Right now, as war and violent conflict rage around the world, people just like you are running – for their lives, their families, their dignity and their freedom.  They often have to leave everything behind.  And they leave with nothing but their hope, courage and determination.  They are refugees.
Every year on June 20 the world honors the courage, resilience and strength of refugees. On this seventh anniversary of the United Nations designated World Refugee Day, thousands of organizations in hundreds of countries will come together to focus global attention not only on the plight of refugees and the causes of their exile, but also on their determination and will to survive and on the contributions they make to their host communities.  Read more... (394 words, 0 images, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

The crisis of IDPs in Swat an Malakand areas of Pakistan  got attention of Hollywood too as Hollywood stars Brad Pitts and Angelina Jolie have donated $1 million, through their Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to the UN Refugee Agency to help displaced Pakistanis from Swat and other northwestern areas, where a military offensive has been launched to expel the Taliban militants. Jolie has worked with the UN refugee’s agency for eight years and visited Pakistan three times in recent years.  Read more... (330 words, 1 image, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

You just have to join the cause on Facebook to donate a dollar to UNHCR. The technology company Microsoft has pledged to match dollar for dollar, up to $50,000, every donation to the United Nations refugee agency made on social networking site Face book.  Read more... (184 words, 0 images, estimated 44 secs reading time)

Tens of thousands of children were not vaccinated because militants in the affected areas had opposed the vaccination campaigns. This is thought to have contributed to the 117 polio cases reported in 2008, a sharp increase on the 32 reported in 2007. So far in 2009 12 new cases have been reported, compared to seven by the same date in 2008, according to data maintained by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.  Read more... (242 words, 1 image, estimated 58 secs reading time)

IDPs Camp

The total number of internally displaced families has reached 344,143 according to NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain, adding this meant there were over 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).  Read more... (165 words, 1 image, estimated 40 secs reading time)

Whilst huge numbers of people are continuing to flee from Swat Valley and other conflict-hit areas in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), a few are heading back in the other direction to tend to their crops.  Read more... (387 words, 1 image, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Waiting for food

The UN plans to issue on Friday another Flash Appeal for more funds to care for the displaced people. At a news briefing in New York, spokesperson Marie Okabe gave no figure for the amount being sought, saying it will be based on the needs of the UN agencies engaged in the relief work. Soon after the Pakistani military launched operations to flush out Taliban militants, the UN called for $150 million to meet humanitarian needs of the tens of thousands of fleeing civilians.  Read more... (380 words, 1 image, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) and OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) has published the report called Fact Sheet #7, Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 about the current prevailing swat crisis and US assistance for it. The last report was published on 14 May 2009. Both reports show a huge difference in terms of increasing number of refugees registering in the camps. Almost 2 million people had flee from the northern areas of Pakistan and now living in tents.  Read more... (734 words, 0 images, estimated 2:56 mins reading time)