Nichole Sobecki’s new story for The New York Times is out today.
At a time when millions of refugees around the world are largely confined to camps, when Europe is trying to close the door, when US President Donald Trump demands more deportations and a wall, one country is bucking the trend — Uganda, which accepts refugees from two never-ending wars, South Sudan to the north and DRC to the west. Uganda has one of the most generous and progressive approaches to hosting refugees in the region, if not the world. Uganda welcomed more refugees each day in 2016 than many wealthy European countries accepted the entire year, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). They live in designated areas called “settlements” where they are allocated pieces of land to put up shelters, grow food, and start their own businesses. Refugees are given relative freedom of movement, equal access to primary education, healthcare, and other basic social services, and they have the right to work and, should they wish to, to remain forever.
