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Feature: Reaching out to asylum seekers in Russia
30 May 2003 The UN refugee agency and its partner agencies have organised counselling, education and public awareness campaigns to help asylum seekers adapt and integrate in the Russian Federation. But for some vulnerable individuals, the only solution may lie in resettlement to a third country. -
Feature: Ethnic Armenian refugees face challenge of integration
7 May 2003 In Armenia, more than 20 percent of ethnic Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan have opted for Armenian citizenship. But other refugees feel that getting jobs and permanent housing in their host country are more important measures of integration than acquiring citizenship. -
Feature: Asylum seekers in Russia in legal, economic limbo
1 May 2003 Self-reliance and local integration seem like a distant dream for many asylum seekers in the Russian Federation. Caught in legal limbo for years, they have no valid identity documents, enjoy no social benefits and live in fear of deportation. -
Feature: Asylum seekers in Moscow face major challenges despite UNHCR efforts
26 Mar 2003 The UN refugee agency has been working with its non-governmental partners to provide subsidised housing, public education and social services to asylum seekers in Moscow. But the legal situation remains a big obstacle. -
Dutch public experience refugee life in the heart of Amsterdam
24 Mar 2003 Two filmmakers have opened a window to the life of Chechen refugees in Ingushetia by screening their documentary film, "Sheltered Life", in a UNHCR refugee tent in Amsterdam's Leidseplein Square. -
Ingushetia camp closed; UNHCR concerned about former residents
3 Dec 2002 The closure of Aki Yurt camp has evicted some 1,500 displaced Chechens. Initial estimates indicate that just under half of the camp population remains in Ingushetia. The UN refugee agency is working to trace their location and follow up on their condition. -
Don't close Ingushetia's camps until proper alternatives are found, urges UNHCR
29 Nov 2002 More than 1,500 displaced Chechens could be homeless in the harsh winter if Ingushetia's Aki Yurt camp closes this weekend. Stressing that any return to Chechnya must be voluntary, the UN refugee agency has appealed for the authorities to postpone camp closures until alternative accommodation can be found. -
UNHCR welcomes Poland's decision to reopen doors to Chechens
19 Nov 2002 In a policy reversal, Poland has allowed 150 Chechen asylum seekers to enter the country after protests against an earlier decision to turn them away. The UN refugee agency says it hopes this is a permanent decision, and that Lithuania will follow suit. -
UNHCR urges Poland, Lithuania not to turn away Chechens
14 Nov 2002 UNHCR is urging Lithuania and Poland to keep their doors open to Chechen asylum seekers. The U.N. refugee agency made the plea amid reports that the two countries have barred the entry of Chechens following the recent Chechen terrorist attack in Moscow.