Sou-Jie van Brunnersum

Research, reporting & analysis on geopolitics, conflict, migration & humanitarian affairs

[Sou-Jie van Brunnersum @Brunnersum]

"There are children on this ship, there are entire lifetimes and childhood dreams…Children dreaming of finding a safe port..."

My video for @InfoMigrants reporting from the #GeoBarents in the Central Mediterranean.

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Earlier this month, 134 people were rescued from a crowded boat in the Mediterranean by the #GeoBarents and brought to Ravenna, Italy.

Through song, Syrian refugees lamented the deadly waters and loved ones in distant lands, and rejoiced in their survival and new beginnings.

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

The EU migration pact is taking a new turn.

New plans could soon send rejected asylum seekers to “return hubs” outside of Europe.

This is drawing heavy criticism over potential harm to families and human rights.

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Human rights advocates have accused Bulgarian Border Police of "deliberate neglect" following the deaths of three Egyptian minors who succumbed to hypothermia near the Turkish border.
https://t.co/q0HYHYAgh5

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

19 bodies were found drifting in a boat off the coast of St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean.

Authorities believe the boat had drifted from West Africa with migrants on board. This is the first such discovery in recent memory in the twin-island nation.

https://t.co/Uw648MXkxR

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Belgium wants to tighten migration controls, particularly on family reunification, as the country shifts to the right following the appointment of its new prime minister, Bart De Wever.
https://t.co/useNaQ0wWE

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Celebrations following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria are quickly turning to questions about what the future will bring for exiles in Germany.
https://t.co/eELvrQLmWz

[Sou-Jie van Brunnersum @Brunnersum]

@Fabian__Baumann @aseeestudies 👏

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Germany's interior minister has proposed deploying Frontex to the Polish-Belarusian border.

The EU has accused Belarus and Russia of weaponizing migration at the EU's external border, using it as a 'political tool' to pressure the bloc.
https://t.co/opG22bNeC0

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Nearly three dozen asylum seekers have been stranded for months in tents within a UN-controlled buffer zone on the island of Cyprus.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has now called on the Cypriot government to permit passage for them.
https://t.co/3CFm6seUDW

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Migrants and migrant aid groups have called on Portugal's the center-right government to reinstate a policy that previously granted foreign nationals easier access to legal status.

The policy had been repealed by the government in June.

https://t.co/3vvVKxolJE

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Only one person survived when a boat carrying 13 migrants, reportedly from Egypt and Syria, capsized approximately 60 kilometers from the Libyan city of Tobruk.

A humanitarian organization reported that the bodies were recovered and brought ashore.

https://t.co/vlYejDRuox

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Dilba told us she wants to help other migrants and refugees after we met her on the #GeoBarents rescue ship.

She and her children endured nine months of suffering in Libya and nearly lost their lives at sea. Now, they live in a refugee center in Germany,
https://t.co/sGQI7fDtaV

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Have the EU's border measures inadvertently created a thriving market for smugglers?

We spoke to dozens of migrants who crossed the Central Mediterranean, revealing corruption, financial misconduct, and the commodification of asylum seekers:
https://t.co/Vo69d98Iay

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Duaa Al Qatta, a young mother of three, shares her journey of survival, fleeing the bombings in Homs, Syria, and seeking refuge in neighboring Lebanon. She was detained and abandoned in Libya before being rescued at sea.
https://t.co/Y5hk7XFxDX

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Nour,from Syria, shared her story with InfoMigrants aboard the Geo Barents rescue ship. During seven months in Libya, she, her young son, and her blind aunt were subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment, including at the infamous Abu Salim prison.
https://t.co/BF9l4G92vg

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Amina, a former school teacher from Syria, faced abuse in Libya. After being denied a family reunification visa to join her husband in Germany, she felt compelled to migrate through smuggling. Here is her story @MSF_Sea https://t.co/fPAkwbrPzn

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

Dilba, a 31-year-old mother from Syria, shared her story aboard Geo Barents. After 9 tough months in Libya & a near-fatal sea journey, she & her children now live in refugee housing in Germany. Her husband remains in Syria, hoping for family reunification. https://t.co/sGQI7fDtaV

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

We spoke with Syrian women on the Geo Barents rescue ship in the Central Med. They had fled Syria to find a better future for themselves and their children.

They shared stories of trials and abuse they suffered during their journeys.

A 5-part series👇
https://t.co/Yqg6WLPQ6n

[InfoMigrants @InfoMigrants]

In #Libya, migrants are trapped by extortion. As the EU debates #migration policies, experts question the legality of sea interceptions. Will smugglers thrive without lawful migration pathways? @Brunnersum reports in part 5 of our investigation series. https://t.co/Tsxj9gb6ff