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Wednesday 15 October 2008

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Hear our Voices

A forum for people whose voices are often not heard, whose lives have been affected by catastrophe, be it natural or manmade. Many have been abused and denied their universal human rights; others have seen their livelihoods washed away by floods or lost to drought. Their personal accounts are a testimony to their struggle and their hope for a better future. Stories from aid workers offer a glimpse into the relationships between victims of humanitarian crises and the people who help them.

IRIN welcomes editorial and photographic submissions for inclusion on this page, reserving the right to select and edit as appropriate.

Africa

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more testimonies »]

Mahad Omar Abdi: "I cannot go back to Somalia"
		Mahad Omar Abdi, 33, from Somalia, owns a supermarket in the sprawling dormitory township of Khayalitsha, on the outskirts of the Atlantic port city of Cape Town. His shop was looted during xenophobic attacks in South Africa in May 2008. full testimony
Freddy Kasseri, “Migrants are dying out here”
		AGADEZ, Freddy Kasseri, 23, travelled from Ghana to Niger intending to cross the desert into Libya. He did not make it. Libyan security forces return migrants via land to a military post in northern Niger, where the migrants are turned over to Nigerien soldiers. Kasseri was transferred 650km to Agadez, where he is working to save money for a second attempt. full testimony
Voices from clandestinity
		The International Organization for Migration estimates that up to 35,000 sub-Saharan clandestine migrants leave for North Africa and Europe every year. But researchers concede the near impossibility to track what is carried out in secrecy, facilitated by family connections and favours, bribes and beatings. Despite increased security crackdowns and forced mass expulsions by North African security forces, thousands of West African migrants still attempt the desert crossing from northern Niger through the gateway town of Agadez. The following migrants IRIN met asked to remain anonymous. full testimony

Asia	[ more testimonies »]

Aye Yin, Myanmar: “I pray we won’t starve to death”
		Now all we worry about is how we will survive the coming months. Without any paddy fields, we will have nothing to reap during the November and December harvest period and won’t even have rice." full testimony
Sharifa, “If we had roads, cars and clinics in our village… my baby would not have died”
		Sharifa, 23, was banded on a wooden ladder and taken to a hospital in Faizabad, the provincial capital of Badakhshan Province, northeastern Afghanistan, where she gave birth to a stillborn child and was told that she would never have children again. full testimony
May Thet, Myanmar, “I feel like crying when I see my friends going to school”
		Three months after Cyclone Nargis struck, most of the estimated 2.4 million storm-affected people are still struggling to rebuild their lives. May Thet, a teenage girl, has become the chief family breadwinner, collecting empty water bottles to sell in Mawlamyinekyun, one of the hardest-hit areas. full testimony

Middle East

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more testimonies »]

Ibrahim Sayyid, Syria: “You have to study hard to escape life in a tent”
		When my father began to receive death threats from a Shia militia, we decided that living in the desert was safer than being Palestinian in Baghdad. He bought a tent and we left along with my four siblings in the summer of 2006." full testimony
Abed Akkawi, Lebanon: "I couldn’t pay the full bill so they wouldn’t let my wife leave the hospital"
		Eventually I told the [hospital] authorities I had divorced my wife because I knew that was the only way they would stop coming after me. The hospital let Wafa go and she moved back to Syria and divorced me." full testimony
Ahmed Hassan, Lebanon: "It felt like a kind of resistance to celebrate and dance despite everything"
		When we celebrated our engagement during the 2006 July War, the Israelis bombed Abdeh, on the edge of Nahr al-Bared and we ended up in the shelters. Then the fighting delayed our wedding. full testimony

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This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Republication is subject to terms and conditions as set out in the IRIN copyright page.