Internally displaced people tell their life stories in their own words

November 8, 2007 7:14 AM

IDP Voicesis a site that lets people who are refugess within their own countries tell their life stories – in their own words. "The narratives in these pages are valuable complements to the official information on conflicts which governments and international organisations offer. These stories deal with the real lives of real people. The narrators share their personal experiences, their sensations, hopes and dreams, and the impact for them of being forced from their homes. The first IDP Voices oral testimonies project took place in Colombia. IDP Voices from further countries will be added as the projects progress." The life stories are in English and Spanish and can either be read or listened to. You can download the whole book of life stories here.
posted by Kattullus (7 comments total)

Thanks for this. There are no substitutes for hearing the stories of survivors first hand.
posted by cal71 at 7:34 AM on November 8, 2007

Could someone please explain to me what an Internally Displaced Person is?
posted by Afroblanco at 9:18 AM on November 8, 2007

From the wikipedia article: "Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are people forced to flee their homes but who, unlike refugees, remain within their country's borders."
posted by Kattullus at 9:44 AM on November 8, 2007

Right on. Maybe there should be some sort of explanation about that in the post text?

When I first saw the term, I assumed that it referred to autistics or people with some other "internal" problem.
posted by Afroblanco at 11:21 AM on November 8, 2007

Hmm... good call, Afroblanco. I'll e-mail cortex asking him for a slight edit.
posted by Kattullus at 12:23 PM on November 8, 2007

Bing!
posted by cortex at 12:36 PM on November 8, 2007

Great find!
posted by Lucie at 5:47 PM on November 8, 2007