Month: December 2008

Australia could take Gitmo prisoners for resettlement

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Looks like governments around the world are lining up to take those hot potato Guantanamo Bay prisoners.    I guess they are assuming these guys just need some tender care, love and understanding and they will become model citizens.  From The Australian:

KEVIN Rudd has left open the possibility of Australia taking former inmates from the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.

But he warned that any US request for an inmate to come would be subject to legal criteria and assessed on a case-by-case basis, The Australian reports.

Then this part was surprising to me, but I don’t know much about Australian politics, the Greens are protesting against the plan already.  I thought the lefties pretty much stuck together.  Here in the US the major environmental groups hang tight with those promoting open borders.   Maybe this isn’t so in Australia.

As the Greens warned the Prime Minister he faced a political backlash if he accepted detainees held in the US military jail at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, a spokesman for Mr Rudd confirmed US authorities had approached Australia and other countries about resettling the detainees.

Want to help refugees? Give locally!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This morning we had a commenter named Ben ask at this old post on the International Rescue Committee where we could recommend he make a donation to help refugees.

Since many of you may be looking for places to donate this last week of the year, my recommendation to help struggling (and increasingly out of work) refugees is to find a local organization or church that is directly involved with caring for refugees and give to that local group where you can see the results of your donation.    I told Ben that better still would be to find a specific family through that local organization and give for their immediate needs.

Or, give to an organization that takes care of refugees the right way.

If you don’t have refugees in your area then consider giving to Christian Freedom International.   This organization located in Michigan,  in my opinion, exemplifies the way refugees should be cared for—one family/one sponsor.  Last I heard they refused government contracts and did their charitable work the old fashioned way—with private charity.   Here is an article I received just yesterday about one example of the kind of work they do.

CFI is not a government contractor with fat cat salaries and offices in New York City.   They work directly with refugees in camps in places like Thailand and take care of refugees one at a time.     As brutal as it sounds, the world’s poor can’t all be saved, so one should make sure that those who are resettled are well-cared-for until they get on their feet and become Americans.

Advocacy group calls on Obama to appoint Iraqi refugee coordinator

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Matthew Hay Brown at the Baltimore Sun alerts us to a campaign on behalf of Iraqi refugees by Human Rights First, an advocacy organization that supports worthwhile causes and not-so-worthwhile ones. It calls oppressive governments to account, but seems to lump the U.S. government in with those of Sudan, Egypt, Zimbabwe, etc. in needing their oversight in order to preserve human rights. (I’ve just skimmed their website so I’m open to correction on this, but putting an amicus brief on behalf of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on a par with stopping arms to Sudan and Zimbabwe is just a bit unhinged, isn’t it?)

Some of their ideas on Iraqi refugees have merit; others are off. Their press release  calls on “President-elect Obama to fulfill his campaign’s commitment to confront the Iraqi refugee crisis by strengthening oversight and effectiveness of refugee assistance, ensuring that the Iraqi government refrains from pressuring refugees to return home before they can do so in safety, and placing a coordinator for Iraqi refuges in the White House.”

The coordinator would be “responsible for ensuring that appropriate policy toward Iraqi refugees is integrated into U.S. strategic and operational plans in Iraq. The position was first proposed by Senator Edward Kennedy and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden.”

That’s kind of a neutral recommendation. Its merit would depend on what the coordinator was supposed to do. Here’s some of it.

The blueprint also urges the U.S. government to set “refugee benchmarks” for the Iraqi government and for U.S. assistance to shift from the government to NGOs if those benchmarks are not met. The benchmarks would require the Iraqi government to acknowledge that return of internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees should be voluntary and to discuss more flexible visa policies for refugees with its neighbors.

I wonder in what way the government of Iraq is forcing the return of IDPs and refugees. And here’s the part I really have questions about:

In the past year, the Iraqi government has started a media campaign promoting refugee return and has organized return flights for refugees. Amelia Templeton, refugee policy analyst for Human Rights First, discussed the implications of the campaign with refugee families in Syria on a recent trip to the region in October.

“Security has improved in Iraq today,” says Templeton “but many refugees fear what might happen tomorrow. They’re looking for some measure of political stability.”

Templeton also noted that many refugees view the current return campaign as propaganda. “The government of Iraq should focus on providing humanitarian aid and accurate information to refugees and the internally displaced,” says Templeton.

It sounds like Templeton has her own agenda. Of course refugees fear what will happen tomorrow — who wouldn’t? Refugees are weighing what to do: Would they do better back in Iraq or as refugees? Is it safe in the part of Iraq they came from? Will they have a job? An organization trying to help the refugees would help them answer or solve these questions, and perhaps help Iraq’s government come up with solutions to the problems of jobs and housing. But it doesn’t sound as if Human Rights First is too interested in helping the refugees return home. Or maybe I’m just cranky. But it does seem as if this group is of a piece with the entire left in not wanting to give the U.S. any credit for making things better in Iraq. If the refugees could return home that would be a sign of improvement.

Oh, wait. We’re getting a new president. As soon as Obama takes the reins the situation in Iraq will miraculously improve; just wait and see.

Terrorists could pose as refugees or asylees says Homeland Security

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

A five year threat assessment released by the Department of Homeland Security recently points a finger at refugees from Africa, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh as potential terrorists entering the US.  It also cites so-called homegrown terrorists  as a possible threat.

From AP yesterday:

Terrorists will continue to try to evade U.S. border security measures and place operatives inside the mainland to carry out attacks, the 38-page assessment said. It also said that they may pose as refugees or asylum seekers or try to exploit foreign travel channels such as the visa waiver program, which allows citizens of 34 countries to enter the U.S. without visas.

Long waits for immigration and more restrictive European refugee and asylum programs will cause more foreigners to try to enter the U.S. illegally. Increasing numbers of Iraqis are expected to migrate to the U.S. in the next five years; and refugees from Somalia and Sudan could increase because of conflicts in those countries, the assessment said.

Because there is a proposed cap of 12,000 refugees from Africa, officials expect more will try to enter the U.S. illegally as well. Officials predict the same scenario for refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Intelligence officials predict the pool of radical Islamists within the U.S. will increase over the next five years due partly to the ease of online recruiting means. Officials foresee “a wave of young, self-identified Muslim ‘terrorist wannabes’ who aspire to carry out violent acts.”

Whew it’s a good thing that border fence is nearing completion!   Then we just halt all Muslim immigration for awhile and we should be (mostly) safe.

And, no wonder those Texas Somali asylees are getting the third degree.

Somali mosques must be scrutinized says Muslim leader

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is the latest report I’ve seen on the missing Minneapolis Somali youths.  The Minnesota Independent begins its story with the personal account of a missing Somali American.

Burhaan Hassan was a fairly typical kid, the kind who asked his mother for $20 when he wanted to go see a movie on weekends. But on Election Day, while much of the world — including his single mother — was consumed by the historic election, he and a handful of Somali-American teenagers quietly boarded a plane to Kenya, en route to the front lines of a Jihad in Somalia.

Hassan, 17, wasn’t working and couldn’t afford the expensive airfare, said his uncle, Hussein Samatar, an immigrant from Somalia who now runs the African Development Group of Minnesota. “We believe someone — some group — has paid for his ticket,” he said.

I couldn’t find any formal website for the African Development Group of Minnesota but I noticed that Samatar is a fan of Obama’s (no surprise there).

The article continues about al-Shabaab and its US recruitment compaign apparently aiming for those with US Passports.

A United Nations investigation recently uncovered evidence that extremist groups in Somalia have ratcheted up their online recruiting and fundraising capabilities. Among other things, the U.N. Monitoring Group, which is tasked with monitoring weapons flowing to Somalia, found that members of Al-Shabaab (“The Youth”), a Somali group designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, have “intensified their cyber activities.”

The U.N. report notes that, unlike more moderate Islamist groups in Somalia, Al-Shabaab has relatively young leaders, some from Western countries, in its ranks. Obscure young jihadists with foreign passports have greater mobility — a key advantage over more well-known leaders, experts believe.

Ken Menkhaus, a Somalia expert at Davidson College in North Carolina, said recruiting Somalis with foreign passports would have “some advantages if [Al-Shabaab] intends to attack sites outside Somalia.”

The Somali leaders of the 70,000-strong Somali community in Minnesota are pointing the finger of blame at one local mosque in particular—the Abubkar As-Saddique Islamic Center (AAIC) and are calling for more scrutiny of mosques!

Before these teenagers went missing, youth programs at mosques went minimally scrutinized, complained some community leaders. To address this, Adam, the Daral-Hijra Center director, urges mosque leaders to introduce greater oversight on youth activities.

Sounds like a plan!  I hope our FBI is thinking along the same lines.

You can see all of the links to posts on this story here.   Also, be sure to see our original research on the number of Somalis who have entered the US under the Refugee Resettlement program here.