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How COVID-19 Is Affecting Refugee Women and Girls | Jehu's Blog
When Devon Cone considered what she might do when she grew up, she always imagined listening to people, reporting on issues, and being an intermediary between remarkable situations and the public. In short: She imagined herself right here. Cone has been working on refugee protections for the last 15 years; she first encountered one of the largest refugee camps in the world during an internship and never looked back. She worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and HIAS before starting her job as the senior advocate for women and girls at Refugees International, an advocacy organization that conducts research and fact-finding missions to write reports and make policy recommendations on how to improve the lives of refugees and displaced people. Typically, this means traveling around the world to where there’s forced displacement and interviewing women and girls on the ground. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cone is now working from Colorado, navigating her job while adhering to recent travel restrictions. Below, she talks about how the novel coronavirus has been affecting refugees worldwide, how her work has changed, and how she’s navigated a high-stakes career. How has your job changed because of COVID-19? I really value …