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Newsroom 		India: celebrating heritage in a new country
New Delhi 20, February 2013 – Chin National Day celebrated freedom and heritage, ending with a call for everyone who fled persecution in Burma to cherish to their Chin identity.
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Campaign 		New Pope, son of a migrant, sign of hope and justice
Rome, 14 March 2013 – The announcement of Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina as Pope Francis was made public last night. Pope Francis invited the faithful on "a journey of fraternity, of love, of trust among us"; a proclamation to the world that along the way, the new Pope will strive to lead in faith and justice.


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Praying with refugees 		Praying with Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India
Dindigul, 1 March 2013 – The three decades of conflict in Sri Lanka not only displaced a sizeable number of Tamils locally but also drove them to seek refuge in India. Today, more than 70,000 still live in 112 government camps in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
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Voices 		India: Escaping arrest from the Military Regime
New Delhi, 20 Feburary 2013 – To escape arrest and persecution by the Military Regime, I travelled by road to the border of the neighbouring country, India. I was informed of (the UN refugee agency) UNHCR card and how it is helpful for refugees; so I arranged the trip to Delhi to avail the opportunity.
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Campaign 		India: NGOs and government discuss gaps in the protection of young refugees
New Delhi, 28 December 2012 – Despite legislative improvements in the protection of children in India, young refugees continue to be particularly vulnerable to neglect and abuse. This was the subject of a meeting in mid-December between representatives from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the government, NGOs and advocates. (Andy Ash)
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Newsroom 		India: Afghan students practice their English skills in New Delhi visit
New Delhi, 12 February 2013 – Tuesday at Humayun's Tomb might have looked like any class trip with students singing on the bus, teachers telling students to stay together and respect the monuments. But for these 32 teenagers, it was their first time outside of Afghanistan, and a real opportunity to use the English they have been learning over the past four years.
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Newsroom 		Nepal: seventy-fifth thousandth refugee leaves camp in search of a bright future
New Delhi, 24 January 2013 – As the camp population decreases and the international resettlement effort continues, JRS celebrates the mass resettlement from Nepal. Six-year-old Yagandra Kami recently became the seventy-fifth thousandth Bhutanese refugee to leave Nepal for a new life with her family.
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Newsroom 		India: livelihood training programmes promote self-sufficiency among Chin refugees
New Delhi, 2 January 2013 – Twenty women graduated from the first JRS-sponsored Chin women's tailoring course receiving not only new sewing machines for Christmas, but the know-how to make use of them in the new year.
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Praying with refugees 		Praying with refugees in Nairobi
(Nairobi) December 1, 2012 — Urban refugees in Nairobi live on the margins of society, not legally allowed to work, and struggling in an already over-crowded city. Fleeing violence, political instability and drought, refugees end up living in economically-deprived areas, desperate to find a place to call home, searching for hospitality in an unfamiliar country.
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Campaign 		Afganistan: nurturing hope for brighter tomorrow
Herat, 20 November 2012 – We are determined to move from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge... JRS came like a star into our sky, helping us cultivate our talents. We must now share our knowledge and skills with other youth, who have not had this opportunity.
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November, 2012   Praying with Refugees in Australia
(Sydney) November 1, 2012 — The Jesuit Refugee Service office in Sydney is located in an inner city Jesuit parish. For many refugees a visa is the beginning of a new struggle, not the end. Psychological trauma and loss can be completely debilitating to even the strongest of personalities.
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October, 2012   South Asia: war-affected students are given a chance for online education
New Delhi, 14 October, 2012 – Walking into a school in a returnee camp,
an urban slum, or underprivileged rural community, young children like
Azar* are always keen to say what they want to do when they grow up. He
wants to be a doctor to help his country, Afghanistan. Heart-breaking,
maybe not! With the expansion of online education to marginalised
communities in South Asia, boys like Azar may get an opportunity to
realise their dreams.
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October, 2012   India: refugee camps put women at risk of violence
Trichy, 3 October, 2012 – For 30 years, civil war devastated Sri Lanka, forcing many Tamils to seek safety in southern India. While Tamil Nadu may be safer than home, for women in the 112 refugee camps across the state, 'safer' is not enough.
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October, 2012   Praying with Refugees in the Philippines
(Guindulungan, Philippines) October 1, 2012 — The southern Philippines has been ravaged by political violence since 2008. Jesuit Refugee Service supports internally displaced persons in their journey to become self-sufficient, and manages programs to strengthen peace building between communities in Guindulungan and Datu Piang municipalities.
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September, 2012   Thailand: Spending teen years detained
Bangkok, 14 January 2010 – Looking at Divea, she seems like an average 18-year-old girl. Wearing a fashionable denim skirt with a t-shirt and long, black hair, she could easily fit in at her high school back in Sri Lanka. But after speaking with Divea for a few minutes, you may forget that she is only 18. Unfortunately, she seems to have forgotten as well. After spending over a year detained in Bangkok's Immigration Detention Centre, she says she has been forced to grow up fast.
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September, 2012   Thailand: Friends in detention
Bangkok, 10 October 2011 – I have been living in Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) with my wife and three small children since December, when we were arrested while sleeping in our home. We were considered illegal migrants after overstaying our visa while we were seeking asylum in Thailand. Luckily, since our arrest we have finished our refugee status determination and have been accepted as refugees.
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September, 2012   Thailand: Living day to day in limbo as a Sri Lankan refugee
Bangkok, 12 January 2011 – A family of six sits in their Bangkok apartment, talking about field trips, exams and homework. The oldest daughter smiles as she talks about college brochures.
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September, 2012   Sri Lanka: I know who holds the future
Nepal, 8 February 2010 – One of those accompanied by JRS in the war zones of Sri Lanka is 22-year-old Aravinth. His family bears the scars of ethnic violence and the war that pitted the army against the now defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Although Aravinth has moved on, his past haunts him.
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September, 2012   Sri Lanka: Accompanying us through war and death
Mannar, Sri Lanka, May 10 2011 – Shakti is one of thousands of Sri Lankans who were caught in the crossfire of the civil war between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF) and the now defunct insurgent group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
I was born in the village of Kokkilaai in Mullaitivu district in 1983, the year of the “holocaust” for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, when they were targeted in widespread rioting, and also the time when the Tamil militancy was coming of age.
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September, 2012   Nepal: shaping destiny through education
Khudunabari camp, Nepal 22 June 2011 – Leaving Nepal for resettlement, Tila Chan Dhimal recalls the years spent as a refugee in eastern Nepal. He says close involvement with the BREP made him the person he is today.
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