Refugee crisis

dignin

I think the west should be doing more. What does everyone else think?

PJ_Soul

Let's try again!

Somehow it's just not the same now.... but I'll try.

The mayor of Vancouver (Gregor Robertson... he's totally and madly obsessed with bike lanes, but I'll give him some credit today) held a town hall meeting so that people could come and discuss what the real options are for those who want to help the refugees, how much it can cost, what it would take, what hoops have to be jumped through, etc. Very good idea I thought. If every mayor of every major city in North America did the same thing, that would probably be very helpful.

Kat

I found an article that might contribute. I didn't read it all so can't say if it's biased in any way. It has graphs.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/new-migration-crisis-overwhelms-european-refugee-system/2015/04/21/3ab83470-e45c-11e4-ae0f-f8c46aa8c3a4_story.html

I would like to see the west help more. It's a great way to make friends instead of enemies.

dignin

Haha, same same

PJ_Soul

Thanks for combining the threads Kat.

dignin

Thanks for merging the threads Kat!

Nahlah Ayed reports on refugees crossing porous Serbia-Hungary border

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nahlah-ayed-reports-on-refugees-crossing-porous-serbia-hungary-border-1.3220881

PJ_Soul

Not sure anyone has talked about that horrible Hungarian camerawoman who tripped a refugee while he was running with a child, but here is the story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/hungarian-camerawoman-trips-refugees-1.3220051

Very glad she's been fired. That kid could have really been hurt. Plus, journalists are not supposed to intervene like that. What a dumb biotch.

I have been quite disturbed about all the news out of Hungary generally.

Kat

And she kicked that child. Compassion and empathy have become obsolete with some people. :(

ldent42

I want to repost this since I think it got a bit lost in the original thread.
Emphasis mine.

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/europe/syrias-refugee-crisis-in-numbers/

REFUGEES IN THE REGION

More than 4 million refugees from Syria (95%) are in just five countries Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt:

Lebanon hosts approximately 1.2 million refugees from Syria which amounts to around one in five people in the country


Jordan hosts about 650,000 refugees from Syria, which amounts to about 10% of the population


Turkey hosts 1.9 million refugees from Syria, more than any other country worldwide


Iraq where 3 million people have been internally displaced in the last 18 months hosts 249,463 refugees from Syria


Egypt hosts 132,375 refugees from Syria

The UN humanitarian appeal for Syrian refugees is just 40% funded.

Funding shortages mean that the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in Lebanon receive just $13.50 per month or less than half a dollar a day for food assistance.

More than 80% of Syrian refugees in Jordan living below the local poverty line.

CONFLICT IN SYRIA

Around 220,000 people have been killed and 12.8 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria

More than 50% of Syria’s population is currently displaced

INTERNATIONAL RESETTLEMENT

In total, 104,410 resettlement places have been offered globally since the start of the Syria crisis, which equates to a mere 2.6% of the total population of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey.

400,000 people in the five main host countries – or 10% – are in need of resettlement according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

Amnesty International is calling for at least 10% of Syria’s most vulnerable refugees to be resettled from the main host countries by the end of 2016

KEY FACTS:

Gulf countries including Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees.


Other high income countries including Russia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea have also offered zero resettlement places.


Germany has pledged 35,000 places for Syrian refugees through its humanitarian admission program and individual sponsorship; about 75% of the EU total.


Germany and Sweden together have received 47% Syrian asylum applications in the EU between April 2011 and July 2015


Excluding Germany and Sweden, the remaining 26 EU countries have pledged around 8,700 resettlement places, or around 0.2% of Syrian refugees in the main host countries.

And here's another one I have planned to read on the train:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/europe-refugees-not-welcome_55ef3dabe4b093be51bc8824?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

PJ_Soul

Kat said:

And she kicked that child. Compassion and empathy have become obsolete with some people. :(

That lack of compassion and empathy is the real story here IMO. I suppose the horrible woman is either a frothing racist, or who thinks these people are invaders of her country (or both).
I have read and heard stuff about how these people are a bunch of lying bastards, evident in all kinds of insane ways. How they aren't refugees at all because they have cell phones, for example. I guess some people think only the poorest of the poor can be war refugees. Those kinds of views make me believe that many people truly are not understand the problem at all.... and have also forgotten about the holocaust.

rgambs

PJ_Soul said:

Not sure anyone has talked about that horrible Hungarian camerawoman who tripped a refugee while he was running with a child, but here is the story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/hungarian-camerawoman-trips-refugees-1.3220051

Very glad she's been fired. That kid could have really been hurt. Plus, journalists are not supposed to intervene like that. What a dumb biotch.

I have been quite disturbed about all the news out of Hungary generally.

Yeah, they have been veering into scary territory for a while now. Anti-Semitism (the real kind, not the "criticized Israel must be anti-Semitic" kind) and ugly nationalism have been on the rise and are becoming the new norm, and that's just one aspect of what's going wrong there.

Last-12-Exit

Kat said:

And she kicked that child. Compassion and empathy have become obsolete with some people. :(

That's interesting.

ldent42

This is the shit that really pisses me off:

Gulf countries including Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees.

I know it's not an entirely fair comparison to democratic countries like in the EU and NA but for Chrissakes these are wealthy as hell nations. The region has recent history of abuse of migrant workers (basically slavery) but under EU guidance they ought to be taken in legitimately and not forced into slavery.
Basically the entire "first world" ought to be helping out with this.

gimmesometruth27

PJ_Soul said:

Not sure anyone has talked about that horrible Hungarian camerawoman who tripped a refugee while he was running with a child, but here is the story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/hungarian-camerawoman-trips-refugees-1.3220051

Very glad she's been fired. That kid could have really been hurt. Plus, journalists are not supposed to intervene like that. What a dumb biotch.

I have been quite disturbed about all the news out of Hungary generally.

i saw that. what a disgraceful act. these people are running away from danger and threat of injury and here is this woman kicking them and tripping them.

gimmesometruth27

the west should totally be doing more. i mean, we are in part responsible for this, with our freely arming or certain regimes and factions.

unfortunately a xenophobe who is running for president and dominating polls is not going to allow for us to have any meaningful dialogue in this country. plus, our media is in the bag for trump because he is clickbait, so nobody is going to challenge him.

ldent42

gimmesometruth27 said:

the west should totally be doing more. i mean, we are in part responsible for this, with our freely arming or certain regimes and factions.

unfortunately a xenophobe who is running for president and dominating polls is not going to allow for us to have any meaningful dialogue in this country. plus, our media is in the bag for trump because he is clickbait, so nobody is going to challenge him.

he's right up there with the Hungarian guy. I wonder what Bernie has to say on the subject.Unfortunately I'll never find out cuz the media treats him like the unwanted ginger stepson that gets locked under the stairs.

gimmesometruth27

ldent42 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

the west should totally be doing more. i mean, we are in part responsible for this, with our freely arming or certain regimes and factions.

unfortunately a xenophobe who is running for president and dominating polls is not going to allow for us to have any meaningful dialogue in this country. plus, our media is in the bag for trump because he is clickbait, so nobody is going to challenge him.

he's right up there with the Hungarian guy. I wonder what Bernie has to say on the subject.Unfortunately I'll never find out cuz the media treats him like the unwanted ginger stepson that gets locked under the stairs.

you are absolutely correct there. i am supporting bernie and i don't even know his thoughts on this.

Halifax2TheMax

There's a ranch in Wyoming that could use several thousand ranch hands. Come to think of it, Wyoming with it's dwindling population would make for a mighty fine "safe" state resettlement area. Dick Vader could preach the virtues of America and swear them in as citizens after they pass their citizenship tests.

brianlux

gimmesometruth27 said:

ldent42 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

the west should totally be doing more. i mean, we are in part responsible for this, with our freely arming or certain regimes and factions.

unfortunately a xenophobe who is running for president and dominating polls is not going to allow for us to have any meaningful dialogue in this country. plus, our media is in the bag for trump because he is clickbait, so nobody is going to challenge him.

he's right up there with the Hungarian guy. I wonder what Bernie has to say on the subject.Unfortunately I'll never find out cuz the media treats him like the unwanted ginger stepson that gets locked under the stairs.

you are absolutely correct there. i am supporting bernie and i don't even know his thoughts on this.

I was curious too and found this report from The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/refugee-crisis-immigration-us-presidential-candidates

This part stood out:

"But even as presidential candidates offer foreign policy pitches through a lens of moral leadership, just one of 22 contenders – former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley – said unequivocally that the US should take in more refugees and put forward a specific number. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Democrat called on the government to accept 65,000 refugees from Syria over the next year."

Only one out this large pack?!

JUST A GIRL

PJ_Soul said:

Let's try again!

Somehow it's just not the same now.... but I'll try.

The mayor of Vancouver (Gregor Robertson... he's totally and madly obsessed with bike lanes, but I'll give him some credit today) held a town hall meeting so that people could come and discuss what the real options are for those who want to help the refugees, how much it can cost, what it would take, what hoops have to be jumped through, etc. Very good idea I thought. If every mayor of every major city in North America did the same thing, that would probably be very helpful.

They do sometimes. It's fun, I've been to a few.

I don't understand why everyone's expected to allow them in with open arms. We've all seen the rise in violence due to the influx of illegal immigrants in Texas and New Mexico, we all support building a fence to properly screen and validate every person crossing the border, yet when it happens in a third world country, where violence runs rampant, it's expected to be allowed? Shouldn't it be more restricted and validated even more so there?

I don't blame the countries for building fences around their points of entry. I would lay out row after row of barbed wire.

Ask your self honestly if you would be ok with suddenly 100s of Iraqie immigrants living on the same road as your home, living in the yards, bathing and using the rest room in your drive way. I doubt you would be so welcoming after a very short amount of time.

We all want to pretend we would help, but I think deep down we know the truth. At least I'm honest about it. Unlike 99.9% of the rest of the world who doesn't want to "offend" anyone!

jnimhaoileoin

brianlux said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

ldent42 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

the west should totally be doing more. i mean, we are in part responsible for this, with our freely arming or certain regimes and factions.

unfortunately a xenophobe who is running for president and dominating polls is not going to allow for us to have any meaningful dialogue in this country. plus, our media is in the bag for trump because he is clickbait, so nobody is going to challenge him.

he's right up there with the Hungarian guy. I wonder what Bernie has to say on the subject.Unfortunately I'll never find out cuz the media treats him like the unwanted ginger stepson that gets locked under the stairs.

you are absolutely correct there. i am supporting bernie and i don't even know his thoughts on this.

I was curious too and found this report from The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/refugee-crisis-immigration-us-presidential-candidates

This part stood out:

"But even as presidential candidates offer foreign policy pitches through a lens of moral leadership, just one of 22 contenders – former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley – said unequivocally that the US should take in more refugees and put forward a specific number. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Democrat called on the government to accept 65,000 refugees from Syria over the next year."

Only one out this large pack?!

I would hazard a guess that Mr O'Malley also happens to come from good immigrant stock himself, so has a more balanced viewpoint