News / Stories

Rohingya Crisis: UNHCR offers ‘mental health first aid’ to traumatised refugees

Rohingya refugees have been fleeing violence in Myanmar at a staggering rate – and the numbers keep growing. Last month UNHCR published a video to show their work, offering ‘mental health first aid’ to traumatised refugees. More than 600,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar...

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in Congo

The situation in Congo is not getting any better. Last month Dr Denis Mukwege expressed his concerns regarding the recent events in the country, and the latest report by The Sentry confirmed the critical situation. You can read more in our article on this page (in French). During her...

Situation en RDC : les inquiétudes du Dr Denis Mukwege et le rapport accablant de The Sentry

Le mois dernier nous avons publié un long Edito intitulé : Denis Mukwege et l’avenir de la RD du Congo dans lequel nous vous faisions part de nos inquiétudes (récurrentes) face à la situation économique, sociale et politique dans laquelle s’enlise inexorablement la RDC. Il y...

World Day Against the Death Penalty 2017

Today is World Day Against the Death Penalty and it’s important to underline some numbers: 170 States around the world have either abolished the death penalty and put a moratorium on its use; Executions in 2016 were down 37 per cent compared in 2015; Four countries are accounted for...

Zimbabwe and a decade of disappearing diamonds

In 2013 we wrote: Robert Mugabe: the missing diamond revenues and the election. Four years have past and nothing much has changed: Mugabe, Africa’s oldest leader, is, since 1987, President of Zimbabwe at 93 years old, and diamond trade is still one of the biggest issue in the country....

Ensaf Haidar addresses Saudi Arabia at U.N human Rights Council

Saudi Arabian social activist Raif Badawi was first arrested in 2012, he was convicted on several charges in 2013 and sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticize Saudi Arabia’s clerics. His wife Ensaf Haidar and their kids took refuge in...

Jailed Nabeel Rajab and Shawkan get their trial postponed

News from Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab and Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid (known as Shawkan) are not very good, both trials have, once again, been postponed: تأجيل قضية تويتر نبيل رجب إلى ٢٧ سبتمبر Nabeel Rajab tweet case Trial...

Teaching self-defence to female victims of rape in DR Congo

Eastern DRC is a region plagued by conflict, where rape is used as a weapon of war. Laurence Fischer, a three-time world karate champion, teaches self-defence to female victims of rape to help them regain self-confidence and rebuild their lives. We learn more in this article published on...

The MagkaSama Project website is back online, for Members only

Subscribers to our Newsletter know it already, but we are happy to announce that our new and totally revamped website is now up and running. The MagkaSama Project website is accessible to logged-in members only, and we hope that you like the new design and find it easier to navigate and...

Syrian refugees in Greece: The music teacher (UNHCR)

UNHCR has posted a video on Syrian refugees in Greece: The music teacher. The agency explains there are more than 60,000 refugees and migrants – most from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – living in refugee sites and other facilities across Greece. Some have been here for over a year....