Refugees and migration

In Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, communication is a lifeline and educator

As both a community reporter and refugee, Nira Ismail reports on not only problems but also bright spots for an audio program supported by DW Akademie.

"People have long felt forgotten" – Media development in crisis regions

"Kwizera" means hope. Since 2020, DW Akademie has been supporting a radio station of the same name in northwestern Tanzania. It provides vital information to refugees and the surrounding communities.

DW Akademie and UNHCR launch radio project in one of Africa's largest refugee settlements

Vital, reliable information for 270,000 refugees from East Africa: That is the goal of a joint project by the UN refugee agency UNHCR and DW Akademie in Uganda.

Guest article: Three years of waiting for the right to identity

The Puentes de Comunicación project trained and accompanied journalists in covering stories about migrants and refugees. The report "Three years of waiting for the right to identity" is one of the resulting productions.

'A Universe full of stories'

In Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlement, residents are trained in producing audio content. Producing the program can be difficult especially for female community reporters.

Panama Kolumbien Flücht über Darien Gap Richtung USA

Bringing a human perspective to reporting on migration

“Dialogos Itinerantes”, an initiative between DW Akademie, the Venezuelan media organization Efecto Cocuyo and the Salvadoran group El Faro, assists journalists and experts on how to report on – and humanize – migration.

A citizen journalist interview in Pakistan

Boosting refugee and migrant voices in South Asia – a path forward

Reporting about migrant and refugee matters is often overshadowed by bias and national interest. Media experts from eight countries agreed on an action plan outlining steps for improving the situation.

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The challenges of reporting on migrants and refugees in South Asia

"Media, Information, and Participation in Displacement and Migration Settings – How Free is the Media?"

There are 2.5 million to 50 million refugees and internally displaced people in South Asia. Earlier this year, DW Akademie, the Calcutta Research Group and the Center for International Media Assistance met with journalists, academics and rights activists – all stakeholders there – to discuss the issue of reporting in displacement settings.
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The challenges of reporting on migrants and refugees in South Asia

Babita Basnet, newspaper editor, Nepal

Babita Basnet, an editor at a weekly newspaper in Nepal, has observed policies that ignore women and their critical need for reliable information. She says that many women in Nepal are obligated to migrate abroad for economic reasons but that poverty and cultural stigmas trail them. Media, she believes, can raise awareness and inform would-be migrants or displaced persons.
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The challenges of reporting on migrants and refugees in South Asia

Reyaz Mohammed, journalism professor, India

Scarce information or disinformation on displacement remains a problem, says Mohammad Reyaz, an assistant journalism professor at Aliah University, India. Muslims, he notes, who migrate within India for economic reasons or because they have been displaced due to natural disasters, are often falsely accused of being illegally in the country. The media can, and should, better explain their stories.
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The challenges of reporting on migrants and refugees in South Asia

Zia Ur-Rehman, New York Times contributor, Pakistan

A New York Times contributor for South Asia, Zia Ur-Rehman has observed that Pakistani media shy away from reporting on migration and displacement. Therefore most Pakistanis themselves have a limited understanding of the crisis in their country which hosts several million Afghan refugees. Stories, he says, often portray displaced persons as criminals and responsible for their own predicament.
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The challenges of reporting on migrants and refugees in South Asia

Iqbal Khattak, journalist, Pakistan

Iqbal Khattak founded Freedom Network, a media watchdog group, in 2013. He says that in Pakistan, mass displacement and refugee camps have been a crisis for nearly half a century, starting with the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. For him, it is the media's job to draw attention to suffering and to investigate how the host country assists and integrates displaced people and migrants.
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The challenges of reporting on migrants and refugees in South Asia

Khushal Asefi, Afghan journalist, Germany

In nearly 20 years working in Afghan media, including as Ariana TV’s managing director, Khushal Asefi's work focused on his country's turbulence both during and after Taliban rule. Asefi fled Afghanistan in August 2021, and his resettlement in Germany has personalized migration's hardships. He observes that refugees often resist sharing their stories with the media, fearing arrest or deportation.
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The challenges of reporting on migrants and refugees in South Asia

Sulochana Ramiah Mohan, editor, Sri Lanka

Sulochana Ramiah Mohan is Ceylon Today’s deputy editor in Sri Lanka, as well as a contributor to Asahi Shimbun in Japan. She reports on international relations, migration and displacement, the climate, and social justice, among other topics. She notes that statistics on internal displacement in Sri Lanka are unreliable, though economic and political crises have forced many residents to flee.
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The challenges of reporting on migrants and refugees in South Asia

Dr. Lopita Nath, professor, United States

Dr. Lopita Nath chairs the History Department and directs the Asian Studies Program at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. Nath focuses on migration in Asia, refugees, and human rights and serves on the Catholic Charities Refugee Advisory Board. Her current research is on Bhutanese refugee resettlement in the United States.

Pakistan Region Peshawar | Bürgerjournalisten

Citizen reporters in Pakistan seek news to help refugees

A DW Akademie initiative in Pakistan supports citizen journalists to cover underreported Afghan refugee issues.

In emergencies: information by the people, for the people

Local media has a crucial role to play in providing the information people urgently need in a crisis.

Publications

South Asia Consultations

Media, Information, and Participation in Displacement and Migration Settings

South Asia Consultations

junges Reporterteam im Flüchtlingslager Shatila im Libanon

Media, migration and displacement in the MENA region

Field studies from six countries

Media, migration and displacement in the Middle East and North Africa. An explorative study

What information do people need in and around refugee camps?

DW Akademie published three studies conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. The findings differ greatly by location.

Behind the scenes of the refugee studies "No newspapers here"

DW Akademie | Smartphones von Flüchtlingen in Kakuma

For refugees, getting information is not easy. DW Akademie recently published three studies on the information needs of refugees and host communities in East Africa. Meet the researchers Lucy Munyi and Elijah Makau.

No newspapers here | Information needs assessments among refugees and host communities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania | pdf

Interview with Hannah Murphy: More than messaging

In a report published by DW Akademie humanitarian expert Hannah Murphy gives eight recommendations for communication in displacement settings. Media development could be crucial for participation and inclusion, she says.