Current Events, Refugee Issues
Chanelle Rahbany
Tragedy in Gaza: Advocacy and Aid for ...

Gators for Refugee Medical Relief (GRMR) aims to inform and educate its members, the University of Florida, and the greater community concerning refugees and advocacy for their struggles and hardships. With the looming conflict and war in the Gaza Strip, we aim to detail the number of Palestinian refugees in the area, the many difficulties they face, and ways for others to assist.

GRMR, Education, Refugee Issues, Current Events
Jakob Meredith
Hope on the Hardwood: Basketball's Unifying ...

As the buzzer sounds to signify the end of the first-round game in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, a member of Angola’s national men’s basketball team heaves a three-point shot that bounces harmlessly off the back of the rim (FIBA, 2023). With that, the South Sudanese men’s basketball team secures a 23-point win along with their first-ever birth in the Summer Olympics (Reuters, 2023). While the 2024 Olympic games have yet to begin, there is already a winner in the form of this team that has overcome countless obstacles to success since they began playing for the world’s newest country only 10 years ago. However, the team appropriately nicknamed the “Bright Stars” isn’t just looking to be a feel-good story. They’re going to Paris this summer as the top-ranked African team with the same relentless and dedicated drive to win that they’ve had since day one (FIBA, 2023).

GRMR, Education
Fatima Shahid
Mental Health and Neurological Challenges in ...

Refugees often face severe psychological pressure due to various factors like trauma and adaptation challenges. Leaving one's home, traveling with anxiety, and adapting to a new country can worsen mental health problems.  The trauma and stress refugees face from migration lead to complex mental health needs, which caregivers and organizations may not be accustomed to handling. Challenges include variations in trauma experiences. Sociocultural contexts influence how trauma is expressed. There is a significant need for culturally sensitive care.

GRMR, Refugee Stories
Krishna Kakani
Deportation and Mental Health: The Health ...

Mental health is a well brought up topic in regard to family life, school, and the workplace. Removing yourself from stressful situations and giving yourself time to relax and rest is often articulated by institutions to maintain one’s mental health. But what do you do if you are not allowed to seek asylum in a safe environment? How is mental health maintained when the country you believed was safe sends you back to a dangerous environment?

Refugee Stories, GRMR
Victoria Simoni Assuncao
Refugees in Malaysia Find a Home in the Arts

A life begun in gunfire and instability is brought to the stage. Fluid motions and words embody the resilience of the stateless—reframing a narrative of victimization to one of powerful actors, playwrights, and directors.

This is the everyday work of Parastoo Theater.

Venezuela

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Authoritarian Regimes Masked as Socialists: Venezuela and Cuba

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Authoritarian Regimes Masked as Socialists: Venezuela and Cuba

As the phrase “SOS Venezuela” enveloped cars, signs, and news outlets during the 2014 protests against the Maduro Regime, Cuban refugees around the world shuddered with empathy as they were witnessing a sight that was far too familiar and painful. The political and economic collapse of Venezuela over the past two decades serves as an eerie allusion to that of Cuba’s during the Castro Regime and ensuing years. In both instances, political and economic reforms which aimed to uplift the lower classes, left the majority of the populations with an inability to afford or even have access to food, clothing, and medical care, among other basic human necessities. As a result…