural areas.

Though women make up about 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in the poorest regions of the world, they are often denied rights to own, control or inherit land. The lack of land rights can cause difficulties for women living in poverty who are “dispossessed,” meaning unmarried, widowed, divorced or disabled. These women are often forced to rely on extended family members for shelter, food and other necessities.

In Odisha, India alone, an estimated 500,000 single and landless women live in rural areas. Without access to land, they have few methods to adequately support themselves or lift themselves out of poverty.

Programs that aim to alleviate poverty by distributing land often fall into the trap of ignoring the ways in which experiences of land ownership and poverty are gendered. Odisha launched a government program called Vasundhara in 2005. The program allocated plots of government land to landless, rural families. However, due to government policies that overlooked the needs of rural, dispossessed women, many women were ineligible for the program.

Landesa, with support from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is working to rectify these oversights with a new woman-centric program that will help identify women in need through local health workers. They are working to create an inventory of single women in need of government land and social security entitlements. They are then served through Women Support Centers that help them apply for government services.

Over 5,000 dispossessed  women have been the beneficiaries of homestead land, and another 15,000 cases are currently being verified. The land rights project, though relatively new, is experiencing much success and is set to establish female land rights for thousands worldwide.

– Jordan Little

Photo: Flickr

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New Ministry of Happiness in India Focuses on Well-Being

Ministry of happiness

In April, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan of India’s central state, Madhya Pradesh, announced plans to create a Ministry of Happiness. This new ministry will oversee the growth of the state in terms of Gross National Happiness, an alternative national development index.

In contrast to GDP, GNH measures the well-being of a nation in terms of “community, culture, governance, knowledge and wisdom, health, spirituality and psychological welfare, a balanced use of time, and harmony with the environment.”

Proposing the Ministry of Happiness

Chief Minister Chauhan, a yoga enthusiast and a Master of Philosophy, hopes that the ministry of happiness will improve citizens’ mental and physical health.

The ministry of happiness is also set to run over 70 social programs such as yoga, meditation, spirituality, arts, and religious pilgrimages for seniors.

Building on existing programs, such as the state’s “Girl Child” program, the ministry of happiness will continue to financially reward families of female students for remaining in education. The funding will also be used to employ a team of psychologists dedicated to improving the well-being of citizens.

The ministry of happiness was proposed amid a severe drought that has left many citizens of Madhya Pradesh, a largely agrarian state, without income and has increased the rate of suicide among farmers.

In addition, Madhya Pradesh has seen 27 suicides of school-age children in the last year due to exam-related stress. The state also suffers from high rates of malnutrition, infant mortality and the highest rate of rape in the country.

Tracking Happiness for Economic Growth

Some citizens of Madhya Pradesh are skeptical of the need for a ministry of happiness, citing a lack of basic rights and resources as the main causes of suffering.

This has sparked questions about the legitimacy of government psychological and spiritual intervention. However, India is not the first government to try to track happiness.

Along similar lines, the United Nations World Happiness Report measures the well-being of populations using GDP per capita, as well as markers for social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

In Bhutan, the birthplace of the GNH index, the commitment to a holistic measure of well-being rather than solely financial measures one has led to positive results. By prioritizing well-being over material growth, Bhutan has become an example of alternative economic growth for the rest of the world.

Hope for an Equitable Society in India

“GNH is an aspiration,” said Thakur Singh Powdyel, Bhutan’s minister of education, “a set of guiding principles through which we are navigating our path toward a sustainable and equitable society. We believe the world needs to do the same before it is too late.”

The idea for a ministry of happiness demonstrates Madhya Pradesh’s commitment to these guiding principles. Heading the charge, Shivraj Singh Chauhan hopes that a new emphasis on the ideals of equality and community will improve the well-being of the state’s citizens.

– Lia Jean Ferguson

Photo: Pixabay

9 Facts About Poverty in Swaziland

Poverty in SwazilandIn conjunction with its quickly growing population, Swaziland has experienced continuous economic difficulties, especially in its rural areas. Here are nine interesting facts about poverty in Swaziland.

9 Facts About Poverty in Swaziland

  1. Ten percent of the population is responsible for about half of the nation’s consumption, while 84 percent of those living in poverty in Swaziland reside in rural areas. These figures point to a disproportion in the flow of resources between urban and rural areas in Swaziland.
  2. According to the Rural Poverty Portal, roughly 47 percent of the population is less than 15 years old. The unemployment rate of Swaziland is expected to rise unless working opportunities are found for these children.
  3. Life expectancy has actually dropped from a peak of 59 years in 1990 to 49 years in 2014.
  4.  In 2013, Swaziland had the highest rate of HIV in the world, at 27 percent according to AVERT. During 2013, 11,000 people contracted HIV, and 4,500 people died as a result of HIV.
  5. The data shared by AVERT shows that 31 percent of women have HIV as opposed to only 20 percent of men. This difference is likely tied to gender inequality in Swaziland, as women are often not in control of their own reproductive and sexual health.
  6. Nevertheless, Swaziland has seen improvements in its HIV problem during the 2000s through increased rates of antiretroviral treatment and investments in HIV response. AVERT’s statistics demonstrate such improvement. In 2012, only three percent of children born to HIV-positive mothers were HIV positive, as opposed to 12 percent in the prior year.
  7. Drought has been a major factor in restricting growth and contributing to poverty in Swaziland. According to All Africa, a drought last year was partially responsible for a 31 percent decline in maize production in 2015 and left 300,000 people (one-quarter of the population) targeted for aid.
  8. Other impacts of drought are seen in education, where water is needed for plumbing. The lack of water also increases the potential for water contamination, with 197,157 students, teachers, and workers being put at risk of water-borne disease.
  9. Since 2000, the Kingdom of Swaziland has been implementing a plan to reduce poverty. Some goals include providing all rural households with access to water as well as giving women the same rights over their land that men have.

Foreign support in dealing with problems such as HIV and water shortage would certainly help improve the economic disparity found in Swaziland, in conjunction with the nation’s own efforts.

– Edmond Kim

Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About Israeli Refugees

Israeli Refugees

The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 left many of the Palestinians who lived in these lands without homes or basic rights. The current politics of Israel leaves many of these people without access to services and human rights. Israel houses tens of thousands of African asylum seekers, as well as many more Palestinians, both within and outside its borders. Here are 10 facts about Israeli refugees.

10 Facts About Israeli Refugees

  1. Those seeking asylum in Israel do not have any rights or eligibility for social services.
  2. The Israeli government tries to push many refugees out of the country by detaining them, not accepting their asylum claims, not allowing them to participate in social services and through repatriation.
  3. The Supreme Court of Israel does not approve of the government’s treatment of Israeli refugees, specifically those of African descent. In two separate decisions, the Court has asked the Israeli government for policies that will take basic human rights principles into considerations for African refugees. Although the government did not comply, the Court’s demands for more comprehensive legislation concerning refugees is a step in the right direction.
  4. Palestinian refugees who re-enter Israel are considered “infiltrators” for crossing the border under the Prevention of Infiltration Law. The Israeli government has considered them a threat to national security since it passed the law in the 1950s.
  5. As of 2008, the Israeli government also considers African refugees “infiltrators.” The government passed an amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration Law in 2011, officially making the presence of African refugees in Israel unlawful.
  6. African refugees protested in 2014 in order for the Israeli government to recognize their rights. According to the African Refugee Development Center (ARDC), this was the first time that the asylum-seekers had distinct leaders associated with the movement. The height of the movement involved about 20,000 refugees and supporters. The peaceful approach helped to give government officials and the public more empathy for these refugees. The foundations of these protests will hopefully pave the way to legislative and societal changes in favor of refugees.
  7. Palestinian refugees are among the largest refugee populations in the world. According to the Palestinian Return Centre, about one in every three refugees from around the world is Palestinian.
  8. Many Palestinian refugees have remained close to their places of origins in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. More than one and a quarter million Palestinian refugees live in the nearly 60 official refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Others live in unofficial camps.
  9. The Palestinian Return Centre reports that some of the factors keeping Palestinians in camps include political and social struggles, as well as the physical safety of the camps. The refugee camps also stand as a symbol for the temporal situation of a people still asking to return to their homes.
  10. Even after many decades of displacement due to struggles with the Israeli government, Palestinians cannot return to their homes within the state of Israel in most cases. The peace process between Israel and Palestine has been slow, and most of the deliberations have not accounted for refugee rights.

The Israeli government must find a way to ensure the rights of Israeli refugees, whether they are from Palestine, Africa or anywhere else. Considering the current lack of legislative support for Israeli refugees, the refugee protests and pushes from the Supreme Court are a crucial foundation for ensuring the rights of these people.

– Addie Pazzynski

Photo: Flickr