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Enthusiastic chants for a free Palestine from a demonstration in the United States. π΅πΈ
120 million people, or one in 69 individuals worldwide is displaced
One out of every 69 people on Earth is now displaced. That is about 120 million people, or 1.5 percent of the world's population, who have been uprooted from their homes. Behind these numbers are countless human stories of families separated, livelihoods lost and communities shattered.
Sixty-eight million of those are internally displaced within their own countries. The rest are refugees in need of protection (43.4 million) and people who are seeking asylum (6.9 million), according to the annual displacement report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
If forcibly displaced people formed a country, it would be the 13th most populated in the world just behind Japan. About half of these forcibly displaced people are children.
Visualising 72 years of refugee journeys
In 1951, the UN established the Refugee Convention to protect the rights of refugees in Europe in the aftermath of World War II. In 1967, the convention was expanded to address displacement across the rest of the world.
When the Refugee Convention was born, there were 2.1 million refugees. By 1980, the number of refugees recorded by the UN surpassed 10 million for the first time. Wars in Afghanistan and Ethiopia during the 1980s caused the number of refugees to double to 20 million by 1990.
The number of refugees remained fairly consistent over the next two decades. However, the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 together with civil wars in South Sudan and Syria resulted in refugee numbers exceeding 30 million by the end of 2021.
The war in Ukraine, which started in 2022, led to one of the fastest growing refugee crises since World War II with 5.7 million people forced to flee Ukraine in less than a year. By the end of 2023, six million Ukrainians remained forcibly displaced.
In 2023, conflict in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary increased the number of refugees to 1.5 million. Before the war, Sudan had taken in many Syrian refugees. When the war started, the number of Syrian refugees in Sudan dropped from 93,500 in 2022 to 26,600 in 2023 as many left for other countries. Thousands of people are still being displaced daily more than a year after the conflict began.
Most recently, Israelβs bombardment of the Gaza Strip has had a devastating toll on the Palestinian population. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, estimated that from October to December, up to 1.7 million people β more than 75 percent of the population - have been displaced within the Gaza Strip with many having been forced to flee multiple times.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is extremely dire with all 2.3 million inhabitants facing food shortages and the threat of famine.
As of 2024, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of all refugees came from just five countries: Afghanistan (6.4 million), Syria (6.4 million), Venezuela (6.1 million), Ukraine (6 million) and Palestine (6 million).
Under international law, refugees are people who are forced to flee their home countries to escape persecution or a serious threat to their life, physical integrity or freedom.
Where do refugees settle?
Almost 70 percent of refugees and others in need of international protection live in countries next to their countries of origin.
Globally, the largest refugee populations are hosted by Iran (3.8 million), Turkey (3.3 million), Colombia (2.9 million), Germany (2.6 million) and Pakistan (2 million).
Nearly all refugees in Iran and Pakistan are Afghans while most refugees in Turkey are Syrians. In the past decade, refugee numbers have increased in these major host countries except for Turkey, where numbers have dropped by 14 percent since 2021.
Germany is the only major host country that does not border the main refugee source countries. Most refugees in Germany at the end of 2023 were from Ukraine (1.1 million), Syria (705,800), Afghanistan (255,100) and Iraq (146,500).
Source: Al Jazeera
Ghosts of Palestine
One out of every 69 people on Earth is now displaced. That is about 120 million people, or 1.5 percent of the world's population, who have been uprooted from their homes. Behind these numbers are countless human stories of families separated, livelihoods lost and communities shattered.
Sixty-eight million of those are internally displaced within their own countries. The rest are refugees in need of protection (43.4 million) and people who are seeking asylum (6.9 million), according to the annual displacement report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
If forcibly displaced people formed a country, it would be the 13th most populated in the world just behind Japan. About half of these forcibly displaced people are children.
Visualising 72 years of refugee journeys
In 1951, the UN established the Refugee Convention to protect the rights of refugees in Europe in the aftermath of World War II. In 1967, the convention was expanded to address displacement across the rest of the world.
When the Refugee Convention was born, there were 2.1 million refugees. By 1980, the number of refugees recorded by the UN surpassed 10 million for the first time. Wars in Afghanistan and Ethiopia during the 1980s caused the number of refugees to double to 20 million by 1990.
The number of refugees remained fairly consistent over the next two decades. However, the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 together with civil wars in South Sudan and Syria resulted in refugee numbers exceeding 30 million by the end of 2021.
The war in Ukraine, which started in 2022, led to one of the fastest growing refugee crises since World War II with 5.7 million people forced to flee Ukraine in less than a year. By the end of 2023, six million Ukrainians remained forcibly displaced.
In 2023, conflict in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary increased the number of refugees to 1.5 million. Before the war, Sudan had taken in many Syrian refugees. When the war started, the number of Syrian refugees in Sudan dropped from 93,500 in 2022 to 26,600 in 2023 as many left for other countries. Thousands of people are still being displaced daily more than a year after the conflict began.
Most recently, Israelβs bombardment of the Gaza Strip has had a devastating toll on the Palestinian population. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, estimated that from October to December, up to 1.7 million people β more than 75 percent of the population - have been displaced within the Gaza Strip with many having been forced to flee multiple times.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is extremely dire with all 2.3 million inhabitants facing food shortages and the threat of famine.
As of 2024, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of all refugees came from just five countries: Afghanistan (6.4 million), Syria (6.4 million), Venezuela (6.1 million), Ukraine (6 million) and Palestine (6 million).
Under international law, refugees are people who are forced to flee their home countries to escape persecution or a serious threat to their life, physical integrity or freedom.
Where do refugees settle?
Almost 70 percent of refugees and others in need of international protection live in countries next to their countries of origin.
Globally, the largest refugee populations are hosted by Iran (3.8 million), Turkey (3.3 million), Colombia (2.9 million), Germany (2.6 million) and Pakistan (2 million).
Nearly all refugees in Iran and Pakistan are Afghans while most refugees in Turkey are Syrians. In the past decade, refugee numbers have increased in these major host countries except for Turkey, where numbers have dropped by 14 percent since 2021.
Germany is the only major host country that does not border the main refugee source countries. Most refugees in Germany at the end of 2023 were from Ukraine (1.1 million), Syria (705,800), Afghanistan (255,100) and Iraq (146,500).
Source: Al Jazeera
Ghosts of Palestine
EUβs push to mass scan private messages on WhatsApp, Signal
EU member states to vote on controversial Chat Control 2 proposals to scan communications for child sex abuse material.
The European Union is considering controversial proposals to mass scan private communications on encrypted messaging apps for child sex abuse material.
Under the proposed legislation, photos, videos, and URLs sent on popular apps such as WhatsApp and Signal would be scanned by an artificial intelligence-powered algorithm against a government database of known abuse material.
The Council of the EU, one of the blocβs two legislative bodies, is due to vote on the legislation, popularly known as Chat Control 2.0, on Thursday.
#GhostPrincess
EU member states to vote on controversial Chat Control 2 proposals to scan communications for child sex abuse material.
The European Union is considering controversial proposals to mass scan private communications on encrypted messaging apps for child sex abuse material.
Under the proposed legislation, photos, videos, and URLs sent on popular apps such as WhatsApp and Signal would be scanned by an artificial intelligence-powered algorithm against a government database of known abuse material.
The Council of the EU, one of the blocβs two legislative bodies, is due to vote on the legislation, popularly known as Chat Control 2.0, on Thursday.
#GhostPrincess
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Pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered at Station Den Haag Centraal, The Hague, in support of Palestine, and to denounce the ongoing Israeli genocidal war in Gaza.
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πOslo, Norway
Norwegian pro-Palestine activists have set up a protest camp at Norges Bank, demanding the bank withdraw investments financing Israel's occupation and weapons used against Palestinians.
Norwegian pro-Palestine activists have set up a protest camp at Norges Bank, demanding the bank withdraw investments financing Israel's occupation and weapons used against Palestinians.
Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli attack on Gaza
Journalist Salim al-Sharafa, was targeted in an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip a short while ago.
Al-Sharafaβs death raises the tally of media workers killed in Gaza since October 7 to at least 152.
#GhostPrincess
Journalist Salim al-Sharafa, was targeted in an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip a short while ago.
Al-Sharafaβs death raises the tally of media workers killed in Gaza since October 7 to at least 152.
#GhostPrincess
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Pro-Palestine activists visited Oslo's National Museum wearing t-shirts that asked, "Where is the Thobe?", demanding the museum address the ongoing situation in Palestine and Gaza, rather than remaining apolitical.π
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Canadian artists adorned a building in Toronto with a striking mural of the Palestinian flag, in a powerful show of solidarity and support for the Palestinian people.π
"THE SOUL OF MY SOUL"
πSpotted at Bo-Kaap neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa.
πSpotted at Bo-Kaap neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa.
β€1
The IWMF withdraws award from Gaza journalist following pressure
"If winning a prize entails enduring and witnessing war crimes while remaining silent, I am not honored to receive any awards."
#GhostPrincess
"If winning a prize entails enduring and witnessing war crimes while remaining silent, I am not honored to receive any awards."
#GhostPrincess
Maha Hussaini:
I wouldn't have won The International Women's Media Foundation IWMF's Courage in Journalism Award 2024 this June if I hadnβt been on the ground reporting events and exposing Israeli flagrant violations under perilous conditions, all while being systematically attacked by supporters of the perpetrators.
Winning a prize for βcourageβ means being subjected to attacks and choosing to continue your work regardless. However, I regret to say that the very organization that recognized these perilous conditions and awarded me the prize succumbed to pressure and chose to act contrary to courage; they rescinded the award in a decision that would put my life at risk.
In fact, Iβm very glad that both my winning the award and its withdrawal have starkly demonstrated the systematic physical and moral attacks Palestinian journalists endure throughout their careers. These threats and character assassinations aim only to silence us and perpetuate the longstanding bias in global media. I have never worked to receive awards, nor have I ever submitted an application to nominate myself. I didn't choose journalism as a profession; I became a journalist after recognizing the extent to which the world overlooks Palestiniansβ suffering and opts to conform to Israeli pressures.
Every year, Palestinian journalists are recognized with international awards for their brave reporting under the Israeli occupation and relentless attacks. These accolades honor their courage and dedication to uncovering the truth.
However, each announcement of an award to a Palestinian journalist is systematically followed by extensive smearing campaigns and intense pressure on the awarding organizations from supporters of the Israeli occupation and the Zionist lobby. While some organizations uphold their principles and maintain their decision to honor these journalists, others, regrettably, cave to the pressure and withdraw the prizes.
Instead of recognizing the threats they face and contributing to their protection, a decision to withdraw a prize from a Palestinian journalist in Gazaβwhere over 150 journalists have been killed by the ongoing Israeli genocideβcan further endanger them and increase their risk of targeting.
I have no regrets about any posts or reasons that led to the rescinding of this award, and I will not stop expressing my views. Before being a journalist, I am a Palestinian living under military occupation, a strangling blockade, and genocide in Gaza.
My grandparents were expelled from Jerusalem upon the creation of the state of Israel, and I have been expelled from my home in Gaza during this genocide.
If winning a prize entails enduring and witnessing war crimes while remaining silent, I am not honored to receive any prizes. I will always be objective in my reporting, but I can never be neutral; I will always point out the perpetrators and stand in solidarity with the victims. This is what journalism is truly about.
I wouldn't have won The International Women's Media Foundation IWMF's Courage in Journalism Award 2024 this June if I hadnβt been on the ground reporting events and exposing Israeli flagrant violations under perilous conditions, all while being systematically attacked by supporters of the perpetrators.
Winning a prize for βcourageβ means being subjected to attacks and choosing to continue your work regardless. However, I regret to say that the very organization that recognized these perilous conditions and awarded me the prize succumbed to pressure and chose to act contrary to courage; they rescinded the award in a decision that would put my life at risk.
In fact, Iβm very glad that both my winning the award and its withdrawal have starkly demonstrated the systematic physical and moral attacks Palestinian journalists endure throughout their careers. These threats and character assassinations aim only to silence us and perpetuate the longstanding bias in global media. I have never worked to receive awards, nor have I ever submitted an application to nominate myself. I didn't choose journalism as a profession; I became a journalist after recognizing the extent to which the world overlooks Palestiniansβ suffering and opts to conform to Israeli pressures.
Every year, Palestinian journalists are recognized with international awards for their brave reporting under the Israeli occupation and relentless attacks. These accolades honor their courage and dedication to uncovering the truth.
However, each announcement of an award to a Palestinian journalist is systematically followed by extensive smearing campaigns and intense pressure on the awarding organizations from supporters of the Israeli occupation and the Zionist lobby. While some organizations uphold their principles and maintain their decision to honor these journalists, others, regrettably, cave to the pressure and withdraw the prizes.
Instead of recognizing the threats they face and contributing to their protection, a decision to withdraw a prize from a Palestinian journalist in Gazaβwhere over 150 journalists have been killed by the ongoing Israeli genocideβcan further endanger them and increase their risk of targeting.
I have no regrets about any posts or reasons that led to the rescinding of this award, and I will not stop expressing my views. Before being a journalist, I am a Palestinian living under military occupation, a strangling blockade, and genocide in Gaza.
My grandparents were expelled from Jerusalem upon the creation of the state of Israel, and I have been expelled from my home in Gaza during this genocide.
If winning a prize entails enduring and witnessing war crimes while remaining silent, I am not honored to receive any prizes. I will always be objective in my reporting, but I can never be neutral; I will always point out the perpetrators and stand in solidarity with the victims. This is what journalism is truly about.