UN Refugee Agencies Airlifting Tents, Supplies to Horn of Africa

UN Spokesperson Martin Nesirky says relief agencies have been airlifting tents and supplies to ease overcrowding in Somali and Ethiopian refugee camps, where drought and famine have forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in search of food and water. (00:15) 

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UN Refugee Agency Finds Syrian Border Town Deserted

UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky says that all signs indicate significant displacement of population in Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour, where reported armed clashes between government forces and protesters have left hundreds dead. (00:51)

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Congressman Dana Rohrabacher talks about how refugees play into ultimate "goal" for Iraq

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) discusses the implications of allowing Iraqi refugees to come to the United States at House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. (0:44)
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Congressman Dana Rohrabacher discusses what to do with Iraqi refugees at House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher discusses what to do with Iraqi refugees at House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on "No Direction Home: An NGO Perspective on Iraqi Refuges and IDP's (internally displaced persons)." (1:06)
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Refugees in Darfur told Ellen Ratner they had their houses burned and their cattle taken

On location in the South Sudan, in a very isolated place called Majom Kor, Ellen Ratner says it is an amazing scene. The people that left their villages and went to Darfur, Ellen says, are being dropped off to their home villages without food or much at all. They talked about their needs, she says, and how their houses were burned down, and their cattle were taken, and how they had no food and had to leave. They are being repatriated in their home communities. They talked to refugees that were coming back from Darfur, she said, and when she asked them how many of them had a relative that had been killed or had been enslaved, every one of them raised their hand. (1:24)
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At a United States Institute of Peace Panel Discussion, Mona Yacoubian Says the U.S. Should Engage Rather Than Isolate Syria in Pursuit of Human Rights

Mona Yacoubian, special adviser at the Muslim World Initiative of USIP, says that an isolationist policy must be greatly increased if it is to yield results, and consequently becomes less attractive. She recommends a policy of engagement as a more effective technique. (0:39)
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Steven Heydemann of the United States Institute of Peace Discusses Events Preceding the Syrian Government's Recent Crackdown Against Opposition Groups

Steven Heydemann, vice president of grants and fellowships at USIP, discusses the factors leading to the Syrian government's recent crackdown against opposition groups and poor human rights record at a panel discussion. He says that perceptions of impunity on the part of the Syrian regime are reinforced by such events as the upcoming Arab League summit in Damascus and that this makes for low "opportunity cost of repression." (0:50)
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