Our Syrian refugee alerts are overflowing as usual, so I thought perhaps I should occasionally report the hottest issues. Here are a few stories today:
First, the possible fall of Kobani to ISIS is sending the biggest tidal wave of refugees toward Turkey (which will surely further destabilize that country).
From Syria Deeply entitled: ‘180,000 Refugees from Kobani Mark the Biggest Displacement in the Biggest Refugee Crisis, Ever’
Since the ISIS advance on Kobani, the Turkish government and aid agencies have been struggling to respond to the influx of more than 180,000 Syrian refugees into southern Turkey
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani was “about to fall to ISIS.” Since the advance on Kobani, the Turkish government and aid agencies have been struggling to respond to the influx of more than 180,000 Syrian refugees into southern Turkey. The sudden, massive flow of refugees fleeing ISIS is the largest displacement in the Syrian conflict.
Humanitarian groups project that there will be 3.59 million Syrian refugees by December 2014, with annual budget requirements of US$3.74 billion (56% of which remains unfunded). For UNHCR, the Syria operation is now the largest in its 64-year history.
Just a reminder for new readers, the US State Department says we are going to take thousands of refugees from Turkey, here.
The UNHCR wants foreign aid for Greece so it can cope with Syrian and Somali migrants arriving by the thousands
From All Africa:
UNHCR officials in Greece called for the European Union countries to support Greece as many refugees are in that country.
Joorjoos Tasabobulos is UNHCR official in Greece. He said the number of fleeing refugees coming to the Greek islands of Agenee K/bari, Agen and Dodeshense is on the increase. He said in the first eight months of this year, 22,089 refugees of which 65% are Syrians have arrived there whereas other refugees included Somalis, Eritreans and Afghans.
Elsewhere refugees numbering 140,000 from Somalia, Eritrea, Syria and Sudan arrived in Italy but Italy lacks resources to manage them.
See our series on the ‘invasion of Europe’ by clicking here.
Uruguay takes Syrian refugees.
You would think this was the most important item in the Syrian refugee news today based on the number of stories the news has generated.
From the BBC:
A small number of Syrian refugees have arrived in Uruguay from Lebanon.
Forty-two refugees, belonging to five families, were greeted on arrival by the Uruguayan President, Jose Mujica.
They will spend two months in accommodation near the capital Montevideo where they will learn Spanish and attend classes on local customs.***
Other Latin American countries have taken Syrians in but Uruguay is the first to assume all resettlement costs.
Officials say the two-year resettlement programme will cost Uruguay around $3m (£1.9m).
They say the adults have already been guaranteed jobs and the children have places in local school. A second group is due to arrive next year.
*** Note this huge difference in how these refugees will be assimilated—in a center for a few months to learn the language and customs! In the US they are just deposited in cities and urged to be on their own, to be “self-sufficient” in three months.
Click here for all Syrian refugee posts archived at RRW.