Tag: UNHCR

UNHCR: 80,000 Somalis have returned to Somalia in 2013

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Half a million expected to return home in three years!  Is it time now to stop the flow of Somali “refugees” into the West?  Sure sounds like it!

Another boat full of Somalis washes up in Italy over the weekend. UNHCR should pack them up and take them to their safe zones in Somalia! Get them to work fighting for and rebuilding Somalia!


The Kenyan government has threatened to close one of the largest refugee camps in the world, but so far the UN has persuaded the government (fearful of more terrorists in the camp) to let the migration back to Somalia happen voluntarily.

Here is the news from last week at Xinhua News (hat tip:  Joanne):

DADAAB, Kenya, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Monday said some Somali refugees living in the northern Kenyan camps are willing to return home once they get support.

UNHCR official Mans Nyberg said the Kenyan government did not order the closure of the Dadaab refugee camp as reported by media.

Some refugees had turned up to the UNHCR offices in Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee settlement, to seek more information on their return, the official said.

[….]

The UNHCR and the Kenyan and Somali governments on Nov. 10 signed an agreement on the repatriation of Somali refugees. Up to 80,000 Somali refugees have spontaneously returned to south- central Somalia since January.

Also, last week the UN has identified three priority safe areas for returnees where they will be supplied with the basics to rebuild their lives.

From Reuters:

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has identified three priority areas to which it will help Somali refugees return home from Kenya, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The UNHCR signed an agreement with the governments of both countries on Nov. 10, and half a million Somali refugees living in Kenya are expected to return home voluntarily over the next three years. The number of refugees from Somalia – 1.1 million – is the third highest in the world after Afghanistan and Syria.

[…..]

Mbilinyi [UNHCR rep in Kenya—ed] said the UNHCR can monitor the safety of returnees in these areas through partner non-governmental organisations working on the ground. Reception centres will be set up in the three cities, where returnees will receive food, household basics and other materials to help them rebuild their lives.

“Stability is coming back to Somalia. Most of the country is safe even though of course Shabaab are controlling some cities throughout Somalia,” Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya, Mohammed Ali Nur, told a news conference. “We believe that soon we will liberate the whole country.”

If all of the Somalis trying to find the cushy good life in the West went back to Somalia and worked hard they could easily expel al-Shabaab.

I’ll get in real trouble asking this question, but what makes some people willing to fight to improve their lot and others to become parasitic, is it inherited or learned behavior?

Photo is from this story.

Saudis give the heave-ho to tens of thousands of African migrants

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This time, they are mostly Ethiopians who were in RICH Saudi Arabia looking for work.

Loading them up! UN doesn’t say boo! about racist Saudis! November 13, 2013 (AFP/File, Fayez Nureldine)

In my alerts this morning I see lots of stories about the UN blasting Bulgaria for not being welcoming toward the Syrians, or the UN telling the Burmese Buddhists to be nice to alien Rohingya, or the UN lecturing the EU to open its borders, but funny how there is complete silence from the UN when it comes to Saudi Arabia!   I think I hear that sound!

Here is the news from SA (Gateway Pundit has it too, hat tip: Ed):

Ethiopia has flown home over 50,000 citizens in Saudi Arabia after a crackdown against illegal immigrants in the oil-rich state, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

“We projected the initial number to be 10,000 but it is increasing,” foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told AFP, adding that the final total once the mass airlift ends is now expected to be around 80,000.

Ethiopia started repatriating citizens living illegally in Saudi Arabia after a seven-month amnesty period to formalize their status expired on November 4, sparking violent protests between Saudi police and Ethiopian migrants preparing to leave the country.

[….]

Reports of mistreatment of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia has sparked outrage in Ethiopia.

So much for that Muslim charity the UN was crowing about here in 2009.

Why is it o.k. for Saudi Arabia to tighten its borders, deport illegal migrants and preserve its economy and national character, but not o.k. when the US, Australia or other western countries do it?  I would like George Soros to give us the answer!

Some EU countries turning Syrians back, UN wants it stopped

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

There is more news today about European countries saying ‘no’ to Syrians attempting to get across their borders, and the UNHCR wants a moratorium on the stepped-up border security some countries are putting in place.

Syrian Muslims arrive on Cyprus

Here is the UN High Commissioner for Refugees:

UNHCR is greatly concerned over reports of some EU countries placing barriers to entry or forcibly returning asylum-seekers including people who have fled the conflict in Syria. UNHCR is calling, globally as well as in the European Union, for a shift away from border protection to protection of people. If practices to prevent asylum-seekers from accessing territory and procedures are taking place, UNHCR calls on states to cease them immediately. Push-backs and prevention of entry can put asylum-seekers at further risk and expose them to additional trauma.

In Bulgaria UNHCR is seeking more information from the authorities on their reported activities at the border to stem the flow of refugees into the country. Media reports say Bulgaria turned back 100 migrants at the border over the weekend and deployed some 1,200 police officers to the border region. Introducing barriers, like fences or other deterrents, may lead people to undertake more dangerous crossings and further place refugees at the mercy of smugglers.  [We have written a lot about Bulgaria’s problems here—ed]

UNHCR is also concerned over similar reports of asylum seekers being pushed back from Greece to Turkey.

[….]

In Cyprus, UNHCR has received reports of Syrians arriving irregularly by boat in the northern part of the country and being returned to Turkey following a brief detention.

[….]

UNHCR is calling for a global moratorium on any return of Syrians to neighbouring countries. This would represent a concrete gesture of solidarity with these countries that currently host over 2.2 million Syrian refugees.

Rather than disrupt economically-struggling countries, the UN must build more camps in the Muslim world (hey! how about Saudi Arabia!) for Muslim refugees until the civil war is over!   It would be cheaper than permanent resettlement of Syrians all over the world!  And, they could stay in their own “culture zones.”

BTW, what ever happened to the UN’s “state-of-the-art” camp in Jordan that was sitting empty last time we heard.

The EU is avoiding dealing with the issue of migration until after elections next spring fearing the wrong moves now would usher in the “right wing” here.

Photo is from Deutsche Welle on Cyprus trying to cope.

Kenyan and Somali governments agree Somali refugees to be repatriated

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

And, the UN High Commissioner of Refugees is not happy and stresses that it be a “voluntary” return!

UNHCR tents at Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp. Tents should be easy enough to move back across the border into Somalia!

The September slaughter by Somali Islamic terrorists at the Westgate Mall appears to have been the final straw for welcoming Kenya.

Here is the story at Capital News (emphasis mine):

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 11 – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has stressed that the agreement for the repatriation of Somali refugees signed with the Kenyan and Somali governments on Sunday is based on the premise that the exercise will be voluntary.

In a press statement released on Monday, the UNHCR Representative in Kenya Raouf Mazou said, “It’s very important to underline that no one is forcing Somalis to leave Kenya.”

“The government and people of Kenya have tirelessly provided protection and assistance to Somali refugees for two decades. The agreement we signed on Sunday does not mean Kenya is no longer willing to do so,” he underscored.

[….]

Ever since Kenyan Defence Forces captured Kismayu, believed to be the operational centre of the Al Shabaab terrorists in Somalia, the Kenyan government has been pushing the UNHCR on the repatriation of Somali refugees.

The government has made it clear that the continued hosting of Somali refugees now comes at too high a cost given the spike in terror attacks on Kenya.

[….]

Being left without much choice the UNHCR now says it is focused on ensuring the repatriation exercise is carried out, “in safety and dignity.”

The agreement signed on Sunday will see the Kenyan and Somali governments as well as the UNHCR put in place a plan for the repatriation and reintegration of the Somali refugees housed in Kenya, establish how much that will cost and marshall those funds from the international community.

So, of course this means the US shouldn’t take another supposed Somali “refugee.”  Right!  In fact, it would be cheaper for America in the long run to help finance this repatriation then to take in thousands of needy Somalis as we did this past fiscal year.

Just a reminder, 7,608 new Somali refugees were resettled in the US in FY2013, here.

Arabs continue to abuse Palestinian Refugees’ rights

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

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 Telegraph is 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.