July 2012 - People 

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Mohammad Jawad: Pakistani surgeon
 "Saving Face" documentary trailer

This documentary (trailer) highlights the work of Dr. Mohammad Ali Jawad, a prominent plastic surgeon who provides free reconstructive surgery to victims of acid attacks in Pakistan. The film won the Oscar in Feb. 2012 for Best Documentary Short Subject.

Acid attacks  - a common form of violence in parts of South Asia and Africa - are brutal, permanently disfiguring, and usually against women. Often, it is a retaliation for a woman declining a marriage proposal or sexual advance, or even the failing of a business deal between husbands. In addition to the disfigurement and corrosion of bone, victims also suffer severe psychological trauma and ostracization. 

For more information on this surgeon and the documentary, read: 
Saving Face: a story of hope and courage 

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IT entrepreneur finds success in Kenya's refugee camps

Mohammed Bashir Sheik was four when he arrived at Dadaab refugee camp with his mother and sister 18 years ago. The family, along with tens of thousands of others, had fled the civil war in Somalia, looking for refuge over the border in northeast Kenya.

Learning English by chatting online, he made friends around the world who taught him computer skills. He learned how to create websites, and today has a small business teaching others how to use computers - all within the refugee complex, which he has never left.

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Waiting to be registered in Bangladesh

The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority originating from Myanmar, are denied citizenship and suffer persecution and discrimination in Myanmar. Hundreds of thousands have fled to Bangladesh.

These photos on Social Documentary.net by Sheikh Rajibul Islam Rajib show some of the 25,000 people currently living in Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh. Abused and rebuffed by the authorities, they have nowhere to go - and wait for their status to change.

For further information on the Rohingya, read: 
Burma's Rohingya refugees find little respite in Bangladesh