By Cassie Schoon Nuclear fears may seem like the campy artifacts of postwar paranoia, as dated as atomic-print curtains and foil-wrapped TV dinners. But this conception is soundly repudiated in Countdown to Zero, a documentary detailing the vulnerabilities and current dangers of the world’s nuclear arsenal. The 2010 film, directed by British filmmaker Lucy Walker, […]
By Cassie Schoon Jackie Mukandekezi In a way, Geras Shoukulu and Jackie Mukandekezi are always expecting. Over the past five years, the couple has welcomed eight unaccompanied refugee minors into their home. And each time a new refugee child arrives, Jackie says, it’s like bringing home a new baby. “It’s like bringing in a newborn […]
by Cassie Schoon In 2010, Jeremy Scahill, an investigative reporter, and Richard Rowley, a director, arrived in Afghanistan with a handful of grant money and a desire to document the war that had been raging in the region for nearly a decade. In two years, Rowley and Scahill captured footage that exposed the darkest sides […]
by Patricia Billinger When you go on a trip for a week or more, how many bags do you pack? A carry-on? One suitcase? Two? What if you knew you were packing to travel to a distant land thousands of miles away, never to return home again? Imagine arriving in a foreign country with only […]
Estelle Nadel, Holocaust survivor Estelle Nadel was only 10 years old when she and her brother escaped Nazi captivity through a tiny window in their jail cell. For the next two years, she hid in a Polish attic, later coming to America in 1947. By the time she arrived in the United States at the […]
For the Lost Boys of Sudan, the thousands of minors displaced during Sudan’s Second civil war, escaping their home country meant surviving dangers like wild animals, starvation, and active war zones. But the challenges don’t end for unaccompanied minors once they reach their host nation, as the 2014 film, “The Good Lie,” shows. The film, which depicts the […]
By Tim Bothe Many children are separated from their parents and other family members due to armed conflict or other disasters. As a result, their status is seldom immediately clear, and so they are referred to as “separated” or “unaccompanied children” rather than orphans. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines unaccompanied refugee […]
For many people, the holidays are about spending time with loved ones. The Red Cross recognizes the importance of family, and our programs and services aim to ease the stress, fear and uncertainty people experience when they can’t connect with their loved ones during — or because of — emergencies. In honor of family time […]
by Kelly Wheeler This Thanksgiving as you wrap your arms around loved ones and share a delicious holiday dinner, think for a moment about those who have no family in this country – refugees who fled from war-torn countries to find a new life, or migrant workers who cannot easily visit family in their countries […]
By Patricia Billinger What is snow? As Coloradans, we know….but what about African refugees who have never seen snow before? Do they have any inkling of the variety of challenges snow and cold weather can pose, from transportation snarls to power outages? And would they know how to keep themselves and their loved ones safe? […]