Category: Asylum seekers

Swiss getting cold feet about taking more Syrians

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We’ve written several posts over the last few years (here) about how Switzerland is trying to save itself from being swamped by needy refugees, many from Muslim countries.   They did however agree to take a small number of Syrians over three years, but those numbers are now getting out of control.     (Be sure to see our previous post about the rich pretending to be refugees at Davos this week.)

Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Switzerland for so-called ‘Peace talks’ on Syria, then immediately stirred anger.

Interesting timing that this story should be published just as ‘Peace talks’ take place in the country since these decisions were actually made late last year.

From Inter Press Service news:

LUCERNE, Switzerland , Jan 23 2014 (IPS) – Switzerland facilitated family reunification for Syrians in September. So far, more than 1,100 Syrian refugees have benefited from the programme, while thousands are waiting at Swiss embassies in the region, hoping for a similar chance. Surprised by these numbers, Switzerland put an end to the programme.

Several European countries responded to an appeal by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees  (UNHCR) last summer to admit Syrian refugees. Switzerland announced it would accept 500 “especially vulnerable refugees” over three years.

Further, the country that hosts about 2,000 citizens of Syrian origin pledged to open its borders for their relatives. By the end of November, Swiss embassies in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan had granted 1,600 Syrians a three-month entry visa.

At least 1,100 of these have already travelled to Switzerland. A further 5,000 Syrians have applied for appointments at Swiss embassies to file similar visa requests.

Either Swiss authorities were surprised by these numbers, or considered their humanitarian action short-lived. Already in early November, they introduced bureaucratic hurdles: Swiss-based Syrians who had invited their relatives now needed to meet certain financial requirements.

“Looking at the size of an average Syrian family, these requirements constitute a killer criteria,” said Beat Meiner, secretary-general of the Swiss Refugee Council (SFH). “Few of the Swiss-based Syrians have enough money to clear these hurdles.”

I think that is exactly why the Swiss don’t want more refugees—they bring poverty and a need for more social services.  Not to mention the cultural conflicts already happening.

Photo is here.

Syrian refugee smorgasbord

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Every day our news alerts are jam-packed with the latest stories on the SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS.   Here is a little round-up of the latest news.

MP Yvette Cooper, leader of the revolt: Bring in the Syrians!

Great Britain:  ‘MP’s revolt over failure to admit Syrian refugees’:

The Coalition is under mounting pressure from Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs to perform a U-turn to allow some Syrian refugees to come to Britain.

Mark Harper, the immigration minister, angered some MPs yesterday by saying the United Nations plan for Western countries to accept 30,000 of the 2.3 million Syrian refugees would have only a “token impact”.  [Then the you-know-what hit the fan—ed]

Lebanon:  ‘U.N.: Syrian refugee’s murder of son highlights desperation’:

BEIRUT: The case of a Syrian man who was arrested Tuesday for strangling his 8-month-old son because he was crying reflects the desperate plight of refugees, UNICEF’s spokesperson said.

According to security sources refugee Hasan Ayesh strangled his son late Monday in his home in Minyara, in the northern province of Akkar, reportedly because the boy wouldn’t stop crying.

Mind you, it’s all about his status as a refugee, not the possibility that he might be a brute or mentally unstable to begin with.  Sheesh!

U.S.:  ‘Aid Agency Chief: Syrian Refugees Creating ‘Regional Crisis”:

David Miliband head honcho of the International Rescue Committee told Morning Joe that the international community must “massively scale up” its response.  But, surprisingly he never mentioned his organization’s testimony in the Senate recently to resettle 12,000 Syrians here this year.  I’m wondering if they have done polling that tells them not to mention bringing them here!

In light of upcoming international peace talks between the opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the numbers of refugees resulting from the war has created a “regional crisis” that demands attention.

“This is a regional crisis that demands a big international engagement,” Miliband, who is president and CEO of aid agency International Rescue Committee, told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday.

The conflict in Syria has resulted in a “scale of brutality … that hasn’t been seen for a very long time,” Miliband said.

As a result, millions of people are taking refuge in neighboring countries. He called for the international response to be “massively scaled up.”

You can watch Morning Joe’s interview, here.  Joe doesn’t look too worked up.

Russia:  ‘Russia grants asylum to almost 500 Syrian refugees – FMS’:

This is a surprise, I wonder if they are taking mostly Christians since they don’t have a burning desire for more Muslims.

The number of Syrian refugees seeking asylum in Russia is on the rise, head of the Federal Migration Service Moscow department Olga Kirillova said.

“Due to the exacerbation of the sociopolitical situation in Syria, the number of citizens seeking asylum on the territory of Russia has grown significantly,” she said.

More than 1,000 Syrian citizens filed refuge requests with the Federal Migration Service Moscow department in 2013 and 478 were granted temporary asylum, she added.

Bulgaria:  ‘Bulgaria Begins Construction of Border Fence with Turkey’:

The construction of the wire fence at the Bulgarian – Turkish border will begin on January 20, Minister of Defense Angel Naydenov announced.

“The site preparatory work and the construction of the facility will start Monday,” Naydenov said, cited by Focus News Agency.

The construction period will stretch over 45-60 days depending on the weather conditions.

Border fences can be built pretty quickly if a country is motivated.

Sweden:  ‘Syria crisis: Influx of refugees into Swedish town’:

Some Swedish towns are struggling to cope with an influx of Syrian refugees, after the government there guaranteed asylum to fugitives from the civil war.

The right-wing Swedish Democrat party claims ethnic Swedes are angry at the cost of social benefits and rising pressures on schools, housing and health care.

In the past eight years, the town of Sodertalje has accepted three times more refugees than Sweden’s biggest cities.

Ah, Sweden, our canary in a coal mine.

Brazil “unprepared” for asylum-seeker crush

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It’s not just Australia, Israel, Bulgaria, Italy and the rest of Europe trying desperately to hold back the tide of migrants from the Middle East/Africa and other third world nations, but even in South America there is no peace from largely economic migrants (all calling themselves ‘asylum seekers’) looking for new places to call home.

Homeless “asylum seekers”

From Deutsche Welle (The star of this story is Mohammed from Syria):

Brazil has seen the number of asylum seekers increase nearly tenfold over three years and official agencies are woefully unprepared to deal with the refugees. Few people receive asylum and help for immigrants is sparse.

[….]

In Brazil, political refugees from the Middle East or Africa have been a rare sight over the last few years. The South American country appears far removed from the horrors of war on foreign continents. But that is changing. Between 2010 and 2013, the number of people seeking asylum in Brazil increased nearly tenfold, from 566 to 5,200. Adding to those numbers are thousands of immigrants from Haiti, Senegal, Angola, Liberia, Bolivia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“Brazil has to prepare for an increasing crush of immigrants,” said Andres Ramirez, who represents the UN’s refugee agency in Brazil (Acnur). Since 2013, the organization has been operating a small office in Sao Paulo. One of the biggest problems, he told DW, is the lack of emergency shelters. “Many refugees sleep on the streets for days before they get any help,” he said.

Of the 5,200 people applying for asylum in Brazil, just 649 were recognized, according to figures from the country’s Ministry of Justice. The largest group among them, 283, came from Syria, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 106, then Columbia and Angola.

The largest group seeking asylum, however, were the 1,814 Bangladeshis. Just one was recognized as a political refugee. Senegal followed with 868 asylum seekers, of whom four were recognized. In other conflict regions, such as Lebanon, Guinea-Bissau and Somalia, acceptance rates stood at below 3 percent.

Such statistics don’t include the 15,000 Haitians in northern Brazil. Roughly 70 per day arrive in Brasilia, a city of just 10,000 in the state of Acre, bordering Peru.

[….]

The unofficial influx has become a political problem. In an extraordinary cry for help, the state government of Acre requested on Wednesday (15.1.2014) that the federal Ministry of Justice allow it to close the border to Peru.

Read it all.

As always, I wonder how the poor and destitute from places like Bangladesh are getting the money to travel half way around the world to Brazil.  And, do they all pass through Cuba on the way???  I suppose it’s just a matter of time before they work their way north to the US border!

Australia apologizes for breaching Indonesian waters to push back migrants, but….

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

….we are going to continue to turn boats away from our shores, said Immigration Minister Morrison!

I wasn’t planning on writing a second post on Australia today (see first one here), but when I saw this photo, I wanted you to see it!

What the heck is this—a strategy session with a white ‘community organizer’ where Somali men, at a hotel in Indonesia, plan their next attempt to break into Australia!

If they want asylum, ask for it in Indonesia, a safe Muslim country!  International law requires legitimate asylum seekers to ask for asylum in the first safe country they reach!

This is the caption published with the photo: “Somali immigrants gather at a hotel where Indonesian authorities have billeted asylum seekers hoping to reach Australia. (AFP/JEMS)”

Here is the story that accompanies the photo, from Reuters:

SYDNEY — Australia’s government on Friday acknowledged its navy breached Indonesian territorial sovereignty several times as part of its controversial operations to stop boats carrying would-be asylum seekers from entering Australian waters.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said he had been informed earlier this week about the “inadvertent breaches” and immediately informed the Indonesian navy.

Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, the officer in charge of “Operation Sovereign Borders,” said the breaches occurred on multiple days but declined to provide further details.

“We deeply regret these events and have offered an apology,” Morrison told reporters. “However the Australian government remains committed to continuing to implement the policies to stop the boats.”

Most of those they are pushing back are from:  Afghanistan, Darfur, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria.

There is more.

Belgium: Afghan migrants protest again; “we are not dangerous”

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

In one photo accompanying the story in Aljazeera, protestors (mostly men) seeking asylum carry a sign that says they are not “dangerous.”   Then here is another photo in the same spread that surely doesn’t look like they are exactly meek and neighborly either—why the raised fists?  Is it the pose of Islamic conquerors?

This is the latest protest story from Aljazeera (hat tip: pungentpeppers):

For the second time in less than a month, hundreds of Afghan asylum seekers and their supporters held a three-day protest march in Belgium.

The 70-km march started on January 11 in Brussels and ended in Ghent. The aim was to publicise the situation of Belgium’s Afghan asylum seekers, and put pressure on the Belgian government to provide protection and legal residency.

After the first march, Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo expressed some sympathy for their situation. But Maggie De Block, the secretary of state for asylum and migration and for social integration, has taken a tougher line. During the march, the protesters stopped in front of her home and left her a symbolic bus ticket to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.

Many of the participants had been denied asylum despite the fact that Afghanistan is still insecure. Some Afghans have even been deported. The group of Afghan asylum-seekers, some of whom have lived in Belgium for years, began protesting last year after some of them were denied asylum. Two hundred of them, including women and children, have been occupying a church in the center of Brussels for the past four months – where they have access to only two toilets.

This is our previous post on Afghans demonstrating in Belgium, poor Belgium.