Tag Archives: Refugees

Syrian opposition says refugees will return home as soon as it’s safe

GENEVA (Reuters) – Millions of Syrian refugees just want to return home and will do so if peace talks in Geneva are successful and the fighting ends, a spokesman for the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said on Friday.

More than 4.8 million Syrians are refugees in countries bordering Syria, including Lebanon and Turkey, and in north Africa, while a further 900,000 have applied for asylum in Europe, mostly Germany, since the war began five years ago, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.

“Honestly, if you ask any person about what place is better for him, he will say home,” said Salim al-Muslat as a round of U.N.-mediated peace talks entered its fifth day.

“We appreciate what the other countries did, embracing the Syrian people and the Syrian refugees. But their presence in these countries is temporary, they must return and they will return when they find a safe home in Syria,” Muslat said.”They are waiting for the results of these negotiations. If the results are positive, everyone will pack their luggage and head to Syria.”

Muslat said the negotiating team representing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government was procrastinating and refusing to enter direct talks with the HNC delegation, which wants to get quickly into negotiating a political transition.

“If they insist on indirect talks, they came here in Geneva just to waste time and buy time for Assad,” he said.

Although the HNC is the main opposition delegation, the United Nations’ mediator Staffan de Mistura has also invited several other groups who say they are part of the anti-Assad opposition.

“With all respect to some people who were invited by Mr de Mistura as consultants or whatever, most of them, they were sent by the regime,” Muslat said.

“They’ve been defending this regime even when he (Assad) is committing crimes in Syria and I don’t think that’s acceptable for the Syrians. The Syrians want people who care about them to represent them here.”

The Geneva talks are part of a diplomatic push launched with U.S. and Russian support to end a war that has killed more than 250,000 people, created the world’s worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Alabama suing federal government over refugee resettlement plans

Alabama is taking the federal government to court over the Obama administration’s plans to resettle refugees in America, claiming the White House hasn’t told the state enough about the process and that lack of dialogue and information constitutes a violation of federal law.

Governor Robert Bentley announced the lawsuit in a news release on Thursday, arguing the government wasn’t following the rules laid out in the Refugee Act of 1980.

Alabama is arguing the state was “denied a meaningful role and input into the process” of the government resettling refugees in the state, despite the act requiring the government to consult states before it places any refugees in their communities, according to the governor’s statement.

Bentley was one of several governors who have publicly announced their states will not accept any Syrian refugees. He originally made the announcement in November, just two days after the Paris attacks, and specifically mentioned those attacks when initially making his announcement.

The governor’s office said Thursday the lawsuit covers all refugees that the government wants to place in the state, including those from places other than Syria. The lawsuit references concerns about terrorism.

“Regarding security, Alabama shares the concerns of the intelligence community – including those of the Nation’s highest ranking intelligence officials – that sufficient information is lacking to ensure that certain refugees – including those from Syria – have neither provided material support to terrorists nor are terrorists themselves,” the lawsuit reads.

In announcing the lawsuit, Bentley said he has sent the White House three letters about the program and its potential impacts on Alabama, but “these letters have gone unanswered.”

“As Governor, the Alabama Constitution gives me the sovereign authority and solemn duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of all citizens of Alabama,” Bentley continued in his statement. “The process and manner in which the Obama Administration and the federal government are executing the Refugee Reception Program is blatantly excluding the states.”

Alabama is arguing that because it doesn’t have any information about the refugees, the state can’t prepare for their arrival and their potential impact on public safety and social programs.

Defendants in the lawsuit include the United States, the State Department, the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as well as some leaders in those departments, court filings show.

The governor’s office said the lawsuit is asking for the government to admit it didn’t adequately consult Alabama, medical histories and complete files of every refugee and certification that none of the refugees represent a security risk. The lawsuit is also asking the government to declare it can’t place any refugees in Alabama until it first addresses those other responsibilities.

Cholera Outbreak Threatening World’s Largest Refugee Camp

A cholera outbreak is sweeping through the largest refugee camp in the world.

Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity, reported that seven people have died in Dadaab since the debilitating diarrhoeal disease first hit the Kenyan settlement back on November 23.

In a news release, the doctors said the disease has sickened more than 540 Dadaab residents in all, and doctors built a dedicated treatment center for cholera patients. Doctors said they have seen about 307 in the past three weeks, about 30 percent of whom were children less than 12.

According to the World Health Organization, an arm of the United Nations, cholera is a bacterial disease that can kill within hours if it isn’t treated. The disease is usually transmitted through contaminated food or water, and is fueled by poor hygiene. Refugee camps are particularly at risk for outbreaks because their residents often lack access to clean water and proper sanitation.

Doctors Without Borders reported that funding cuts have accelerated the outbreak, as Dadaab hasn’t received any soap in two months and there aren’t enough latrines for its residents. More than 330,000 refugees live there, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. The doctors worry seasonal rains could lead to more cases, as the weather has already exacerbated the issue.

“After each heavy rain, we see an increase of patients in our treatment (center),” Charles Gaudry, the head of Doctors Without Borders’ mission in Kenya, said in a statement.

Doctors Without Borders said its staff is working to educate the refugees about cholera and decontaminating the living spaces of infected patients, but called for more long-term solutions and improvements at Dadaab, which is located near Kenya’s eastern border with Somalia.

“The fact that this outbreak has occurred further highlights the dire hygiene and living conditions in the camp and a lack of proper long-term investment in sanitation services,” Gaudry said in a statement.

New U.N. Data Suggests Record 60 Million People Displaced Worldwide

The number of people forced to flee their homes in 2015 likely “far surpassed” 60 million, a new record for global displacement, a new report from the United Nations Refugee Agency indicates.

The report, published Friday, projects that about 1 in every 122 people in the world have been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of conflict or persecution. It’s based on data from the first half of the year, which indicated global surges in refugees, asylum-seekers and so-called internally displaced persons, or people who fled their homes but still live in their own countries.

According to the report, there were 20.2 million global refugees at end of June. It was a rise from last year’s total of 19.5 million, and the first time that number hit 20 million since 1992.

The U.N. report also documented a 78 percent increase in applications for asylum during the first half of 2015, from last year’s total of 558,000 to this year’s figure of 993,600. And the number of internally displaced people hit 34 million, an increase of about 2 million over 2014.

“Never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

The Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research, which analyzes global conflict, reported 46 highly violent conflicts in 2014, the most recent year for which data is available.

The U.N. report indicates Syria’s civil war remains the single largest driver behind displacement, with about 4.2 million people fleeing the war-torn nation and another 7.6 million forced out of their homes but still in the country as of mid-2015. But the report notes that even without Syria included in the totals, there still would have been a 5 percent global rise in refugees since 2011.

There was also a rise in new refugees this year — about 839,000 in six months, or 4,600 a day. About half came from Syria and the Ukraine, the site of another armed conflict. Globally, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Myanmar, Eritrea and Iraq were the 10 countries that produced the most refugees.

A large number of refugees flee to neighboring countries, the report indicated. Turkey hosts the most refugees — 1.84 million in all, 1.81 of them from Syria — followed by Pakistan with 1.5 million, “virtually all of them from Afghanistan.” Lebanon is third with 1.2 million — 99 percent of them from Syria — followed by Iran, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, Chad and Sudan.

The United Nations warned that countries hosting the refugees are facing growing pressure, which, if unmanaged, “can increase resentment and abet politicization of refugees.” The report also indicated refugees in this day and age are less likely to return home than at any other point in the past 30 years, according to a statistic the United Nations calls the voluntary return rate.

In terms of asylum, Germany was the runaway leader in new applications. It received 159,900 in the first six months of 2015, nearly equaling the 173,100 it received in 2014. The country is known for having extremely favorable, yet often criticized policies for those who seek to resettle there. Russia was next with about 100,000 — fueled by conflict in Ukraine, the report indicates.

The United States was third with 78,200. While that was an increase of 44 percent from last year, the report indicated that most people who sought asylum in the United States were from countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and China. Syria wasn’t mentioned.

Other countries in the top 10 for most new asylum applications were Hungary, Turkey, South Africa, Serbia, Italy, France and Austria.

The report indicated there were 6.5 million internally displaced people in Columbia, 4 million in Iraq and 2.3 million in Sudan. Pakistan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Ukraine also had more than 1.4 million internally displaced people. Yemen, the site of an ongoing civil war, and Afghanistan also saw surges in their figures, the report indicated.

French PM: Europe can’t accept more refugees

It is impossible for European Union nations to accept any more refugees, the French prime minister has been quoted as saying, and the fate of the bloc depends on its border controls.

Manuel Valls reportedly made the comments in the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Reuters reported that roughly 1 million refugees were expected to arrive in Europe this year. Germany, which began accepting refugees in September, was originally praised for opening its doors for those fleeing the war-torn Middle East. But the nation’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has faced more and more scrutiny as the number of migrants going to Europe has continued to rise.

Valls, in his comments to the German newspaper, warned that Europe’s external borders needed more stringent regulations.

“If we don’t do that, the people will say: Enough of Europe,” Valls was quoted as saying.

The BBC reported that select European nations have enacted stricter border controls in the wake of the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks that left 130 dead. The attacks have added fuel to the debate over the migrants, particularly because a forged Syrian passport was found near one attacker.

Critics fear terrorist groups could take advantage of the ongoing migrant crisis, which Reuters called the continent’s worst since World War II, and use it to funnel terrorists into Europe.

Economic officials from both France and Germany have proposed setting aside $10.7 billion to improve security, border controls and refugee care, Reuters reported.

The European Union has also voted to devote $3.1 billion for an aid facility in Turkey, which it hopes will help lower the number of migrants headed to Europe, Reuters reported. However, it’s still not finalized and it’s unclear if the member nations will give enough money to fully fund it.

A summit between Turkey and the European Union is scheduled for Sunday. Officials told Reuters there are still major hurdles to clear before any migration pact will be finalized.

Canada to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees by February

Canada’s newly elected government will resettle 25,000 refugees from Syria in the next three months, according to multiple published reports, with 10,000 able to arrive by the end of 2015.

That’s a change to the Liberal government’s original plan to bring all 25,000 in by year’s end.

During his election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had promised to bring in all of the refugees before Dec. 31, 2015. But the country’s immigration officials said host communities needed more time to prepare to receive the refugees, according to a CBC report on the subject. They will be spread out through 36 different cities throughout Canada, 13 of them in Quebec.

Resettling 25,000 refugees between the Oct. 19 elections and the Dec. 31 deadline would have required the country to accept more than 340 refugees every day. Some politicians had been asking to slow down the timeline to allow more time for security vetting, the CBC reported.

Trudeau told the CBC that the adjustment to the proposal was “not about security.” While he conceded that recent terrorist attacks in Paris has affected the public perception of refugees, the prime minister insisted that the ISIS-affiliated attacks did not influence the revision to the plan.

“We want these families arriving to be welcomed, not feared,” Trudeau told the CBC.

The country’s public safety minister, Ralph Goodale, told the CBC that security screenings will completed on the refugees before they board a plane to Canada. If the checks uncover any doubts about applications, interviews or data, he said, the application will be put on hold.

The refugees will be a mix of privately sponsored and government-assisted individuals. They must register with the United Nations or government of Turkey, according to a BBC report.

Canada will accept the most vulnerable individuals first. These include entire families, at-risk women, and members of the LGBT community. Single men and those not accompanied by their families won’t be initially included in the relocation plan, according to multiple media reports.

Some are wondering if excluding straight, single men from the plan is really necessary.

Benoit Gomis, an international security analyst, wrote in an email to Newsweek that “the multi-layer vetting process should be sufficient enough to alleviate security concerns,” and noted that there wasn’t any evidence that suggested refugees were more dangerous than non-refugees.

“The Migration Policy Institute recently pointed out that out of the 784,000 refugees resettled in the U.S. since 9/11, only three were arrested for terrorism offenses (and they were not plotting attacks in the U.S.),” he wrote. “This type of knee-jerk reaction is common after terrorist attacks.”

Refugees block Balkan railway, tensions escalate

The countries along the Balkan route for refugees seeking a new life in western Europe began to filter the unending amount of migrants by granting passage only to those that are fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. All others labeled as “economic migrants” would be sent back.

In a report by CBC,  a growing number of Iranians, Bangladeshis and other nationalities from Asia and Africa have gathered in the Greek town of Idomeni.  These migrants who have been stranded have spent days sitting on the train tracks to block the trains, begging to be allowed in as many held signs or shouted “Freedom!”  “We are not terrorists!” and “We are not going back!”

About 1,300 people demonstrated for about four days but the numbers have dwindled as the migrants have given up and searching other paths to gain access into Europe.

Declaring a hunger strike and stripped to the waist, one Iranian man, sewed his lips together with nylon and sat down in front of lines of Macedonian riot police.

Asked by Reuters where he wanted to go, the man, a 34-year-old electrical engineer named Hamid, said: “To any free country in the world. I cannot go back. I will be hanged.”

ABC has estimated that about 500,000 refugees have transited through Macedonia in 2015.

According to many news reports, the temperatures are beginning to drop on the northern routes for these refugees and it is expected to be a harsh winter.  Relief agencies are scrambling to fill the need for shelter, clothing, food and warmth, but fears there will be many that will freeze to death in the coming months.

EU Officials Warn that 3 Million More Refugees Could Flee Syria

The European Union Council President Donald Tusk told European lawmakers on Tuesday that up to 3 million more refugees could flee the fighting in Syria.

The new wave of refugees could worsen the humanitarian crisis that has strained relations between European Union (EU) members and put additional pressure on European border facilities. Currently, 2 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey.

“Today millions of potential refugees and migrants are dreaming about Europe,” Tusk said. He then went on to slam countries that have not honored the EU’s asylum rules.

The EU has currently offered new incentives to Turkey in order to better handle the Syrian refugee crisis. This offer includes up to 1 billion euros, additional EU funding to build six reception centers for refugees in Turkey, better intelligence sharing, and easing of visa restrictions.

“I know that this is a very dramatic dilemma,” Tusk said. “We have to try to cooperate with Turkey because in fact we have no other options.”

Last month, the EU agreed on plans to relocate 120,000 refugees over the next two years.

The International Organization for Migration says it has no reports of more people leaving Syria at this time. They add that Tusk’s statements on the situation are “speculative.”

EU Approves Plan to Relocate Refugees Across Europe

European Union (EU) ministers met on Tuesday and approved a plan for the relocation of the 120,000 mostly-Syrian refugees that have recently arrived in Europe.

The Washington Post reports that all but five EU ministers voted for the plan. Those that were against the plan were: Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania.

The plan includes spreading out the refugees who have already arrived, boosting border control so that fewer could sneak into nations undetected, and providing support to those in refugee camps in the nations surrounding Syria.

This plan to ease one of the worst humanitarian crises in years has divided European nations as richer nations like Germany and Sweden can handle more refugees while poorer nations reject the recent requirements because they feel they can’t handle any refugees. The poorer nations also point out that many refugees would more than likely move to other, richer nations. Currently, Germany has taken in the most refugees and expects to take in at least 800,000 this year.

Despite the EU’s plan, the United Nations has stated that their plans will not be enough, but despite their statement, many EU leaders are pushing for a compromise.

“We need solidarity and responsibility,” said German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, as he entered Tuesday’s negotiations. “This will be a hard session, a hard meeting. I’m not sure that we will have a result. We will work hard. I think it is unacceptable if Europe sends the message to Europeans and the world that there is no possible solution.”

An additional meeting between leaders of EU nations will take place on Wednesday in Brussels.

U.S. to Take 100,000 Refugees A Year by 2017

At a Sunday news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin regarding Europe and the increasing pressure from refugees who are fleeing Syria’s civil war and other Middle Eastern wars, John Kerry announced that the Obama administration will increase the number of refugees the United States takes in each year.  

This move by the Obama administration will increase the number of refugees each year to 100,000 by 2017, a significant increase over the current annual cap of 70,000, Secretary of State John Kerry said. This still falls short of the global demand for resettlement from people who continue to flee turmoil in Syria Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.

“This step that I am announcing today, I believe, is in keeping with the best tradition of America as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope,” Mr. Kerry said, adding that it “will be accompanied by additional financial contributions” for the relief effort.

This plan is not without controversy.   While all refugees would be subject to background checks, a few  Republican lawmakers expressed skepticism about the government’s ability to ensure militants posing as refugees do not infiltrate the U.S.

“ISIS and other terrorist groups have made it abundantly clear that they will use the refugee crisis to try to enter the United States,” wrote Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, in a join statement issued Sunday.

“Now, the Obama administration wants to bring in an additional ten thousand Syrians without a concrete and foolproof plan to ensure that terrorists won’t be able to enter the country. The administration has essentially given the American people a ‘trust me.’ That isn’t good enough,” they said.

The American response is unlikely to relieve much of the pressure on European countries, particularly Germany, which continues to be the most desirable destination for most of the migrants. In the absence of a unified policy, the refugees have been left to find their own way across the continent.