Day: February 3, 2010

Refugee Council USA: Waahhh! Still not enough money for refugees

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

No surprise here that the Refugee INDUSTRY represented by a consortium of groups calling themselves the Refugee Council USA (for lobbying purposes) is wailing that it still doesn’t have enough money for all the refugees (and offices and staffs and big salaries) needed for the record number of refugees being resettled in the US this year in the midst of the great recession—this in spite of the fact they had their funds doubled last week.

“RCUSA is pleased to see additional funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement,” said Robert Carey, Chair of Refugee Council USA. “The current economic crisis, which affects millions of Americans, has had an especially damaging impact on vulnerable refugees offered safety by the United States Government. This additional funding will help provide valuable assistance to refugees as they begin a new life in the United States after fleeing persecution and work to become productive members of our communities. While the request is below the level we believe is needed to properly support refugees in the U.S., this proposed increase for a program that has suffered from chronic underfunding is certainly a step in the right direction. Refugee Council USA is urging the Administration to ensure that the funding made available to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is sufficient to meet the needs of resettled refugees,” stated Carey.

Carey is also VP at the International Rescue Committee whose President Charles Rupp (former President of Columbia Univ.) makes in excess of $400,000 in salary and benefits and is among the richest of the Top Ten (now nine) federal contractors.  The IRC is also tight with Samantha Power at the White House who is in charge of a task force to “reform” the refugee program—the same task force that gave out more money for the refugee agencies last week in advance of any reforms.

And, they say, we want a whole bunch more of American taxpayer dollars to go overseas where coincidentally the IRC also gets loads of funding for it to muck around in other countries’ affairs (see here where Clinton took aid to Africa and gave it to the IRC disappointing local agencies that had been counting on the help).

Somali pirates say they will share their booty with Haiti

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Who would have ever thought this link would be made—Somalia and Haiti in the same article.  Get out of the way, US, we will aid Haiti say Somali pirates.  From AOL news:

(Feb. 1) — Hordes of private-sector aid groups fighting to alleviate the disaster in Haiti may soon be joined by some motley new allies: pirates.

Somali pirates have vowed to redistribute some of the millions of dollars they have stolen in the past few years to those suffering from the earthquake in Haiti, reports Agencia Matriz del Sur, a Spanish-language Web site that says it seeks to counter the media influence of wealthy countries. Somali pirates often divide their booty and distribute it to family and local citizens — a tactic also used by American gangs to develop community goodwill.

With language worthy of Errol Flynn’s schmaltziest “Robin Hood” moments, an unnamed spokesman for the pirates accused the United States and Europe of having “no moral authority” to distribute aid, telling Agencia Matriz del Sur that “they have been the ones pirating mankind for many years.”

According to this author, they have the worldwide connections to pull it off!

The Somali pirates’ announcement suggests that they are keen to keep that image alive in popular culture. Their charity claims may have little value beyond the literary, however. According to pirate leaders, “connections in various parts of the world” will ensure that they are capable of delivering aid without detection or, conveniently, accountability.

Whew!  I guess we can just stand down now.