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Canada is first country to resettle Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh
20 Apr 2007 23 Rohingya refugees, a de facto stateless Muslim minority from Myanmar, have been accepted by Canada for resettlement from camps in Bangladesh - the first group accepted for resettlement. -
"Hallelujah": Myanmar refugees can now prove their identity in Thailand
12 Apr 2007 A US$1 million UNHCR programme provides Thai government identification cards to refugees in nine camps; the UN refugee agency hopes it's just the first step towards relaxing rules that have kept 140,000 refugees locked up for nearly two decades. -
Hopes of moving to Canada spark changes in Bangladeshi camps
27 Mar 2007 Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are rushing to learn English, and are turning their back on old practices - early marriage and polygamy - in hopes of becoming the kind of people Canada might take for resettlement. They were inspired by Canada's acceptance of 23 Rohingyas from the camps in Bangladesh. -
UNHCR staff celebrate release of babies from detention in Malaysia
23 Mar 2007 Six babies were among a group of 25 people released into UNHCR custody by Malaysian authorities after being held in an immigration detention facility for up to four weeks. -
After 15 years of stagnation, improvements come to Bangladesh camps
22 Mar 2007 Thanks to a new approach by the Bangladeshi government, UNHCR has been able to make the first significant improvements to living standards for 26,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar in two camps in Bangladesh. While conditions remain poor, it's the first sign of progress in 15 years. -
Iraqi boy, far from home, gets a chance for a taller future
20 Mar 2007 Thanks to international pharmaceuticals company Pfizer, an Iraqi boy under the temporary protection of UNHCR in Bangkok now has a chance to overcome his hormone deficiency and begin growing normally. -
Prominent Burmese journalist leaves Cambodia for the United States
12 Mar 2007 Burmese journalist Maung Maung Kyaw Win will soon be able to write freely after years of working under a pseudonym and facing persecution in his native Myanmar. He left Cambodia on Monday for a new life in the United States. -
Far from family, young female refugees from Myanmar find friendship
7 Mar 2007 Two teenagers sip iced tea at a roadside stall in Kuala Lumpur, their conversation peppered with laughter. But despite their happy demeanour, the two young women have suffered a lot and face an uncertain future far away from their families in Myanmar. Their story is not uncommon. -
UNHCR urges Bangladesh to find new homes for riverbank refugees
7 Mar 2007 A countrywide clean-up by the Bangladeshi government threatens the miserable, flimsy huts of some 6,000 refugees who live in an unofficial camp wedged between a river and a busy road. UNHCR has offered to work with the government and donor countries to find an alternative site.