That is the title of yet another story blasting Arab countries for mistreating their fellow Arabs—Palestinians. Our earlier post on the same topic is here.
Arab countries do not “welcome” Palestinians!
Author Sameh Habeeb, an activist and journalist, writing in the Palestine Telegraphis not unexpectedly critical of Israel, but the gist of his report is that Palestinian refugees are treated like c*** in Muslim countries!
Habeeb begins:
Palestinian communities around the world, especially in the Arab states, have suffered forced exile or onward migration time and time again.
Most recently, Palestinian refugees living in Syria have had to flee the fighting in that country, and have fled to many parts of the world including neighbouring Arab countries like Jordan and Lebanon. In Jordan, Palestinian refugees are not given many of their rights as refugees and this even if they are able to get into the country. Many are denied entry. In some cases whole families are separated across the border because they are Palestinian refugees with a Syrian travel document.
Habeeb then goes on to list all the Muslim countries which mistreat Palestinians.
So much for that Muslim charity the UNHCR was bragging about here in 2009—1400-year-old Islamic tradition of “welcoming” the persecuted—what a joke! And, it isn’t just Palestinians, rich Arab countries like Saudi Arabia take NO refugees.
Sofia’s Banya Bashi mosque where migrants congregate.
Bulgaria is being swamped with refugees, mostly Syrians, coming across the border from Turkey and seeing Bulgaria as their gateway to Europe. Tensions are mounting as locals believe their country is being invaded (most Bulgarians are Eastern Orthodox).
Police in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia have stepped up security in streets nearby the landmark Banya Bashi mosque after a group of men in their 20s seriously assaulted a man they apparently mistook for a refugee and attempted to batter their way into a building housing refugees.
The victim of the assault, a Bulgarian of Turkish extraction identified in media reports as named Georgi “Metin” Dimitrov (28), remained in hospital on November 10 2013 in serious conditions, in a coma with severe head injuries.
Two men, aged 28 and 29, have been arrested in connection with the assault on “Metin” Dimitrov. Both are said to be from Sofia.
[….]
The assault of “Metin” took place after the group attempted to break into a building where migrants were living. They broke down the gates but the migrants managed to keep them from entering the building. The group moved off, encountering the Bulgarian and setting on him.
Looks like the violence isn’t one-sided:
Bulgaria’s Chief Mufti, spiritual leader of the country’s Muslim community, condemned the assault on Dimitrov, who worked at the Iliyantsi market and at the mosque. The Chief Mufti urged Muslims to remain calm in the face of provocations.
Acts of violence against people, regardless of religion and ethnicity, were unacceptable and deeply objectionable, said the Chief Mufti’s office, which condemned the assault on the Bulgarian man on the night of November 8 as well as the earlier incident in which a Bulgarian shopkeeper was stabbed, allegedly by an Algerian illegal migrant.
Mosque is where the migrants congregate:
Since the significant increase in the number of refugees, many from Syria, coming to Bulgaria, the area near the mosque has become a gathering place for migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.
Anti-refugee rallies held, racist hate speech charges brought:
The previous week, anti-refugee and anti-migrant rallies by nationalists VMRO and ultra-nationalists Ataka were held in Sofia and Elhovo. Statements by people involved with the VMRO rally, including the party’s deputy leader, have led prosecutors to open pre-trial proceedings against six people for allegedly using racist hate speech.
The Bulgarian government is planning a border fence to slow the flow from Turkey, but keep in mind, Turkey could also stop the flow on their side of the border if they wanted to!
Why on earth we even have Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis is beyond me since we already have a massive refugee and asylum resettlement program for them and at a time when Somalia’s President is urging those in the diaspora to come home!
Come home to Somalia!
Readers TPS was started for the primary purpose of helping mostly Central Americans get to stay in the US after they illegally arrived here by the tens of thousands, but didn’t fit into the definition of “refugee.” They really need to take the “temporary” out of the name of the program.
Supposedly those applying would have been in the US prior to whatever incident (like a hurricane, earthquake, civil war etc.) happened and out of the goodness of our hearts we let them stay on until their country can recover—-some for more than a decade.
So what happens when TPS is not extended? They stay on anyway.
The 470 Somalis who have been registered in the TPS program can now legally stay for another 18 months! Who knows how those 470 came to be in the US in the first place (or when!), some may have arrived illegally or over-stayed a visa.
Here is a brief news story from the TC Daily Planet (hat tip: Tonya):
Temporary Protected Status for nationals of Somalia will be extended by 18 months effective March 18, 2014, according to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Rand Beers, in a statement to Mshale on Wednesday (Nov. 6).
About 470 Somalis applied for the last extension and redesignation in September 2012, according to a USCIS spokesperson.
Temporary Protected Status, or TPS as it is commonly known, is a designation by the United States Secretary of Homeland Security that “due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately”.
Here is the USCIS website that explains this phoney-baloney program. And, here are the countries whose nationals may apply at the moment.
Here is a Dept. of Justice site I just found. It tells us which countries were given TPS and when (except it doesn’t give the date of the designation for Somalis???).
Note that countries like Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador were designated in 1999 and 2001 respectively and have been extended many times—Honduras 18 times! Nicaragua 18 times! El Salvador 10 times! Why are they (tens of thousands) still here?
When we first began writing RRW, Liberians were allowed to stay under TPS (which allows them to work, get drivers licenses, etc), but I see the program for Liberia has ended. However, we didn’t deport the Liberians who had taken root in certain American cities, instead they have hunkered down and are waiting for ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’ to receive amnesty surely like all the others whose TPS has expired!
In fact, the feds are having trouble getting the Haitians signed up because most don’t bother with the paperwork expecting Obama will soon legalize them all anyway.
Just a reminder, back in January the new President of Somalia traveled around the US asking Somalis to come home and help re-build Somalia, here. Excellent idea for those who have gained skills at US taxpayer expense—help Somalia recover and let’s stop the refugee flow to America.
