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UNHCR concerned about hundreds displaced by cross-border attack in Panama
24 Jan 2003 More than 470 Panamanian indigenous people have been displaced after Colombian rebels attacked their villages. While some have reportedly started returning home, the UN refugee agency has nonetheless channelled emergency assistance kits to help cope with the situation. -
UNHCR starts winter assistance to Afghans near Pakistan border
10 Dec 2002 The UN refugee agency is distributing blankets and coal to help Afghans in the Afghan-Pakistan border area survive the winter. Meanwhile, officials from the two countries are meeting to discuss repatriation to Afghanistan next year. -
Afghans face bleak second winter on Pakistan border
9 Dec 2002 Some 19,000 Afghans are braving sub-zero temperatures with limited assistance at the "waiting area" in Chaman - unable to return to an insecure home, yet prevented from moving to official refugee camps in Pakistan. Despite the hardships, they are determined to stay on the border until peace returns to their home regions. -
Feature: Brightening the lives of Afghan refugees during Ramadan
2 Dec 2002 Islamic aid organisations are working alongside the UN refugee agency to ease the hard lives of Pakistan's refugees. During the holy month of Ramadan, additional relief items are distributed, and special foods are supplied to help supplement the iftar meals. -
Lubbers calls for support for displaced Colombians
29 Nov 2002 Visiting Barrancabermeja, one of the areas most affected by internal displacement in Colombia, UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers appeals for an end to violence in the war-torn country so that displaced Colombians can resume their lives. -
Lubbers to visit displaced community in Colombia
26 Nov 2002 In a first for a UN refugee agency chief, High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers has started a four-day mission to Colombia, scene of one of the world's most serious internal displacement situations, where he will meet President Álvaro Uribe as well as victims of the decades-long conflict. -
Angelina Jolie releases personal journal on plight of Colombian refugees
19 Nov 2002 In a bid to draw more attention to the worsening humanitarian situation in Colombia, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has released a personal, day-by-day account of her encounters with Colombian refugees in Ecuador in June. -
Lubbers voices concern for displaced Colombians as UNHCR releases documentary
13 Nov 2002 UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers has expressed concern over Colombia's worsening humanitarian situation at the premiere of a documentary about the human costs of the protracted Colombian conflict. More aid and funds are needed to help its victims, he adds. -
Pakistan refugee camp once famous for arrivals is now one-third empty
11 Nov 2002 Shamshatoo camp has witnessed the ebb and flow of Afghan refugees for over two decades. Today, more than 15,000 of its residents have gone home, causing services like schools and health care to downsize accordingly. Those who remain say they have no homes or jobs to go back to, but have clung to their Afghan customs in hope of returning home one day.