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UNHCR chief says only peace can provide solution for Sri Lanka's displaced
27 Jul 2006 On a three-day visit to Sri Lanka, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres called for confidence-building measures to make it possible for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by years of civil war to go home if they choose. -
Sri Lankan agency builds new shelters in Jaffna despite security problems
25 Jul 2006 Despite the deteriorating security situation in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, a UNHCR-funded organisation in Jaffna is pushing ahead with construction of new shelters for people displaced or made homeless during years of conflict. The Jaffna Social Action Centre is building or upgrading more than 450 shelters across the Jaffna peninsula. -
Increasing intimidation exacerbates displacement in Sri Lanka
28 Apr 2006 Earlier this week, thousands of people fled their homes following air strikes and unrest on the ground in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. While reports now suggest the overall situation has stabilized in most parts of the conflict zone, UNHCR is calling for access to all those who have fled. It is also increasingly concerned about an emerging trend of intimidation which could cause those already displaced by the violence to flee government-run welfare centres. -
New lease of life for refugee women's protection clinic in India
23 Mar 2006 A much-valued UNHCR women's protection clinic in West Delhi, India aimed at helping refugee women from Myanmar was facing closure until the Australian government stepped in. With the help of their funding it will now stay open until the end of the year. -
Afghan refugees in India become Indian, at last
10 Mar 2006 In the last few months, Hindu and Sikh Afghans who have been living as refugees in India after fleeing fighting in their home country in the early 1990s, are starting to be granted Indian citizenship. So far, only a handful of people, often with the help of the UN refugee agency and its implementing partners, have managed to get through the lengthy bureaucratic process, but their success is inspiring others to apply. -
Post-tsunami housing crisis brings split couple happily together again
27 Dec 2005 The desire to rebuild a life again after the grief and loss of the tsunami has led to the happy reconciliation of a separated Sri Lankan couple. The unlikely catalyst for getting together again was the prospect of a UNHCR transitional shelter. -
UNHCR completes its post-tsunami shelter commitments in Sri Lanka
21 Dec 2005 In the immediate aftermath of last December's devastating tsunami, providing transitional shelter for the hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans who had seen their homes dashed to pieces seemed a daunting task. However, UNHCR and its partner agencies have overcome many obstacles to complete the 55,000 shelters they promised. -
UNHCR says target of 55,000 tsunami shelters reached in Sri Lanka
22 Nov 2005 The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that it has wound up its post-tsunami role as coordinator of a nation-wide transitional shelter effort in Sri Lanka, after the target of more than 55,000 shelters was achieved with the help of more than 100 non-governmental organizations. -
Sri Lankan tsunami survivors paint the town red ... and purple, and blue
25 Oct 2005 Almost all the more than 200,000 Sri Lankans left homeless by last December's tsunami have now been accommodated in so-called "transitional shelters" - a sort of half-way house between emergency accommodation and permanent new housing which will take a few more years to complete. Some of them are treating their new temporary homes with both imagination and respect.