NPR: That Little Syrian Boy: Here's Who He Was (Warning: Graphic)

[Gamebreaker]

The facts about the Syrian refugee controversy.

 

http://erlc.com/article/explainer-what-you-should-know-about-the-syrian-refugee-controversy

 

So, according to that link, all of these states have refused to allow Syrian refugees in their state. But truthfully, the best they can lawfully do is not fully cooperate with the Federal Government. 

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-politics-exitpoll-idUSKBN0TP0S020151206?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

France's far-right National Front leads in regional elections
 

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front party led in the first round of French local elections, TV exit polls showed on Sunday, with Le Pen and her niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen both gaining more than 40 percent in the north and southeast of the country.

 

If confirmed, the result would be a boost for Le Pen, who had hoped her anti-immigrant, anti-euro party would emerge top in the first round, boosting her hopes for 2017 presidential elections.

 

There will be a run-off on Dec.13.

 

The National Front secured 30.6 percent of the vote nationally, an exit poll by Ifop-Fiducial poll showed, ahead of former president Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative Les Republicains party and their allies, who secured 27 percent.

 

As expected, President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists came third polling 22.7 percent.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/12031679/Across-Europe-with-Tommy-Robinson-inside-the-new-wave-of-anti-immigration-protest-coming-soon-to-Britain.html

Across Europe with Tommy Robinson: inside the new wave of anti-immigration protest coming soon to Britain

 

Late Monday night in Dresden, Germany, former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson gave a speech to a large group of Pegida supporters. He told the crowd that he’s been working with nationalist groups across Europe in order to coordinate a Europe wide movement that seeks to, in his words, counter the "Islamification of our countries". The first demo, he said, will be taking place on February 6, 2016, in at least 12 European countries simultaneously, all marching under a single banner: ‘'Save our Country. Save our Culture. Save Our Future."

 

I’ve been following Tommy for the last few months for my next book, Radicals. After he left the EDL a couple of years back, he spent time in jail for mortgage fraud, and had tired of running a near uncontrollable street-based movement. He joined the Quilliam Foundation, an anti-extremism think-tank, but that petered out. The end of his licence period for the fraud case coincided with the refugee crisis, and he decided to get back involved in street politics. He still thinks Islam poses a real and growing risk to the culture and identity of Europe, and that the refugee crisis is bringing this forward.

 

On November 17, I was with Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – as he travelled to the Czech Republic to meet representatives from Pegida and a similar Czech group called "Bloc Against Islam" (which grew out of the "Czech Defence League", modelled on its English equivalent) to get them to sign up to this idea. Robinson was due to speak at a rally partly organised by the Bloc, but did not because at the last moment a new speaker was announced: the country’s President Milos Zeman, who is an outspoken critic of Islam, immigration and the EU. Six thousand people turned out in Prague to listen.

 

That a head of state would turn up at all to this sort of rally is a sign of changing times – and the reason Robinson feels bullish. Although polls suggest the majority of Europeans do feel a duty to help refugees, the Bloc, like similar groups across Europe, has been galvanised by the crisis. Established anti-immigration parties such as the Swedish Democrats, the Austrian Freedom Party and the Danish People’s party have had a spike in popularity. Pegida, which stands for "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident" has been demonstrating in towns across Germany every Monday since 2014, with its stronghold in Dresden. Although its support fatigued in early 2015, it’s seen a resurgence in the last few months – and many have noticed a hardening of the group’s rhetoric.

 

Following a minute's silence for the victims of the Paris attacks, President Zeman launched a tirade against political correctness, against media manipulation, against the EU.

 

"Brainwashing is harder now that it used to be, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist," he said, in steady tones. "We must not be silenced with insults like 'Islamophobic' or 'xenophobic' or 'fascist'. An insult isn't an argument! It just shows lack of thought!" ("Ha!" said Milan, the Prague leader of Bloc, while translating simultaneously for me. "This is our president!").

 

Zeman continued: "We have no problems with foreigners: there are half a million in the Czech Republic. But this culture [being brought by the refugees] is not compatible with ours. Ours is not a culture of murder or religious hatred!" ("Ha!" said Milan again, "that's perfect"). "The immigrants are young men. Why are these men not fighting for the freedom of their country against Islamic State!?" (Cheers) "Why do they come to Europe? Why don't they stay to make their own countries better?" (More cheers).

[visionary]

http://bnonews.com/news/index.php/news/id2994

Number of asylum seekers in Germany reaches record 1 million this year

 

The number of immigrants who have entered Germany this year and registered themselves as asylum seekers has surpassed 1 million, including more than 200,000 who entered the country last month alone.

 

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/196462

U.N. Says 12,000 Syrian Refugees Stranded at Jordan Border

 

Around 12,000 people who have fled the war in Syria are stranded at the Jordanian border, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday, urging authorities to allow them into the country.

 

Warning of "deteriorating humanitarian conditions", the UNHCR appealed to the government to prioritize entry for the most vulnerable, including the elderly, babies under six months of age and pregnant women.

 

A statement said 11,000 refugees were in Rukban, about eight kilometers (five miles) from the point where the Syrian, Iraqi and Jordanian borders meet. The remaining 1,000 are in Hadalat, about 90 kilometers further west.

 

The areas are in a rocky desert area, devoid of shade, water or vegetation, the statement said.

 

"The health situation is deteriorating, with increasing signs of diarrhea, vomiting and acute malnutrition among children," it added.

 

"If refugees are not admitted to Jordan and substantial assistance not provided, the lives of refugees will be at risk in the coming winter."

 

The UNHCR noted Jordan's "tremendous contribution" in hosting more than 630,000 refugees. It also highlighted the heavy strain that has put on the country's infrastructure and economy, as well as security concerns.

 

Amman says the actual number is 1.4 million, equivalent to 20 percent of the small kingdom's population.

 

https://www.hrw.org/node/284243/

Jordan: Syrians Held in Desert Face Crisis

 

Satellite Imagery Confirms Thousands in Remote Border Zone

Jordan is blocking thousands of Syrian asylum seekers at its northeastern border region in deplorable conditions, Human Rights Watch said today. Satellite images taken on December 5, 2015, confirm that thousands of people are stuck in remote desert areas just inside Jordan’s border with Syria.

 

Aid workers with close knowledge of the situation say the vast majority of the 12,000 people in the area are women and children who urgently need more food, water, and medical assistance. On December 8, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said they included the sick and wounded, and that Jordan was putting people’s lives at risk. Jordan should stop stranding people in remote border areas for months on end and swiftly screen them in the country’s well-established transit centers, Human Rights Watch said.

 

“Jordan is blocking 12,000 people fleeing war in remote desert areas without proper help,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should swiftly allow them to reach transit centers and should make sure they get all the help they need.”

 

In June, Human Rights Watch documented that Jordan’s mid-2013 border closure near Syria’s most populated areas in the west had forced Syrians to travel hundreds of kilometers to the far northeastern part of Jordan, where some were allowed to cross at the Rukban and Hadalat border points, north of the Jordanian town of al-Ruweishid.

 

However, in July 2014, Jordan also severely restricted entry at these two border crossings. Since then, thousands of Syrians have waited for two to three months to reach Jordan’s asylum seeker transit sites, living in tents just north of a raised sand barrier, or “berm,” which marks the limit of a demilitarized zone inside Jordan, several hundred meters south of the Syrian-Jordanian border.

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3350009/While-world-looks-way-Body-young-refugee-girl-washes-shores-Turkey-migrant-crisis-shows-no-sign-slowing.html

While the world looks the other way: Body of young refugee girl washes up on the shores of Turkey as migrant crisis shows no sign of slowing

 

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Girl, aged five or six, discovered in Izmir as poignant photos show her lifeless body

 

Three months after picture of Aylan sparked worldwide debate with millions sharing the image on social media

 

More than 2,500 migrants are thought to have died trying to reach Europe as dozens of similar photos emerge

[China]

Child brides pose new challenge in ongoing refugee crisis

 

The case of a pregnant 14-year-old refugee girl from Syria, who also already had an 18-month-old child when she arrived in Norway with her husband this autumn, has posed a major dilemma for Norwegian authorities. Police have now decided to investigate, and may file charges against the 23-year-old father.

 

Under Norwegian law, the girl is a victim of sexual abuse and alleged forced marriage, and her husband may be guilty of having sex with a child. The offenses clearly occurred, however, outside Norway, which initially prompted Norwegian police to refrain from filing any charges when the young family first crossed the border from Russia in Northern Norway.

 

Public outcry when the case of the child bride became known, along with clear signals from government officials and many top politicians, prompted police to reconsider. “We will follow this up as a criminal case,” prosecutor Jens Herstad of the Øst-Finnmark Police District told state broadcaster NRK. Herstad said other state agencies will also be mobilized to assist the 14-year-old, who is now staying at an asylum center in southern Norway along with her child and husband.

 

While the police were roundly criticized for not acting immediately, Norwegian social anthropologist Unni Wikan warned that more such cases are likely to arise and present more dilemmas over how to handle asylum seekers who are child brides.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

http://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-refugees-join-hanukkah-candle-lighting-in-berlin/

Syrian refugees join Hanukkah candle-lighting in Berlin

 

A group of Syrian refugee children — along with other Muslim groups in Berlin — joined with Jewish groups for a public Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony in the German capital.

 

On Sunday, the Syrian children joined with local Jewish kids to light the giant Chabad menorah at the Brandenburg Gate. Aiman Mazyek, head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, and representatives of Berlin mosques attended the ceremony.

At a time when concerns have been raised about possible anti-Semitism among the 800,000 Muslim refugees now seeking asylum here, the joint celebrations sent a message “that peace and tolerance are stronger than any dispute,” said Rabbi Yehudah Teichtal, the head of Chabad in Berlin, said at the ceremony.

 

“Those who spread fear have but one purpose, to destroy the unity and peace between cultures,” he said.

 

The annual celebration at Brandenburg Gate took place even though many Jews in Germany are hesitant to display religious symbols openly following an increase in anti-Semitic violence in Europe. Chabad claims its menorah is the biggest in Europe, and has been lighting it in a public ceremony at the historical landmark for 14 years.

 

German Minister of Culture Monika Grütters also lit the menorah. Other guests included the US ambassador to Germany, John Emerson, Israeli diplomat Avi Nir, and the ambassadors of Britain, Poland, Italy, Ukraine, Brazil and Denmark.

 

“It is very symbolic that here at the Brandenburg Gate, which symbolizes Germany’s greatest moments on one hand and its darkest on the other, we celebrate Hanukkah together,” Grutters said.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-1000-syrian-refugees-ended-up-in-a-remote-village-in-mali-2015-12

How 1,000 Syrian refugees ended up in a remote village in Mali

 

In In-Khali, a small Malian village 300 kilometers north of Kidal and near the country's border with Algeria, 100 Syrian refugees, many of them children, wait to pass the border, which is officially closed, to continue their journey toward Europe.

 

Over the last two months, 1,000 of those refugees, stemming from the large-scale displacement caused by the civil war in Syria, have passed through this desert hamlet according to the Coordination of the Azawad movements (CMA). The CMA controls vast areas in northern Mali, and a Sahlien correspondent met with a representative of the group in In-Khalil. Over 4.2 million people have fled Syria as the result of the country's conflict, according to the UN.

 

In Mali, the refugees' journey takes them through Nouakchott, in Mauritania, where they arrive by plane, in order to take advantage of the fact that Syrians do not have to have visas to enter the country. They then continue to Bassikounou in southeastern Mauritania near the border with Mali — the town is also the site of Mbera, a major refugee camp for people fleeing instability in Mali.

 

From there, smugglers transport the Syrians to Ber, a locality in the Tombouctou region of Mali that's controlled by the CMA. Even at that point, the refugees have a long journey through the desert ahead of them. Every day, two to four pick-up trucks loaded with Syrians arrive from Ber at In-Khalil, where difficult conditions await them.

 

“We welcome them here every day,” Mbareck Ould Mohamed Ali, a citizen of In-Khalil who houses Syrian refugees told Sahelien. “Something needs to be done for these people. They have nothing to eat, nothing to drink.”

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/malonebarry

Great shot. Canada's PM Justin Trudeau greets Syrian refugees arriving in Toronto today. (Reuters/Mark Blinch)
2:18 AM

 

And helping a young girl try on a winter coat. (Reuters/Mark Blinch)
2:48 AM

[visionary]

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/12/11/syrian-refugees-arriving-at-pearson-tonight-but-well-wishers-asked-to-stay-home.html

‘We are very happy to be in Canada,’ says newly arrived Syrian refugee

 

After a long day of travel, the first group of Syrian refugees airlifted to Canada checked in to their hotel just before 4 a.m. Friday.

 

“We suffered a lot,” said Kevork Jamkossian, who stepped off the first government flight with his wife, Georgina Zires, and the couple’s 16-month-old daughter, Madeleine.

 

“Now, we feel as if we got out of hell and we came to paradise,” Jamkossian said.

 

The Canadian forces plane carrying 163 privately sponsored refugees touched down at Pearson International Airport just before midnight, its passengers met by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and other dignitaries.

 

Trudeau and Wynne greeted the first two families to come through processing and gave them winter coats.

 

“We’re so glad you’re here,” Wynne told the family, before handing Madeleine a teddy bear, which the young girl accepted with a shy smile.

 

Some more pictures

http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/canada-welcomes-refugees?articleId=USRTX1Y62O&utm_source=twitter#qhCtpoXCWWgxKLBY.97

Canada welcomes refugees

[visionary]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/second-planeload-of-syrian-refugees-arrives-in-montreal/article27739698/

Second planeload of Syrian refugees arrives in Montreal

 

A second federal government planeload of Syrian refugees arrived in Montreal Saturday night.

 

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard was on hand along with a number of federal cabinet ministers to greet the refugees.

 

Couillard told some of the volunteers on hand to help the refugees during their first hours in Canada that he was very proud of them.

 

He says he is taking a particular interest in the refugee arrival because he and his wife will be sponsoring a Syrian family due to arrive early next year.

 

The arrival comes less than 48 hours after a government aircraft brought 163 refugees to Toronto.

 

More than 400 refugees have arrived by commercial flights since the federal Liberals took power last month, but the refugees arriving in the past two days are the first to be brought by government aircraft.

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne greeted the refugees as they arrived in Toronto in the early hours of Friday morning.

The federal government plans to bring 25,000 Syrians to Canada by the end of February.

[visionary]

http://news.yahoo.com/french-far-fails-win-single-region-elections-estimates-190441942.html;_ylt=A0LEVigGwm1WECsAiVhjmolQ

French far-right fails to win a single region in elections: estimates

 

France's far-right National Front (FN) failed to win a single region in elections on Sunday despite record results in the first round, early estimates showed, as voters flocked to traditional parties to keep it out of power.

 

The leader of the anti-immigration FN, Marine Le Pen, lost out to the centre-right alliance in her northern region after the ruling Socialists pulled out of the race ahead of the second round.

 

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35088276?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

French far right Front National 'routed' in key vote.

 

France's far-right Front National (FN) is beaten into third place in the second round of regional elections, exit polls indicate.

 

Early results suggest the party failed to win a single region, despite leading in six of 13 regions in the first round of votes a week ago.

 

The polls suggest Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right Republican party is ahead of the ruling Socialists.

 

FN leader Marine Le Pen and her niece were both candidates.

 

Early projections suggest both have failed to be elected.

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/merkel-germany-reduce-refugee-arrivals-151214160215823.html

Merkel says Germany will reduce refugee arrivals

 

Chancellor Angela Merkel says her government now plans to "significantly reduce" the number of refugees entering Germany after facing opposition from a faction of her party.

 

Speaking at an annual conference of her conservative Christian Democrats party, Merkel said opening Germany's borders in September to the hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees was "nothing more or less than a humanitarian imperative".

"We want to and we will noticeably reduce the number of refugees because it's in the interest of everyone," she said on Monday in western city of Karlsruhe.

 

"And, dear friends, it's in the interest of the refugees themselves because nobody, no matter why they make the journey, thoughtlessly leaves his home."

 

Germany expects more than one million refugees to arrive this year as part of Merkel's open-door policy for asylum seekers, which has won her worldwide praise.

 

On Monday, the influential Financial Times named her person of the year, a week after the US weekly Time magazine declared her its person of the year over the handling of the refugee crisis.

 

Merkel condemned rich countries for failing to properly fund the United Nations refugee agency and its World Food Programme, calling the lack of financing "unforgivable" and "unacceptable".

 

Despite the humanitarian move, the arrival of so many refugees in Germany has resulted in a xenophobic backlash from far-right groups with a rising number of cases of arson attacks on refugee shelters, assaults, and swastikas sprayed on walls.

 

http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/country.php?id=502

Following the humanitarian crisis in Europe: Estimated daily arrivals

 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/11/politics/national-refugee-sunday/index.html

Hundreds of U.S. churches fund-raising to resettle refugees

[visionary]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/syrians-flock-to-german-rust-belt-city-of-wuppertal-1450226284

Syrians Flock to German Rust-Belt City of Wuppertal

 

In city looking for new vitality, migrants find abundant housing, ample help from immigrants who came before, and plenty of difficulties

 

http://syruptrap.ca/2015/12/syrian-family-gets-into-america-by-disguising-themselves-as-guns/

Syrian family gets into U.S. by disguising themselves as guns

 

A family of refugees from Al Hasakah, Syria gained easy admittance into the United States on Monday after tricking U.S. immigration officials into thinking they were a family of guns.

 

Amin and Jamila Halabi, along with daughters Najwa and Zaida, were quickly ushered through the mandatory refugee screening process at Newark International Airport after border agents noticed that they were guns.

 

“Right this way, Mr. and Mrs. Gun,” said U.S. Border Services agent Lisa Bremner. “We have an airport shuttle waiting for you outside.”

 

Amin Halabi explained that the family came up with the idea after being turned down by the U.S. for permanent residency last month.

 

“Do we have to keep doing this? Does this mean I must lead the life of a gun?” asked Halabi.

 

Border agent Sam Kearney said that the Halabi family’s experience was what U.S. immigration policy was all about.

 

“When you think about it, this is just a regular family of guns that wants to live a peaceful, quiet life. They didn’t choose to be here,” said Kearney.

“Our borders will always be open to families like theirs.”

[visionary]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/17/world/middleeast/syrian-border.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

Syria’s Treacherous Borderlands

 

There has been no easy way out for many of the more than four million Syrians who have fled their country since 2012....

Blocked at Jordan’s Border

 

Nearly 12,000 Syrians are in refugee camps in a demilitarized zone at the border with Jordan, which is blocking their efforts to enter the country. A satellite image from Dec. 13 shows more than 1,450 tents at the biggest camp, Rukban.

 

According to the United Nations, the number of people in these locations has risen from 4,000 to 12,000 since the beginning of November. Aid workers say the increasing numbers stuck in the area are making hygiene and sanitation worse, and winter temperatures are putting the refugees’ health and safety in jeopardy.

 

Braving Minefields in Turkey Last Year

 

Last year, during the struggle for control in Kobani on Syria’s northern border with Turkey, residents of the region sought alternate routes out of the country. For some, this meant driving through the Tel Shair corridor, an area that has been seeded with landmines for decades. The minefield runs nearly the entire length of the border with Turkey and sits on the Turkish side.

 

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/678123376045637632

AFP: Turkish media reports that 18 migrants have drowned after a boat sank in the Aegean Sea
3:03 AM

[visionary]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/28/world/middleeast/syria-refugees-alan-aylan-kurdi.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Syrian Family’s Tragedy Goes Beyond Iconic Image of Boy on Beach

 

When Alan Kurdi’s tiny body washed up on a beach in Turkey, forcing the world to grasp the pain of Syria’s refugees, the 2-year-old boy was just one member of a family on the run, scattered by nearly five years of upheaval.

 

As a Turkish officer lifted the boy from the shallow waves at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, one of Alan’s teenage cousins was alone on a bus in Hungary, fleeing the fighting back home in Damascus.

 

An aunt was stuck in Istanbul, nursing a baby, as her son and daughter worked 18-hour shifts in a sweatshop so the family could eat. Dozens of other relatives — aunts, uncles and cousins — had fled the war in Syria or were making plans to flee.

 

And just weeks after Alan’s image shocked the world in September, another aunt prepared to do what she had promised herself to avoid: set sail with four of her children on the same perilous journey.

 

“We die together, or we live together and make a future,” her 15-year-old daughter said, concluding, as have hundreds of thousands of other Syrians, that there was no going back, and that the way to security led through great risk.

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/ai-wei-wei-photos-lesbos-capture-refugee-life-151229053732453.html

Refugee crisis: Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei visits Lesbos

 

Rubber dinghies making their way to the shore, freezing children warming by a night fire, piles of abandoned life vests, long queues at a registering centre.

 

These are some of the scenes captured by Ai Wei Wei, the renowned Chinese artist who is currently visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos.

 

The 58-year-old activist has been sharing pictures and videos on his personal Instagram account, drawing attention to the plight of the thousands of refugees risking stormy waters to escape war and hardship.

 

"Lovely boy from Syria at the refugee camp," reads a caption on one of Ai Wei Wei's photos showing a shyly-smiling child in a woolly hat near a cluster of tents.

"Brave man from Afghanistan," reads another.

[visionary]

http://petra.gov.jo/Public_News/Nws_NewsDetails.aspx?Site_Id=1〈=2&NewsID=230681&CatID=-1

Red Cross to continue services for Syrian refugees

 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on Thursday that it is providing people stranded at the berm in the border area between Jordan and Syria with winter clothes, firewood and blankets to withstand the harsh winter, said Hala Shamlawi, Spokesperson of the ICRC Jordan.

 

She added that this comes as thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan are struggling to find warmth as winter falls. "With the falling temperatures, refugees living in tents and caravans in camps or among host communities are trying to survive with limited sources during winter," Shamlawi said.

 

The ICRC, she noted, is helping some 3,000 Syrian families in host communities in Mafraq and Madaba, the majority of whom are female-headed households, with monthly cash instalments, in cooperation with the Jordan Red Crescent Society (JRCS).

 

"At Rukban and Ruwayshid transit sites at the northeastern border, the ICRC distributed around 50,550 ready-to-eat meals, 22,200 sanitary pads, 18,700 diapers, 6,500 soap bars and 1,300 bottles of shampoo," she added.

 

As for water and sanitation, the ICRC trucked 7,300 cubic metres of potable water to the berm near Hadalat and Rukban, as well as to Hadalat, Rukban, Bustana and Ruwayshid transit sites for drinking and domestic use.

 

Meanwhile, at the ICRC-run clinic at Raba’a Al Sarhan Registration Centre in Mafraq, some 4,000 Syrians received medical screening, 1,250 benefited from clinical services and 80 were transferred by ambulance to other health facilities, in cooperation with the JRCS, the spokesperson noted.

[visionary]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/05/refugees-eu-resettles-tiny-number-pledged-target-four-months?CMP=share_btn_tw

Refugees: EU resettles just 0.17% of pledged target in four months

 

European countries have resettled just 0.17% of the asylum seekers they promised to welcome four months ago, it has emerged, in a revelation that campaigners say is the latest failure of Europe’s confused response to the continent’s refugee crisis.

 

EU officials announced this week that just 272 Syrians and Eritreans have been formally transferred (pdf) from the countries on the frontline of the migration crisis, Greece and Italy, to countries elsewhere in the continent. It constitutes 0.17% of the 160,000 refugees that EU members pledged to share at a summit in September, and 0.03% of the 1,008,616 asylum seekers who arrived by sea in 2015.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/world/europe/coordinated-attacks-on-women-in-cologne-were-unprecedented-germany-says.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Reports of Attacks on Women in Germany Heighten Tension Over Migrants

 

The tensions simmering beneath Germany’s willingness to take in one million migrants blew into the open on Tuesday after reports that scores of young women in Cologne had been groped and robbed on New Year’s Eve by gangs of men described by the authorities as having “a North African or Arabic” appearance.

 

Taking advantage of the New Year’s Eve street party, hundreds of young men broke into groups and formed rings around young women, refusing to let them escape, the authorities said. Some groped victims while others stole wallets or cellphones.

 

Witnesses described the atmosphere around the city’s central train station as aggressive and threatening, with firecrackers being thrown into the crowd. The women who were attacked screamed and tried to fight their way free, a man who had struggled to protect his girlfriend told German public television.

In Hamburg, the police said 10 women had reported that they were sexually assaulted and robbed in a similar fashion on the same night.

 

It was not clear that any of the men involved were among those who arrived in Germany over the past year from conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

 

Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a statement, called the assaults disgusting. “Everything must be done to investigate as completely and quickly as possible those who are guilty and to punish them regardless of how they look, where they come from or what their background is,” she said.

 

The assaults initially were not highlighted by the police and were largely ignored by the German news media in the days afterward.

 

The attacks and the livid reaction to them presented a new political challenge for the chancellor, whose decision to take in refugees from conflict-ridden nations opened the doors to waves of migrants last summer and fall. As the number of asylum-seekers has grown and the challenge of assimilating them has become clearer, Ms. Merkel has come under intensifying criticism for failing to anticipate the social and economic costs of her policy.

[visionary]

http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_29370359/moulton-bring-syrian-refugee-president-obamas-state-union

Moulton to bring Syrian refugee to President Obama's State of Union address

 

Rep. Seth Moulton, who recently slammed Gov. Charlie Baker for saying he wasn't interested in accepting Syrian refugees before he learned about the federal government's screening process, is bringing a 9-year-old Syrian refugee to the State of the Union on Tuesday.

 

Ahmad Alkhalaf, who lost both his arms in a regime airstrike while in a Syrian refugee camp, will be Moulton's guest at President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address.

 

When a bomb hit the Syrian refugee camp where Ahmad and his family were living, it killed three of his siblings and caused Ahmad to lose both of his arms.

Ahmad and his father now live in the Boston area, where Ahmad has been receiving medical care from Boston Children's Hospital. His mother and four other siblings are living in Turkey.

 

In a letter he wrote to Obama, Ahmad tells his story and asks the president to consider the plight of other Syrian refugees and particularly children.

"I remember the screaming and the blood," he wrote to Obama. "There was so much blood... Now, I have no arms. I was so sad, but my dad told me to be patient. He said, 'Be patient, Ahmad, even with no arms, there is nothing you cannot do.'

 

"There are many children like me. Even if they did not lose their arms, then they lost everything else," added Ahmad, who now lives in Sharon.

Ahmad also states in the letter that his dream is to get new arms and to see his mom again.

 

 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=93686&NewsCatID=347

Turkey plans to issue work permits for Syrians

 

Ankara is planning to offer Syrian refugees work permits in order to encourage fewer of them to migrate to Europe, Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozkır said Jan. 11, amid pressure from the EU to reduce the flow of migrants from Turkey.

 

“We are trying to reduce the pressure for illegal migration by giving Syrians in Turkey work permits,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Bozkır as saying, speaking at a joint press conference with European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans after Bozkır hosted Timmermans in the EU Ministry in Ankara.

 

“The refugee crisis, by nature, is the most important problem of the EU as well as of Turkey. This is even an agony for humanity,” Bozkır said.

 

“The number of migrants captured attempting to migrate illegally has exceeded 150,000, reaching the amount of twice that of last year. Turkish authorities capture around 500 migrants daily,” he said.

“Illegal migration should be turned into legal migration and human traffickers who create the environment of illegal migration should be arrested. Efforts made by coast guards should be beefed up so that there will be no toddlers washing up on beaches,” he added.

 

Timmermans said during the press conference that the number of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to EU member Greece was still “way too high” despite a November deal with Ankara aiming to limit the flow.

 

“The numbers are still way too high in Greece, between 2,000 and 3,000 people [arrive] every day. We cannot be satisfied at this stage,” Timmermans said, making similar statements he made last week in Amsterdam in which he said “we have seen the first results, which are encouraging. But we are a long way from being satisfied.”

 

“I also said to the minister that we need... to be very explicit on what elements of the action plan have already been implemented and where we still need work,” Timmermans said. “I believe we need to speed our work to get some of the projects in place.”

 

Under an action plan agreed in November, EU leaders pledged 3 billion euros in aid for the more than 2.2 million Syrian refugees sheltering in Turkey, in exchange for Ankara acting to reduce the flow.

 

Timmermans said education for children should be the priority in deploying the funds.

“The money has not been paid yet but I’ve asked Turkish ministers this morning to identify the projects we can finance immediately so Syrian children can go to school,” he said.

 

http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2015/what-food-means-to-me-around-the-world-ajeats/index.html#sweden

A Syrian refugee in Sweden

 

Mais, 25, cooks Syrian dishes in her new country of Sweden to keep the memories of Aleppo alive.

 

I left Aleppo in February 2011, one month before the uprising started, and lived in Lebanon until I moved to Sweden in September 2014.

My favourite restaurant in Aleppo was located in the Old City.

It was called Dar Zamaraya and they served delicious Syrian dishes. My favourite dish had cherries and meat, but, to be honest, everything they served was just perfect. I remember the guy who used to serve shisha at the restaurant. He was a Kurd from Afrin, and he was always smiling. He used to tell me about his dream of travelling to Erbil to open his own shisha shop there.

In Beirut, my workplace was multicultural. I used to cook Syrian food and share it with my colleagues. My French-Canadian colleague introduced me to tarte a l’oignon. My Italian friend taught me how to perfectly boil spaghetti.

Everybody would share a dish from their homeland. Food diversity is amazing; how every group of people on this planet use what nature gives differently, and how it’s always related to our history.

“I make the same dishes that my grandmother and her grandmother cooked.”

I cook Syrian food at home all the time. I make the same dishes that my grandmother and her grandmother cooked. I made mloukhiya and kibbeh the other day.

As I come from a city known for its food, I enjoy cooking for my non-Syrian friends, to keep the memories of my city alive.

What I most love about our food is that there is a story behind most of the dishes we make. My grandfather was a great cook. He used to tell me stories about the origin of every dish he made, and where its name came from.

A lot of places in Sweden sell Arabic products, especially from Syria. There are now a lot of Syrian restaurants here. You can get most of our dishes, like stuffed eggplant (makdous), falafel, Arabic bread and others. I know from Syrian friends who ended up in Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands that it’s the same there.

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-syria-migrants-idUSKCN0UQ2HS20160112?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Canada resettles 10,000 Syrian refugees, few problems so far

 

Canada prepared on Tuesday to welcome its 10,000th Syrian refugee since November, and resettlement workers said the heavy influx has gone smoothly despite a shortage of housing in Toronto and a pepper-spray incident in Vancouver.

 

"We had a tough time bringing in this flow of 10,000, but we are getting used to it," said Ahmad Hematya, executive director of the Afghan Association of Ontario, which has sponsored more than 200 newcomers in recent weeks.

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals, elected in October on a promise to accept more refugees more quickly than the previous Conservative government, had promised to bring in 25,000 Syrians by the end of December but pushed back that timeline to March because of concerns about security screening and logistics.

 

According to the government's immigration website, 9,593 Syrian refugees had arrived in Canada between Nov. 4, when Trudeau was sworn into office, and Jan. 11.

 

The mostly smooth arrival of the refugees was marred on Friday when a man riding a bicycle unleashed pepper spray on a group of refugees after a welcome event in Vancouver, according to Vancouver police.

 

Trudeau was quick to condemn the attack, Tweeting that it "doesn't reflect the warm welcome Canadians have offered," and resettlement workers shrugged off the incident as not even worth mentioning, given an outpouring of public support.

 

Apkar Mirakian, chair of the committee helping to sponsor refugees through the Armenian Community Centre of Toronto, said the biggest challenge has been finding enough housing.

 

He said about 40 families are living at a city hotel temporarily but that sponsors and resettlement workers can usually find permanent housing within two weeks.

 

"The main objective is to get all these people to work, and then there are the children who want to go to school now that the holidays are over," said Mirakian, whose group has overseen the arrival of 700 newcomers in four weeks.

[visionary]

http://www.globalpost.com/article/6718658/2016/01/12/lives-syrian-refugees-lebanon-are-being-endangered-restrictions-movement

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are being forced underground

 

Abdullah was at home in an informal tented settlement for Syrian refugees when 300 soldiers raided the camp near Halba, in northern Lebanon. He was slapped, kicked and handcuffed, he said, and then later interrogated about armed groups in his village. 

 

When he tried to produce a certificate from the United Nations that showed his refugee status, he said one of the soldiers replied: “Go pay a sponsor some money or return to your country. We are the state, you obey our laws. The UN means nothing.”

 

Abdullah said he was detained for two days without food or water. His testimony, along with that of dozens of other refugees in the country, are contained in a report released today by Human Right Watch.

 

Stories like Abdullah’s are becoming increasingly familiar in Lebanon, where harsh laws restricting the movement of Syrians are having a chilling effect on the lives of refugees living here. But the same is true in other countries hosting refugees in the region, as new rules are putting the squeeze on those fleeing war.

 

The refugee crisis caused by the Syrian civil war has affected Lebanon more severely than any of its neighbors. There are approximately 1.2 million Syrian refugees in the country — a remarkable figure considering Lebanon’s population was only four million before the war. The number of unregistered refugees is unknown.

 

In January 2015, as it struggled to deal with the weight of the crisis, Lebanon imposed tough new controls on its border with Syria that made it harder for those fleeing war and persecution to cross into the country. At the same time, the Lebanese government made it more difficult for Syrians who are already residents of Lebanon to renew their visas.

 

Nadim Houri, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said this has made life “impossible” for many refugees in Lebanon, pushing them into the shadows and underground. “The last thing Lebanon needs is a large, undocumented community living at the margins of society, at heightened risk of abuse,” he said.

 

https://twitter.com/PatrickKingsley

More details on game-changing proposals to give Syrians the right to work in Turkey. http://mobile.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_government-says-syrian-refugees-in-turkey-to-be-given-work-permits_409406.html

3:33 AM

 

The current lack of work permits in one reason why many Syrians who initially fled to Turkey then went to Europe. 
3:34 AM

 

It is also a reason why some Syrians fleeing directly from Syria do not try to settle in Turkey in the first place.
3:36 AM

[visionary]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/15/switzerland-joins-denmark-in-seizing-assets-from-refugees-to-cover-costs?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Switzerland joins Denmark in seizing assets from refugees to cover costs

 

Refugees arriving in Switzerland have to turn over to the state any assets worth more than 1,000 Swiss francs (£690) to help pay for their upkeep, broadcaster SRF reported on Thursday, revealing a practice that has drawn sharp rebukes for Denmark.

 

SRF’s 10 vor 10 news programme showed a receipt a refugee from Syria said he received from authorities when he had to turn over more than half of the cash his family had left after paying traffickers to help them get to the neutral Alpine country.

 

It also showed an information sheet for refugees that stated: “If you have property worth more than 1,000 Swiss francs when you arrive at a reception centre you are required to give up these financial assets in return for a receipt.”

 

Stefan Frey, from refugee aid group Schweizerische Fluechtlingshilfe, was quoted as saying: “This is undignified ... This has to change.”

 

SRF cited the state migration authority SEM as justifying the measure, noting the law called for asylum seekers and refugees to contribute where possible to the cost of processing their applications and providing social assistance.

 

An SEM spokeswoman told SRF: “If someone leaves voluntarily within seven months this person can get the money back and take it with them. Otherwise the money covers costs they generate.”

 

In addition, refugees who win the right to stay and work in Switzerland have to surrender 10% of their pay for up to 10 years until they repay 15,000 Swiss francs in costs, according to the report.

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak

Greek and Turkish coastguards say they have recovered the bodies of 44 people including 20 children after two boats sank off Greek islands
8:10 AM

[visionary]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/manar-bilal/our-refugee-camps-are-not-tourist-attractions_b_9041800.html

Our Refugee Camps Are Not Tourist Attractions

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-merkel-idUSKCN0V70KM

Forty percent of Germans want Merkel to resign over refugee policy: poll

 

Forty percent of Germans want Chancellor Angela Merkel to resign due to her refugee policy, which saw the country take in 1.1 million asylum seekers last year, an Insa poll for Focus magazine showed on Friday.

 

The poll of 2,047 Germans, which Insa conducted from Jan. 22 to Jan. 25, showed 45.2 percent believed Merkel's refugee policy was not a reason for her to resign.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/sports/olympics/team-of-refugees-to-participate-in-rio-olympics.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0

In a First, the Rio Games Will Include a Team of Refugees

 

A small team of international refugee athletes will participate in the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this year, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, confirmed on Thursday.

 

“We want to draw the attention of the world to the problems of the refugees,” Bach told Reuters while touring a refugee camp in Athens.

 

Five to 10 refugee athletes are expected to qualify, and they will compete under the Olympic flag, Bach said, echoing remarks he made in October at the United Nations.

 

In December, Pere Miró, the I.O.C.’s deputy director general for relations with the Olympic movement, named three possible refugee competitors: a female Syrian swimmer now in Germany, a male Congolese judoka in Brazil and a female Iranian taekwondo fighter in Belgium.

 

Athletes have marched behind the Olympic flag on a number of occasions, usually because of geopolitical conflict. In 1992, athletes from Yugoslavia competed under the Olympic banner because of sanctions against the country over the war in the Balkans. Athletes from the new nations of East Timor in 2000 and South Sudan in 2012 competed under the flag because their formal Olympic committees had not yet been formed.

 

But there has never been a team of refugees at an Olympic Games.

 

Greece has been a key landing spot for hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere over the past year. Thousands have died after boats have sunk, including at least 24 people on Thursday. The numbers have overwhelmed the authorities in Greece, and many refugees are being held in camps with poor conditions.

 

Bach said that a refugee athlete would carry the Olympic torch through a camp in Athens. The torch is traditionally lighted in Olympia, Greece, the site of the ancient Games. This year, the lighting is scheduled for April 21, with the torch arriving in Brazil for the relay on May 3.

 

http://www.newsweek.com/ai-weiwei-pulls-works-denmark-display-protest-refugees-policy-420190

AI WEIWEI PULLS WORKS FROM DENMARK DISPLAY TO PROTEST REFUGEE POLICY

 

Denmark approved a proposal Tuesday that allows authorities to confiscate refugees’ valuables, and renowned artist and social activist Ai Weiwei wants to pull the plug on displays of his work in the country.

 

On Wednesday, following the Danish parliament’s decision to pass measures to deter refugees from choosing to seek asylum in Denmark—including one that allows authorities to seize valuables from those entering to help pay for their stay—Ai announced his decision on Instagram and Twitter, where he has roughly 204,000 and 310,000 followers, respectively.

 

“Ai Weiwei has decided to close his exhibition ‘Ruptures’ at Faurschou Foundation Copenhagen, Denmark. This decision follows the Danish parliament’s approval of the law proposal that allows seizing valuables and delaying family reunions for asylum seekers,” reads an Instagram post on Ai’s account dated Wednesday. “Jens Faurschou backs the artist’s decision and regrets that the Danish parliament chooses to be in the forefront of symbolic and inhuman politics of today’s biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe and the Middle East, instead of being in the forefront of a respectful European solution to solve the acute humanitarian crisis.”

 

https://twitter.com/RandaHabib

[visionary]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/30/fears-for-missing-child-refugees?CMP=share_btn_tw

10,000 refugee children are missing, says Europol

 

At least 10,000 unaccompanied child refugees have disappeared after arriving in Europe, according to the EU’s criminal intelligence agency. Many are feared to have fallen into the hands of organised trafficking syndicates.

 

In the first attempt by law enforcement agencies to quantify one of the most worrying aspects of the migrant crisis, Europol’s chief of staff told the Observer that thousands of vulnerable minors had vanished after registering with state authorities.

 

Brian Donald said 5,000 children had disappeared in Italy alone, while another 1,000 were unaccounted for in Sweden. He warned that a sophisticated pan-European “criminal infrastructure” was now targeting refugees. “It’s not unreasonable to say that we’re looking at 10,000-plus children. Not all of them will be criminally exploited; some might have been passed on to family members. We just don’t know where they are, what they’re doing or whom they are with.”

 

The plight of unaccompanied child refugees has emerged as one of the most pressing issues in the migrant crisis. Last week it was announced that Britain would accept more unaccompanied minors from Syria and other conflict zones. According to Save the Children, an estimated 26,000 unaccompanied children entered Europe last year. Europol, which has a 900-strong force of intelligence analysts and police liaison officers, believes 27% of the million arrivals in Europe last year were minors.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/migrant-boat-flips-children-among-the-dozens-dead-off-coast-of-turkey/2016/01/30/41b67540-c785-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html?postshare=5671454210052426&tid=ss_tw-bottom

Dozens of migrants drown as boat hits rocks, sinks off Turkey coast

 

A boat carrying Syrians attempting the short sea journey from Turkey to Greece struck rocks and capsized at dawn Saturday, killing at least 37 people, among them several babies and young children.

 

Images of dead children on a beach Saturday recalled the photo of a 3-year-old lying face down on a Turkish beach last year that triggered an outpouring of support for the migrants’ plight, but also resulted in the debate and protests over their swelling numbers pushing into Europe.

 

Saturday’s tragedy occurred when the boat capsized as dozens of people attempted the deceptively short crossing from the Turkish coast to the Greek island of Lesbos, barely 5 miles away. More than 250 migrants have drowned this month trying to reach the Greek islands, an entry point to Europe and its uncertain promise of refuge from war and poverty.

 

The Turkish coast guard said three ships, a helicopter and team of divers were searching the partially submerged craft and surrounding seas for more bodies. Police on shore placed bodies in black bags. Journalists tried to interview some of the 75 survivors, but police took them away in buses: some bound for a local hospital to be treated for hypothermia and injuries; others into police custody for questioning.

 

A Turkish government official said rescuers had recovered bodies trapped inside the wreckage of the 56-foot-long boat, which sank shortly after departing from the shore. Saim Eskioglu, deputy governor for the coastal Canakkale province that includes Ayvacik, said the boat “hit rocks soon after it left the coast.”

 

“There were around 10 children among the dead,” Eskioglu told the Associated Press. “Four of them, unfortunately, were babies about 1 or 2 years old. We are deeply saddened.”

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hundreds-of-masked-men-beat-refugee-children-in-stockholm-a6843451.html

'Hundreds' of masked men beat refugee children in Stockholm

 

Hundreds of masked men marched through Stockholm's main train station on Friday evening, reportedly beating up refugees and anyone who didn't appear to be ethnically Swedish.

 

Wearing all-black balaclavas and armbands, the men "gathered with the purpose of attacking refugee children," Stockholm police spokesperson Towe Hagg said.

 

"I saw maybe three people who were beaten. That was no football brawl or something similar. They targeted migrants. I was quite scared and ran away," an eyewitness told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

 

Before the attacks, the mob handed out leaflets with the slogan "It is enough now!" which threatened to give "the North African street children who are roaming around" the "punishment they deserve".

[visionary]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/31/teenage-girl-made-up-migrant-claim-that-caused-uproar-in-germany?CMP=share_btn_tw

Teenage girl admits making up migrant rape claim that outraged Germany

 

A 13-year-old Russian-German girl has admitted making up a story about being kidnapped and raped by migrants in a case that triggered a furore in Germany and briefly embroiled Berlin police in a spat with the Kremlin, state prosecutors said.

 

The parents of the teenager, named only as Lisa, reported her missing on 11 January after she failed to appear at school in the Marzahn district of the capital. She reappeared 30 hours later with injuries on her face, and told her parents she had been attacked by men of Middle Eastern or north African appearance. News of the incident spread on social media, sparking outrage among Berlin’s Russian-German community.

 

But when she was questioned by trained specialists three days later “she immediately admitted that the story of the rape was not true”, said the spokesman for the state prosecutor, Martin Steltner.

 

He said the teenager had been scared of going home after the school had contacted her parents over an incident at school.

 

Yet the allegations caused uproar in Berlin, particularly after reports of mass sexual assaults allegedly carried out by migrants in Cologne. A Russian-German community group staged a protest, supported by the Pegida-related Bärgida movement. The far-right National Democratic party also demonstrated in Marzahn.

 

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6d7914f5f69e458fbcccdf055f19b2c3/jordan-census-counts-12-million-syrians

Number of Syrian refugees on Jordan border reaches 20,000

 

The number of Syrian refugees stranded on Jordan's border and waiting for permission to enter has risen to 20,000, with 4,000 to 5,000 more arriving in the remote desert area every month, the head of the U.N. refugee agency in the kingdom said Sunday.

 

In recent months, Jordan has permitted only several dozen refugees to enter each day, leading to rapidly growing crowds of Syrians, including women and children, who are stuck in two areas along the Syrian-Jordanian border.

 

Jordanian authorities have cited security concerns for the bottle neck, saying many refugees come from areas controlled by the Islamic State group and need to undergo strict vetting. International aid officials have urged Jordan to speed up the process and move refugees quickly to the U.N.-run Azraq refugee camp which is still more than half empty and could house thousands of newcomers.

 

Andrew Harper, the refugee agency chief in Jordan, told The Associated Press on Sunday that he is working with Jordanian officials to provide the "most basic necessities" to refugees stuck in the desert. It's challenging because the nearest town is about 150 kilometers (more than 90 miles) away, Harper said. The U.N. understands the Jordanian security concerns, but is also working with local officials to try to expedite the vetting, he added.