Rocketboom @rocketboom - Tumblr Blog

World Refugee Day

#world refugee day #refugee #lebanon #syria

Huma Ishfaq is a Pakistini refugee in Malaysia. She fled her home in September of 2013. Huma said her husband used to burn her children with cigarettes and was constantly violent with them. She said that her husband also convinced local authorities to destroy the small beautician shop that she owned. He then chased them out of Pakistan threatening to kill them if they returned.

Huma is a qualified beautician and carries a diploma from Pakistan. Her old business that was destroyed used to carry products such as MAC and Clinique. Although she and her daughters, Kinza (13) and Aqsa (11) (pictured above) sell Muslim headscarves on the streets when they can as a source of income, it is not enough to make ends meet. Huma wants above all for Kinza, Aqsa, and her two sons, Khizar and Bilal, to attend school.

Huma cannot return to Pakistan, so she desires to start a business elsewhere instead. She listed her top three greatest needs to be help with rent ($190 a month), food for the family (they eat approximately one to two meals a day), and clothes and necessities for her four children. Other needs include citizenship in any country.

https://www.humanwire.org/cause/huma-ishfaq/

Rehab (4) is pictured on December 3rd, 2015 in a Bekaa Valley camp in Lebanon where she has lived almost half her life.

Her family of four fled their home in Ashrafie, Aleppo, Syria on April 12, 2012 due to excessive bombings and have been living in a tent since May, 2014.

Clothes, food and wood comprise their top needs.

https://www.humanwire.org/cause/rehab/

Sumaiyyah (20) fled Myanmar with her family in August of 1995 at the age of just three months.

One of over a hundred-and-fifty-thousand refugees from Myanmar (Burma) inside of Malaysia, Sumaiyyah is confined by tight laws restricting her ability to work, attend public school or move freely around the country.

She said she yearns to travel but has lived her entire life stateless with no country willing to accept her as a citizen.

Education is extremely important to Sumaiyyah. She has achieved the equivalent of a secondary school education provided by a local non-profit and helps to engage her three younger siblings similarly.

Her father, Said Alam (40), is the family’s only wage earner. Employed as an undocumented manual laborer in a furniture shop, Said earns $280 USD per month, $128 of which goes towards rent. Sumaiyyah said she worries about her father’s untreated health concerns and is especially worried about her mother, Shariah (35), who is expecting, but has no access to healthcare.

Beyond mere subsistence, and beyond the desire for health, education and travel, another one of Sumaiyyah’s greatest desires is a bicycle for her sister, Nor Azizah (6). Nor Azizah has wanted a bicycle for a “very, very long time”.

https://www.humanwire.org/cause/sumaiyyah/

#refugees #malaysia

Just days ago Jamil made it across the border of Syria where he was stuck trying to get to his father, Mohammad in Turkey. Having fled with his mother, Ala, father and younger sister, Larin, the family of four have just reunited in Bursa and must consider their options.

Mohammad said his top priority is “Recourse to the EU, get housing, get a job and save my dignity”. He said he wants most to “Preserve the future of my children and their education”.

Due to the treacherous and risky nature of fleeing to Europe, the family wants to explore legal options and would be interested in a campaign that raised funding to pay for a lawyer in Bursa [which Humanwire has located independently]. With the assistance of quality legal representation, Mohammad and Ala could make the best decisions about their options.

Mohammad is an active internet user and experienced with fashion design.

https://www.humanwire.org/cause/jamil/

Kawthar (6) and her family fled their home in Syria after her mother was gunned down during attacks. Her parents were working on their land in Syria and as her mother milked sheep, they heard loud shots. When her father, Mohsen (55) ran to see her, unfortunately he found her dead. It was then he decided to flee with his family to Lebanon.

Kawthar remains in a fabric tent with her father and five siblings Sabah (16), Yasmin (2), Ahmad (11), Jamal (8), and Imad (12). Mohsen originally worked primarily milking sheep, although he also has some experience in agriculture and as a supermarket cashier.

Kawthar has had a dislocated shoulder since birth and is in urgent need of surgery as the bone has started to grow on its own.

Primary needs include medical care, food and clothes.

Kawthar, Jamal, and Yasmin all say they would like games and toys to play with. The family would “like to travel anywhere” and would prefer to seek asylum in Canada or Germany. Mohsen said he mostly wants to return to Syria and resume his work on the land.

https://www.humanwire.org/cause/kawthar/

#refugees #lebanon #syrian refugees

Lincoln Selfie (via)

dembot

YouTube's Nation

I put up my first Medium post, a long-form attempt to describe the design style YouTuber’s employ on YouTube and the hurdles they’re faced with due to YouTube’s algorithms.

There is a certain look-and-feel that is popular with YouTubers. I break down the history of the technique and why today the YouTuber style often appears inauthentic.

[READ THE POST]