I’ve been reporting on and off for months about the dire warnings emanating from the international ‘humanitarian’ community and its media lackeys about how the Chinese virus would spread like “wildfire” through huge camps in Bangladesh housing Rohingya Muslims.
A million “vulnerable” people living virtually on top of each other in huts with limited sanitation/few masks, would be devastated we were told!
….are you ready for it!
Seven deaths among 1 MILLION inhabitants from COVID-19 in the last six months.
As a result of their early models the international media was going nuts sending out news about the pending doomsday for Rohingya Muslims as I told you in a series of posts, the most recent one ishere.
LOL! Let’s see if the mainstream media reports on that news from the University—the news that models were wrong.
Instead of putting so much into creating wrong models for refugees half a world away, maybe they should have focused on models for nursing homes in America!
EDGE OF EMERGENCY
Johns Hopkins scientists mobilized early during the pandemic to understand the threat COVID-19 posed to Rohingya refugees and help inform Bangladesh’s response. Their models have led to more questions than answers.
Yeh! We have questions too!
Here is a bit of the longish story in which the word WRONG does not appear.
Almost as soon as reports began circulating earlier this year that a new coronavirus-linked respiratory illness was spreading from China, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health thought of the refugees living in Bangladesh. In the district of Cox’s Bazar, nearly 1 million religious and ethnic minorities from Myanmar called the Rohingya live in refugee camps, with the majority—roughly 600,000—residing in the Kutupalong-Balukhali Expansion Site. At about 5 square miles, it is the world’s largest refugee camp and one of the most densely populated places on the planet.
“A pandemic is particularly worrying, but really any type of disease transmission is concerning when it comes to refugees living in camps because they are often living in high density and with poor water and sanitation,” says Paul Spiegel, director of the center and a professor of the practice in the Department of International Health in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. “We know from past experience that it’s very common for epidemics to transmit easily in these settings.”
Shaun Truelove, an assistant scientist in the departments of International Health and Epidemiology, had conducted previous research on diphtheria and found that the transmission of the bacterial infection was about 60% higher among the Rohingya than in other populations.
He knew the introduction of a highly infectious virus to the region could be devastating.
“Knowing how this population has fared and been treated in the past, we were quite concerned that without prompt action by the international community, the pandemic could be a real disaster,”Truelove says.
To gain a better understanding of the scope of the threat, Truelove and the Infectious Disease Dynamics group led the development of a coronavirus transmission model based on the demographics of the expansion site, assumptions about the health care capacity in Cox’s Bazar, and early data about the transmission potential of the virus, among other variables.
[….]
In the low-transmission scenario, the model suggested that at least 421,500 people could become infected. In the high-transmission scenario, that number reached 589,800—or nearly every person in the expansion site. The number of deaths was expected to be between 2,040 and 2,880.
[….]
“Among a population of nearly a million people, the number of total coronavirus cases reported is around 145,” Truelove says. “These are tiny, tiny numbers.”
More here. Seems the story is choke full of lengthy explanations dancing around having to come right out and say they were wrong.
So much for science!
See my Rohingya Reports category for nearly 12 years of news (242 previous posts) on Rohingya Muslims and all of my posts on how the COVID monster was coming to get them.
As I have been reporting, September is the month when the President normally sends a “determination” to the Hill (for consultation only) in which he reports what the refugee admissions ceiling will be in the upcoming fiscal year which begins October 1. However, he is not required by law to agree to admit any refugees.
There are rumors that President Trump will simply not send anything to Congress effectively signaling a suspension of the program.
Editor: BTW, regular readers of RRW might be interested in seeing two posts at Frauds and Crooks that could easily have been posted here because they are refugee related. See hereand here.
Below we havenews from ABCabout a letter to Pompeo from mostly a bunch of people you (or I) have never even heard of who participated in changing America by changing the people for decades.
Trump admin urged to accept refugees amid concerns it will indefinitely delay admissions
A group of prominent former U.S. officials is joining state and local governments, U.S. lawmakers, religious leaders and resettlement agencies in urging the Trump administration to increase refugee admissions in fiscal year 2021 amid historic need around the world.
The administration is supposed to consult with Congress and make a decision by the end of the fiscal year, in one week. But there is growing concern that President Donald Trump will decide to zero out refugee admissions, delay them indefinitely, or reduce the admissions cap even further.
[….]
A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on Trump’s cap and “the internal discussions or the timeline related to its development,” but told ABC News it was ultimately the president’s decision.
Reutersreported earlier this month that the administration is considering postponing or further cutting admissions.
Seven former U.S. officials who ran the refugee admissions program under both Republican and Democrat administrations urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeoto express alarm at such a suspension and call for a “substantial increase” in admissions.
Do we believe for a second that this letter will hold any sway with the President?
Here is the nothingburger letterand the signatories (Purcell and Dewey are reportedly Republicans):
The Honorable Frank Loy
Former Director of the Bureau of Refugee Programs (1980–1981) Former Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs
James N. Purcell, Jr.
Former Director of the Bureau of Refugee Programs (1982–1986) Former Director General of the International Organization for Migration
The Honorable Phyllis Oakley
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (1994–1997) Former Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research
The Honorable Arthur Dewey
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (2002–2005) Former United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees
Samuel Witten
Former Acting Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration (2007–2009) Former Deputy Legal Adviser for the U.S. Department of State
The Honorable Eric Schwartz
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (2009–2011) Former NSC Senior Director for Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs
The Honorable Anne C. Richard
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (2012–2017) Former Director of the Secretary’s Office of Resources, Plans, and Policy, Department of State
This is basically the same story I reported on two days ago, but I see that Catholic News Service is succeeding in getting it published widely as it keeps popping up around the country.
I thought this version of it, published in Kentucky, sure didn’t highlight the right photo to go along with the story. First, we don’t take refugees from Greek camps, but really, at this point in time does this photo warm your heart?
As federal fiscal year nears, refugee resettlement agencies fear the worst
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has continually called on the administration to allow more refugees into the country.
Why can’t the U.S. Catholic bishops “protect the life and dignity of the human person” in the streets of every major city in America?
In the summer, Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, joined in a statement put out by World Relief and Open Doors about the impact of changes to the nation’s immigration and asylum policy.
“I pray our nation will reverse course and once again stand with refugees and asylum-seekers, including those escaping religious persecution,” Bishop Dorsonville said. “Catholic and evangelical leaders have formally asked the administration to consider refugees fleeing persecution at this time.”
The USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services says its called to defend those seeking shelter, keeping with Catholic Church teaching, and the organization fulfills the commitment of the U.S. Catholic bishops to protect the life and dignity of the human person, including those seeking asylum, refugees and other migrants.
I bet a million bucks that God would be happy with a commitment by the Bishops to help homeless and struggling Americans.
The US Refugee Admissions Program is not dead yet as the refugee industry fears it soon will be—see myprevious post.
For new readers, I’m too lazy to give you a full background report on the subject of Australia’s rejects—migrants who attempted to break into Australia were placed in detention centers on offshore locations. Their fate was, and is, Australia’s responsibility, yet Obama promised Australia we would take hundreds of them to live in your towns and cities.
Trump, much to my shock, agreed to honor the Obama deal. You can go through my “Dumb deal” archive by clicking here.
On Friday we learned that nine more are on the way bringing Trump’s welcome to over 400 so far. By the way, these are mostly young men who have spent years in detention camps.
Really, with all the much more important and interesting news coming at us every other minute, I am sure the US Refugee Admissions Program is the farthest thing from your minds.
However, it isn’t for the resettlement contractors under their lobbying umbrella, the Refugee Council USA*** which held a press call earlier this month to wail and moan over the status of the program.
You can read the story yourself at the Catholic publication Crux, but here is one little snip of the press call (unclear how much press was even on the call).
As federal fiscal year nears, refugee resettlement agencies fear the worst
You will remember that refugee champion, California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, played a major role in the Trump Impeachment charade.
In a Sept. 10 press call hosted by Refugee Council USA, which included a panelist from Catholic Charities Dallas, a volunteer at a Catholic refugee resettlement agency, and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, among others, participants expressed worries about how the administration has chiseled away at the program and its possible demise if a second term of the Trump presidency comes to fruition.
“The administration has systematically reduced our commitment to resettling refugees,” said Lofgren, a Democrat from California and chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. “The Trump administration, regrettably, has completely betrayed the spirit and the letter of the Refugee Act.”
Meanwhile at a rally in Minnesota Trump focused on Joe Biden’s plan to rev-up the refugee program if he wins in November. From Politico:
Trump at Minnesota rally: Biden will turn state into a ‘refugee camp’
Expect some news in the next ten days as fiscal year 2021 arrives on October first.
Remember that there is no requirement in the Refugee Act of 1980for the President to admit a single refugee.
All posts on this year’s determination aretagged FY2021.
***I have an extensive archive on the Refugee Council USA,the Washington DC lobbying office created under the auspices of Church World Service, that works to promote refugee resettlement.