INTL EU Refugee/Migration Crises - News Only Thread for September 2015

[summerthyme]

Well, IF you can believe Amnesty International (they're trolling for donations in the middle of the article):

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 programme 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.

(my opinion below)
Essentially, if they don't grow a brain in place of the mush emotion-center they have now, Germany is TOAST.

Summerthyme

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Amnesty International's numbers are low and incomplete as to who has how many.


Even the numbers in the below posts are low.


TahrirSy تحرير سوري ‏@TahrirSy 7h7 hours ago

Front-page of @Independent's Sunday issue: "Millions more to flee #Syria" as #ISIS threatens to cut "crucial" M5 highway


TahrirSy تحرير سوري ‏@TahrirSy 7h7 hours ago

The Washington Post: Hundreds of 3-year-old toddlers have died as a result of the #Syria-n war


TahrirSy تحرير سوري ‏@TahrirSy

the #Syria-n Revolution Martyr Database: records for the deaths of at least 232 children aged 3. #refugees

 

[Melodi]

Well there is also the issue that the Muslim nations are not taking them; that IS something Europe has got to come to grips with especially in terms of "foreign aid" (as in it stops right now if this doesn't change) and other diplomatic forms of pressure.

Mystery as to why wealthy Arab states aren't doing more
Mary Fitzgerald

Published
05/09/2015 | 02:30


By now, the whole world knows that his name was Aylan. Just three years old, born after the beginning of the uprising that plunged his country into a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands with no end in sight. He and his family were among the millions of Syrian refugees who have fled the horrors of their homeland.


Desperate to find sanctuary in Europe, they took a boat from Turkey that was supposed to bring them to the Greek island of Kos.

Thousands make the same journey from Turkey to the smattering of Greece's easternmost islands every day, as it is considered one of the safest routes to Europe.

But Aylan, his mother and his brother never made it. They and several others drowned after their vessel capsized shortly before dawn on Wednesday. His father was the only family member to survive.

The image of Aylan's lifeless body lying face down on a Turkish beach as the waves lap around him has reverberated around the world this week, making the biggest refugee crisis since World War II even more difficult to ignore.

Nilufer Demir, the Turkish photographer who took the pictures of Aylan, said her "blood froze" when she saw his corpse. "The only thing I could do was to make his scream heard…I hope something changes after today."

Aylan's full name was Aylan Kurdi. He was a Syrian Kurd from Kobane, a town near the Turkish border which has suffered months of heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and Syrian Kurdish units.

The image of Aylan, dressed poignantly in a red T-shirt, shorts and neat shoes, has gone viral on social media and has been published both in its original form and in various stylised renditions by media organisations across the world. It has pierced the public consciousness in an unprecedented way and sparked outrage at how different nations have responded to the refugee challenge.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey - which has taken 1.7 million of Syria's estimated 4 million refugees - slated Europe for what he described as its failure to address both the refugee crisis but also the war driving it.

In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "deeply moved" by the images of Aylan and others and pledged to fulfil Britain's "moral responsibility." French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the images showed the need for urgent action.

While calls are growing for more European states - including Ireland - to do more about the quickening crisis on its doorstep, the harrowing image of Aylan has triggered debate in the Middle East and north Africa over the inaction of many Arab countries, with particular criticism levelled at the wealthy Gulf states.

Tiny Jordan and Lebanon have taken in millions of refugees from Syria, Iraq and beyond but the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises six countries, has accepted hardly any Syrian refugees or asylum seekers, though its members have contributed millions in humanitarian aid since the conflict began in 2011.

In the four years since, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has supported 63 Syrian asylum applications to the GCC states, 33 of which have been successful.

Amnesty International has criticised the GCC's unwillingness to take in more Syrian refugees as "shocking". In a report it said: "GCC countries - due to their geographical proximity, historical links with Syria and relative integration potential (due to common language and religion) - should make a significant contribution to the resettlement of Syrian refugees."

In Arab cartoons and social media this week, the Gulf states were targeted for not doing enough. An Arabic hashtag translating as "hosting Syrian refugees is a Gulf duty" gained much traction as regional commentators argued that the oil-rich states had a moral responsibility to act in order to stave off an even bigger crisis. Some pointed out that given how certain Gulf states had funded armed groups in Syria, there was an even greater onus on them to deal with the consequences.

In one Arabic-language cartoon, a man dressed in traditional Gulf attire is seen haranguing an EU official who is standing behind a locked door as a Syrian refugee sits outside. The Gulf man shouts: "Why don't you open the door, you heartless person." He is yelling from his own door, which is surrounded by barbed wire. A work by a prominent Jordanian cartoonist shows a crocodile in traditional Gulf garb crying as a Syrian drowns nearby. Another cartoon showed a parade of men, again in typical Gulf dress, standing over Aylan's body. The caption reads: "Refugees welcomed by: Saudi: 0, Kuwait: 0, Qatar: 0, Emirates: 0, Bahrain: 0."

Aylan was not the first Syrian child to die a watery death in a desperate bid for a safer life. And nor will he be the last. As Syria's war grinds on beyond its fourth year, the exodus from there will continue. The question is how will the world respond.

Irish Independent
http://www.independent.ie/world-new...hy-arab-states-arent-doing-more-31504203.html

 

[mzkitty]

7m
GOP presidential candidate Fiorina says US shouldn't open its doors any wider to Syrian refugees - @AP_Politics

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fbf8...-us-shouldnt-open-doors-wider-syrian-refugees


Look at her face. She looks exhausted. But still -- a muzzie.

17m
Photo: Migrants walk among other train passengers as they get on train at Hungary's Keleti station - @margitfeher

 

[mzkitty]

Well, you can kiss Oxford's azz goodbye:

2m
Photo: People gathering in Oxford, England, for a 'Refugees Welcome' demonstration - @robpowellnews


5m
3,000 refugees arrive in southern Germany on Sunday, total 5,000 expected, police say - @AFP

 

[dogmanan]

I don't understand why these people don't stay and fight for their country.

 

[Melodi]

I have been expecting something like this...not sure what I think of it but it isn't a big surprise either, I mean I thought the real issue was ISIS?...

News > UK > UK Politics Frontpage >
George Osborne hints at military strikes in Syria to stem exodus of refugees

The Chancellor insists crisis must be tackled 'at source', but political consensus for action against President Assad may be hard to find
Jane Merrick Author Biography

Political Editor

Saturday 05 September 2015


George Osborne has given a strong signal that Britain will take part in military action in Syria as he warned that dealing with the escalating refugee crisis meant tackling President Bashar al-Assad’s “evil” regime.

The Chancellor’s hawkish comments coincided with reports that French President François Hollande is also considering military strikes in Syria and will announce further details in Paris this week.

There was speculation mounting in Whitehall that the Prime Minister could ask MPs to back enforcing a no-fly zone over Syria, as a way to protect ordinary citizens, rather than all-out strikes against Damascus. With Jeremy Corbyn still on course to win the Labour leadership, David Cameron’s search for consensus on Syria would be more successful if he made the argument about creating safe havens rather than strikes against Assad.

George Osborne has given a strong signal that Britain will take part in military action in Syria George Osborne has given a strong signal that Britain will take part in military action in Syria (Reuters)

Speaking at a summit of finance ministers in Turkey, Mr Osborne said dealing with the crisis meant not only taking action against Islamic State (Isis) but also the Assad administration, and that Britain had got to “get engaged” with achieving stability in Syria.

Millions of Syrian refugees have fled the country since the start of the civil war four years ago. Britain came close to bombing government targets in 2013, but Mr Cameron failed to get the backing of Parliament. Since then, the rise of Isis – also known as Isil – has worsened the refugee crisis, and the drowning of the al-Kurdi brothers will have stiffened the resolve of many MPs, meaning a government motion might be easier to argue through the voting lobbies.

Yet the PM made clear on 4 September that action in Syria depended on the outcome of the Labour leadership election next weekend, insisting it was important to achieve “consensus” in the House of Commons. A victory for Jeremy Corbyn would make consensus more difficult, because the left-winger has said he cannot see the circumstances in which he would back military action.


Asked about the crisis while attending the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Ankara, Mr Osborne said: “You’ve got to deal with the [migration] problem at source, which is this evil Assad regime and the Isil terrorists, and you need a comprehensive plan for a more stable, peaceful Syria. A huge challenge of course, but you can’t just let that crisis fester. We’ve got to get engaged in that.”

Mr Osborne said the humanitarian response also needed co-ordinating across Europe, adding: “Yes, we must offer asylum to those who are genuinely fleeing persecution. Countries like Britain always have, we are one of the founders of the asylum system. We will take, as the Prime Minister said, thousands more.

“But at the same time, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got aid going into the refugee camps on the borders .... We’ve got to defeat these criminal gangs who trade in human misery and risk people’s lives and kill people.”

On 4 September Mr Cameron hinted that a fresh vote for military action was under consideration when he was asked about a Commons motion, saying: “I will only proceed if there is genuine consensus in the UK before going back to Parliament.”

On 5 September Le Monde quoted an unnamed “high level source” as saying that President Hollande is considering air strikes against Isis in Syria.

The French leader is expected to outline further details on 7 September. France has supplied arms to moderate rebels fighting the Assad regime but has resisted joining air strikes against Isis for fear of benefiting the Damascus government.

In Britain, the former Defence Secretary Liam Fox stepped up his calls for action against Syria, which he said should include enforcing a no-fly zone to create a safe haven for Syrians and to stem the numbers of refugees.

Dr Fox said the international community needed to “deal with the cause of the refugee crisis, not merely its symptoms”. He added: “These poor people are caught between the barbarity of the Assad regime and the depravity of Isis. The PM has rightly identified this as a huge threat to regional, and Britain’s, security, yet our response is inadequate.

Abdullah al-Kurdi, whose family drowned last week (Reuters) Abdullah al-Kurdi, whose family drowned last week (Reuters)

“The policy of attacking Isis in Iraq but not in Syria is patently absurd, which not only makes us less effective militarily but diminishes us in the eyes of other partners in the coalition. If we have identified a threat to our national security, we have a duty to deal with it.

“Hand-wringing about the tragedy of the refugees is not enough. It is time that action was taken to deal with the root of the problem.”

This newspaper has started a campaign for the UK to welcome a fair share of refugees.

 

[Be Well]

THE NEW FACE OF EU IMMIGRATION IS YOUNG, FIT AND OVERWHELMINGLY MALE

http://www.breitbart.com/national-s...gration-is-young-fit-and-overwhelmingly-male/

SIMON KENT 6 Sep 2015

BUDAPEST,Hungary (Sep. 6) – Meet the self-styled ‘Aleppo Boys’. Pictured above, they are the collective face of mass immigration entering Europe from the Middle East. Their story is indicative of so many you can hear right now at Budapest Keleti railway station.

They are young. They are fit. They clearly know what they want. They have no intention of staying and fighting in Syria. Instead they have travelled overland through Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and into Hungary. They say their last stop is Germany.

None of them wants to stay in Hungary or any of they countries they have transited. As one they see Germany as a future because Chancellor Angela Merkel told them so. Besides, Hungary police want to fingerprint them, check any travel documents and stop their progress as specified by EU regulations.

The Aleppo Boys want none of it. They understand why some of their compatriots broke out of a refugee camp on Friday night and decided to try and walk to Germany.

“No good here in Hungary. No good,” said their leader Muhammad. “They try and lock us up. But we want Germany, there it is good. We have to worry about nothing there. They give us food and house and job.

“Hungary just want to watch us all the time.”

Which is not to say they aren’t grateful. As one they seem tremendously happy and unfailingly polite. They are also in the majority amongst the thousands who arrive each day on their way north.

Yes, there are families in the throng at Keleti. Plenty with young children. But if you stand and take a rough count it is hard not to come to the conclusion that young men are in the overwhelming majority. They have been dressed by charity and have cash for tickets. They want to charge their iPhones, eat more pizza and board their trains.

The families sit in tight groups or they sleep underneath the station concourse waiting for their chance to leave. Local Budapest volunteers have delivered food and clothing, showing goodwill which the travellers are only too willing to accept.

Moving around the station the sheer scale of the tide of humanity now crossing Europe is apparent. I spoke to two young men from Bangladesh. There were Pakistanis and Sudanese. I even met a family from Nepal. Syrians are the highest number followed by Iraqis and some Jordanians and they all seem amply versed in the ways and means of securing a passage to Germany.

Social media is the one connecting link. Everyone either has an iPhone or knows someone else who does. They use them to talk to family members on the other side of the world or network with each other sharing information. It also helps them to know what lies ahead.

According to local police, up to 10,000 immigrants crossed the Austrian/Hungarian border over a 24- to 48-hour period after Budapest station was closed to all travellers on Friday afternoon due to the surge in numbers.

Around 1,500 spent Saturday night in Nickelsdorf waiting to be processed, half in the open air, the Austrian Red Cross said. Those left in Budapest heard the news and waited knowing that when trains resumed they would be ready to board them.

For the young men travelling on their own, there is safety in numbers but a deep suspicion of anyone who is not another fellow immigrant. Most do not want their photograph taken but if they agree, it is under the strict understanding their family name will not be included.

Like Ahmed (pictured right). He refused to let me have his family name. Ahmed, 21, just wants wants to get to Norway and settle in Oslo. He has also made the overland trip from Damascus in Syria, a journey he said cost around US$5,000. He was waiting to board a train to Vienna and when he arrives in Oslo he feels he will be safe.

He told me: “I want new life. I want to go to university. Make money. I want to work in a bank, be a banker. Bring my family.”

I asked why he didn’t stay and fight. His answer revealed he thinks there is nothing left to fight for.

“Oh no, no. There is no future there. I see babies and…” He makes a cutting motion across his neck. “I see families killed. Women die. All people killed who not want to work with terrorists… no future. Europe is the new hope for all of us.”

As Breitbart News has already reported from Budapest, nobody knows how many more are to follow across the Mediterranean, although it could be ‘uncountable millions.’

This is the future that awaits Europe today.

 

[Be Well]

‘UNCOUNTABLE MILLIONS’ OF MIGRANTS HEADING TO EUROPE WARNS HUNGARY PM

http://www.breitbart.com/national-s...-migrants-heading-to-europe-warns-hungary-pm/

SIMON KENT 6 Sep 2015

BUDAPEST, Hungary (Sept. 6) – The human flood tide surging into Europe from its southern Mediterranean shores is only beginning. Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban has warned that ‘uncountable millions’ of migrants from the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa are on the way and the EU should get ready to meet the crisis sooner rather than later.

Hungarian authorities spent most of the past week trying to force those entering the country to report to government-run refugee centres to register for asylum in their initial EU entry point as the 28-nation bloc’s rules require. But thousands refused – some expressing fears that Hungary would deport or detain them indefinitely – and demanded free onward passage chiefly to Germany.

Those refugees initially tried to board trains in Budapest’s main Keleti railway station but were rebuffed. Crowds broke through security lines and began walking 175km (108 miles) to the border, many with small children. Early Saturday, Hungary’ authorities relented and sent a fleet of buses to the station to carry the refugees onwards to northern Europe.

Mr Orban told reporters yesterday the migrants threatened to bring the centre of the capital to a halt and he had no choice but to move them on despite the fact that they refused registration. He said Hungary collected and drove the migrants to the border because they were posing a public menace, particularly by snarling traffic and rail lines west of Budapest.

“It is unacceptable for them to paralyse traffic on the highway and they are putting their own lives at risk,” Orban said at his ruling party’s annual picnic in a village near Lake Balaton. “We proved that we were able to protect both their safety and that of Hungarians.”

Mr Orban said Hungary was determined to reduce the flow of foreigners trying to traverse the country en route to the wealthier, more immigrant-friendly west. He criticised European Union plans to reach a bloc-wide agreement at a summit next week committing each nation to accept a new quota of foreigners to shelter, arguing that this would only spur more one-way traffic.

“What will it solve if we divide 50,000 or 100,000 migrants among us, when uncountable millions will be on the way?” Mr Orban said.

The prime minister’s right-wing government has vowed to take control of Europe’s worst migration crisis since the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, sealing Hungary off to a flow of migrants that has topped 140,000 this year alone.

Hungary has become a flashpoint in the crisis as the main entry point into the EU for migrants travelling over land across the Balkan peninsula to reach richer and more generous countries further north and west, above all Germany.

Hungary will resume bussing migrants from Budapest to the German and Austrian borders later today.

 

[Melodi]

Austria to close borders to refugees again after 12,000 arrive from Hungary in just 48 hours

The Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, says emergency measures will be lifted
Adam Withnall Author Biography

Sunday 06 September 2015


The Austrian chancellor has indicated that the country could begin closing its borders again after two days of unprecedented refugee arrivals from eastern Europe.

Werner Faymann said that emergency measures agreed by Austria and Germany to accept large numbers of refugees from Hungary should be lifted “gradually”.

Bavarian state officials have said that a total of 6,800 refugees entered Germany via Austria on Saturday, with another 5,000 expected on Sunday.

In a statement following what he described as “intensive talks” with Germany’s Angela Merkel and a telephone call with the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, Mr Faymann said: “We have always said this is an emergency situation in which we must act quickly and humanely.

“We have helped more than 12,000 people in an acute situation. Now we have to move step by step away from emergency measures towards normality in conformity with the law and dignity.”

Around 700 who were able to get on board two trains to Munich were welcomed early on Sunday by a dozen or so volunteers handing out chocolate. More were expected later, a regional official said, and most were given medical checks before being taken to reception centres.

Cars of Austrian volunteers willing to transport refugees to Austria enter Hungary at the former border station of Hegyeshalom (EPA) Cars of Austrian volunteers willing to transport refugees to Austria enter Hungary at the former border station of Hegyeshalom (EPA) Refugees arrive at the train station in Salzburg, Austria, with many of them journeying onwards to Germany (EPA) Refugees arrive at the train station in Salzburg, Austria, with many of them journeying onwards to Germany (EPA) Many more crossed the border by other means, and the Hungarian government put on around 100 buses to help get people to the Austrian border. A convoy of around 140 cars and vans filled with food and water left Vienna on Sunday to provide for the column of marchers, and collect those less able to walk.

Munich’s mayor, Dieter Reiter, said on Sunday that he was not worried about the numbers arriving in the city – only “how can we give them a feeling that they are safe here”.

But even in a city which has been among those most praised for its positive reaction to the influx of refugees, concerns were being raised.
Refugees march from Hungary to Austria

Simone Hilgers, a spokesperson for the authorities in Upper Bavaria, Germany’s largest state, told the Associated Press: “Munich and Bavaria can't manage it alone. [We] need the support pledged by other [German] states.”

Germany alone expects to receive 800,000 refugees by the end of 2015 – roughly 1 per cent of its population, and by far the greatest contribution to the crisis from any EU member state.

The numbers arriving in Europe are nonetheless a relatively small proportion of the four million estimated to have fled Syria since its civil war began in 2011, amid warnings that millions more could be displaced.

On Sunday, Pope Francis said that the Vatican would do its bit, taking in two families of refugees – a similar commitment to Germany’s considering the city-state’s tiny number of citizens. He urged “every parish, every religious community” across Europe to do the same.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...e-from-hungary-in-just-48-hours-10488815.html

 

[Be Well]

MUSLIM COUNTRIES REFUSE TO TAKE A SINGLE SYRIAN REFUGEE, CITE RISK OF EXPOSURE TO TERRORISM

http://www.breitbart.com/london/201...y-doing-so-exposes-them-to-risk-of-terrorism/

DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDS 5 Sep 2015

Five of the wealthiest Muslim countries have taken no Syrian refugees in at all, arguing that doing so would open them up to the risk of terrorism. Although the oil rich countries have handed over aid money, Britain has donated more than Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar combined.

Between 10 and 12 million Syrians have been displaced by the bloody civil war raging in their country. Most still remain within Syria’s borders, but around four million have fled over the borders into neighbouring countries, mostly Turkey Jordan and Lebanon, and beyond.

Lebanon, which has 1.1 million Syrian refugees, shut her borders to the Syrians in June of last year. Jordan, host to another 630,000, followed suit in August last year, preventing more Syrians from abandoning their country.

By early August 2015, European states had received nearly 350,000 asylum applications from Syrians, nearly a third of whom applied to Germany for asylum. Another 65,000 have applied Sweden and 50,000 in Serbia. Hungary and Austria have received close to 19,000 applications each although that figure is likely to rise, while the UK is processing 7,030 applications, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Extraordinary failure to act by Arab countries. Everyone should know. Hat-tip @CBCNews and @NatashaFatah pic.twitter.com/a0OW32cgjP

— Raheem Kassam (@RaheemKassam) September 5, 2015​

Yet amidst cries for Europe to do more, it has transpired that of the five wealthiest countries on the Arabian Peninsula, that is, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, not one has taken in a single refugee from Syria. Instead, they have argued that accepting large numbers of Syrians is a threat to their safety, as terrorists could be hiding within an influx of people. Sherif Elsayid-Ali, Amnesty International’s Head of Refugee and Migrants’ Rights, has slammed their inaction as “shameful”.

He said: “The records of Gulf countries is absolutely appalling, in terms of actually showing compassion and sharing the responsibility of this crisis… It is a disgrace.” None of the Gulf States signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, which legally defines a refugee as “A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality”. However, they have taken refugees in the past.

Twenty-five years ago, hundreds of thousands of Kuwaitis fleeing Saddam Hussein’s invasion were given refuge. According to Arabian expert Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi: “in Abu Dhabi, the government rented out entire apartment blocks and gave them to families for free.”

“Damn it, open the door to #Syria refugees you apathetic bums” Rich Arab countries to European Union pic.twitter.com/hSaLdgAnYM — SaadAbedine (@SaadAbedine) September 1, 2015​

Instead the countries, all of which are within the Top 50 list of wealthiest nations by GDP, have opted to donate aid to those affected by the crisis. According to the Daily Mail, the UAE has funded a refugee camp in Jordan giving shelter to tens of thousands of Syrians, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have donated funds, food, shelter and clothing to Syrians in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.

Total donations from the Gulf States are believe to total £589 million, less than a quarter of America’s £2.8 billion, and a fraction of the £65 billion they spent on defence in 2012 alone. The UK has handed over £920 million so far, but the Prime Minister yesterday pledged to increase that figure to £1 billion. He also promised to take in thousands more refugees.

Al-Qassemi has argued in the that the standing that the Muslim countries now have in the world confer on them a moral obligation to step in. “The Gulf States have emerged as the nerve centres of Arab diplomacy, culture, media production, commerce and tourism, amassing an unprecedented degree of soft power unrivalled in the region and beyond,” he said.

They also form “the most influential bloc within the 70-year-old Arab League.”

“But with great power comes great responsibility. The Gulf must realise that now is the time to change their policy regarding accepting refugees from the Syria crisis. It is the moral, ethical and responsible step to take.”

 

[Be Well]

Another point about refugees is that they should be re-patriated when their home countries stabilize. And that should be make clear to all of them before they arrive. Otherwise it is simply invasion.

 

[Be Well]

The Gates of Vienna is a fantastic site and has much historical accounts as well as current events. The part of the article that is an eye-witness account is bolded. Hat tip to Dozdoats.

http://gatesofvienna.net/2015/09/the-power-of-the-fist-is-what-matters/


The Power of the Fist is What Matters

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Baron Bodissey

Our Polish correspondent Green Infidel has translated an account of an incident of culturally enriched mayhem that occurred recently at the border crossing between Italy and Austria. These are the same mischievous “youths” that those high-minded Dutch ladies of Apeldoorn are singing “you are welcome” to.

The translator includes this introductory note:

On a Polish website I came across this fresh account of a worrying incident on the Italian-Austrian border. ýThe article concerns a blog post by a Polish travel writer, who at first hand witnessed (and was threatened by) the migrants attempting to reach Austria.

From experience, I’ll add that it’s precisely incidents such as this, witnessed by Poles while abroad or recounted by friends or family members, that help put Poland among the nations with the least interest in any “refugee resettlement” in their country.

The entry was posted on the author’s Facebook page yesterday, so the incident would have happened on Thursday nightý. Btw, the author, Kamil Bulonis, is gay and proudly displays a “rainbowed” profile picture on his Facebook… Hardly a “far-rightist”! Here’s his profile.

https://m.facebook.com/kamil.bulonis?fref=ts"



The translated excerpt:

“They tried to overturn the coach, in which I was travelling with a group. Excrement was thrown in our direction… they banged on the doors, to get the driver to open them. They spat at the windows.” — such is the report of Kamil Bulonis, the author of a travel blog.

It’s difficult to accuse the author of this entry, who writes a blog called “Obywatel Swiata” [Citizen of the World], of right-wing, Catholic or nationalist “looniness”. For Kamil Bulonis writes about himself openly on Instagram as a “journalist, globetrotter, gay”, while on Facebook, his profile picture appears in rainbow colours.

Last night Kamil Bulonis posted a report of his journey from Italy by coach. It is so moving that we are pasting it in full. Especially given that we cannot rely on mainstream media to break with their common narrative about “bad Hungarian nationalists” and “poor immigrants”.


This is the account by Kamil Bulonis:

One and a half hours ago, on the border of Italy and Austria, I saw with my own eyes massive incidents involving immigrants… in all my solidarity with people finding themselves in a difficult life situation I must say, that what I saw breeds fear…

This great mass of people — sorry that I write this, but it’s an absolute horde. Vulgar words, thrown bottles, loud cries of “We want Germany” — is Germany at present some kind of paradise? I saw how they surrounded the car of an older Italian lady, pulled her out by her hair and wanted to drive off in that car. The coach I was on in a group, they attempted to overturn. Excrement was thrown at us, they banged on the doors, so that the driver would open them, they spat at the window… I ask, for what purpose? How can this wild horde assimilate in Germany? For a moment, I thought I was in a war…

I really feel sorry for these people, but if they were to reach us [Poland] — I don’t think they would receive any understanding from us… For three hours we waited at the border, which ultimately we did not cross. The whole group was escorted back to Italy in a police cordon. The coach looks destroyed, covered in excrement, scratched and with broken windows. And this is the idea to solve our demographic issues? These great, giant regiments of barbarians? Among them, there were almost no women, no children — the overwhelming majority were young aggressive males…

Yesterday, reading the news on all the websites, I was still subconsciously caring, worried about their destiny, but today, after what I saw, I am simply afraid, but happy at the same time that they do not choose our nation as their destination. We Poles are simply not ready to accept these people — not culturally, and not financially. I don’t know if anyone is ready. A pathology is entering the EU, which up until now we never had a chance to see. And my apologies to anyone I may have offended anyone with this entry.

Finally, I’ll add that cars arrived containing humanitarian aid — first and foremost, with food and water, yet they simply overturned these cars… through the megaphone, the Austrians announced that they agree for them to cross the border — they wanted to register them, and allow them to go further — but they didn’t understand these announcements. They understood nothing. And in all this, that was the biggest horror… among a few thousand people, nobody understood Italian, English, German, Russian or Spanish. The power of the fist was what mattered… they fought for the right to proceed further, and they had this right — but they didn’t understand this! In the coach of the French group they opened the luggage compartment — everything that was inside, in a few moments was stolen, a few of the items were strewn across the ground… in my short life, I had never had a chance to witness such scenes, and I have a feeling that this is only the beginning. On a final note I’ll add, that it’s good to help — but not at any cost.

 

[SAPPHIRE]

IMO......these congregant hordes of muzzie "immigrants" are just another tool to kick all props from European countries or any other who welcome uncontrolled invasion of desperate people.......will Mexico welcome hordes of South Americans? They have no strong infrastructure to handle them even if they were legit refugees......the young fit males are great recruits for jihadis and will make a fine renegade military controlled by "gimme" fundamentals....

Whoever feeds them, houses them, and allows unlimited propagation will find themselves erased..........these people will do whatever necessary and all according "to what's right in their own eyes"........A HUGE TROJAN HORSE OF DESTRUCTION WORLDWIDE...

 

[bev]

Thought I'd put this here - interesting, but does blame the US for the whole crisis.

"What's Life Like For Syrian Refugees in Germany"

http://www.ibtimes.com/whats-life-syrian-refugees-germany-2083610

Unable to post article, just link.

 

[bev]

One more -

"We're missing the point about Syrian refugees
The solution is not opening up Europe's borders; it's defeating ISIL and removing Assad from power."

05 Sep 2015 10:45 GMT | War & Conflict, Politics, Middle East, Syria, Mediterranean

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/09/missing-point-syrian-refugees-150903110038405.html

 

[Laurane]

The countries accepting those healthy young men should round them up into military units, train, equip and arm them and then lead them into battle to retake their countries.......or they will have to accept the consequences of invasion, and the standard of living and differences in cultures will cause the citizens to vote those governments out.

Those countries should already be helping to rid the world of ISIS and other terrorists, but their liberal mindsets and poor economies won't allow them to do anything constructive or "warlike"......

 

[imaginative]

Italy’s Jewish Leadership Calls for Aid for Refugees

September 6, 2015

Italy’s Jewish leadership called for Sunday’s European Day of Jewish Culture to be dedicated to battling indifference and urged aid and welcome for refugees.

This year marked the 16th edition of the European Day of Jewish Culture, a continent-wide Jewish culture and education festival that encompasses hundreds of events in more than 30 countries.

Renzo Gattegna, president of the umbrella organization, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, made his appeal in his speech in Florence opening Jewish Culture Day events in Italy, which included concerts, performances, guided tours, exhibits and other events in more than 70 towns and cities up and down the peninsula.

He urged all participants in the European Day of Jewish Culture, “regardless of their sex, ethnicity, language, religion, or political opinion,” to dedicate the day “to that part of humanity, innocent and vulnerable, that is forced on a desperate flight from their own country in an attempt to save their lives and the lives of their children.”

Indifference in the face of the suffering and death of others, he said, can entail “falling into the abyss of cynicism and of complicity with murderers and criminals.” Judaism is based on “solid principles and profound roots that provide for the obligation of welcome and of respect for strangers and those who are different,” he said.

Gattegna noted that Jewish communities and institutions in Florence and Milan have already “concretely and rapidly mobilized” to work with civic bodies to help migrants.

The general theme for Culture Day this year was “Bridges.”

The time has come, Gattegna said, for “political and religious leaders, democratic states, organizations and international courts” to take united action “to induce or force” respect for legality. “I consider it necessary that in addition to speaking of bridges, also should be clarified today the necessary and essential conditions, without which their building would be unnecessary or impossible,” he said.

http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/320509/italys-jewish-leadership-calls-for-aid-for-refugees/

 

[Melodi]

Thanks to everyone posting here, I'm a bit under the weather today so slower as is the news; I sort of expected this would happen, until the next ball drops

EU-sponsored food for refugees will be part of €500m farmers' aid
John Downing Twitter

Bio

Published
07/09/2015 | 02:30

Phil Hogan

The EU Commission is to provide subsidised food from its stocks to stricken refugees as part of farmer-aid proposals to be put before Agriculture Ministers in Brussels today.

The plan is part of a €500m package, which will also advance early grant payments to Irish farmers to help offset falling incomes due to chaos in world food markets.

It will be presented in the name of EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, who will miss today's crucial meeting because he is in a Dublin hospital after being taken ill at the weekend.

Mr Hogan, an avid Kilkenny hurling fan, also missed yesterday's hurling final. But he is understood to not be seriously ill and is responding to treatment for extreme abdominal pain.

The plan is to provide subsidised food, bought to support flagging prices, to organisations helping stricken migrants all over the EU. The hope is that the initiative can help alleviate two problems with one action.

Thousands of farmers, including farm union activists from Ireland, will today march in Brussels in their first major demonstration in the EU capital for many years. They are demanding EU action to address falling family farm incomes in the wake of a collapse in world commodity prices.

In a clear warning to the EU Commission and the EU agriculture ministers in advance of the farmers' protest, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Eddie Downey said the traditional food distribution system had broken down.

He said below-cost selling by retailers and cartels was squeezing the viability from farm food production, which was already under severe pressure from depressed and volatile commodity markets.

"It is critically important that ministers step up at tomorrow's meeting with a strong declaration that Europe will ban below-cost selling of food and address the excessive input costs imposed on farmers.

"It is vital that farm ministers take action to ensure the EU Single Market is working properly," said Mr Downey.

Both the IFA and Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, who will attend today's talks, had sought early advances on various EU farmer grants to help alleviate hardship. Last Thursday, Mr Hogan signalled that he was doing this and last night more details emerged.

Mr Hogan had let it be known that he would advance up to 70pc of some grants on October 16. It has now emerged that up to 85pc will be advanced in many cases.

The EU is also initiating so-called aids to private storage schemes to fund the storing of product taken off the market. These schemes will apply to dairy products and pigmeat.

The extent of the migrant food aid plan has yet to be spelled out. It is understood that NGOs will be approached to seek their co-operation and much will depend on their reaction.

Irish Independent
http://www.independent.ie/irish-new...ill-be-part-of-500m-farmers-aid-31506669.html

 

[Melodi]

Refugee crisis: Hollande says France will take 24,000 refugees and 'begin Syria air missions'


Adam Withnall Author Biography

Monday 07 September 2015

Francois Hollande has said France will welcome 24,000 refugees as part of an EU-wide plan that "can and will" bring the crisis under control.

Speaking at the start of a live TV press conference, the French president said his country has a duty to take in those fleeing war and persecution, and is ready to do so.

His comments came as David Cameron prepared to outline Britain's plan to tackle the refugee crisis. The Prime Minister was expected to say that the UK would take "thousands" more asylum-seekers as part of a "fundamental rethink" of its role as a place of refuge.

Mr Hollande also said that France would begin military operations over Syria as part of its response to the crisis.

He said reconnaissance missions would begin on Tuesday, with a possible goal of launching future air strikes against Isis militants in that country.

"We have proof that attacks have been planned from Syria against several countries, notably France," he told the news conference.

"My responsibility is to ensure that we are informed as much as possible on the threats to our country ... so I have asked the defence minister that from tomorrow reconnaissance flights begin over Syria that will enable us to consider air strikes against Isis."

Mr Hollande said he and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, had spoken and agreed upon a mechanism to distribute refugees more fairly across Europe.

Also speaking on Monday, Ms Merkel told reporters that she and other European leaders "have a moving, in some parts breathtaking, weekend behind us".

The Reuters news agency reported that the EU executive was preparing to unveil a new set of quotas for more asylum-seekers to be shared across Europe.

Proposals to be announced on Wednesday will reportedly involve relocating a further 31,443 refugees in Germany, as well as the additional 24,031 Mr Hollande appears to have agreed to in France. In total, it will mean Europe taking in 120,000 people on top of the 40,000 previously agreed.

Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, has already rejected the idea of a new EU quota system for refugees, however.

He mocked the idea of having a quota while also maintaining the EU's open borders, and hit out at his fellow leaders for casting Hungary as the bloc's "black sheep" on the matter.

Speaking in an interview on Austrian TV, Mr Orban called on Germany to stop saying it would take in more asylum-seekers who, he said, were not refugees but migrants attracted by the German lifestyle.

Earlier, Ms Merkel called for help from her EU partners. She said: "Germany is a country willing to take people in, but refugees can be received in all countries of the European Union in such a way that they can find refuge from civil war and from persecution."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...es-and-begin-syria-air-missions-10489412.html

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Conflict News ‏@Conflicts 38m38 minutes ago

Photo: Hundreds of #refugees walking across #Denmark towards #Sweden - @hjortur Photo from dr.dk

 

[Melodi]

Yikes I had not heard people were walking from Denmark to Sweden, I'll have to look into that one...meanwhile.. I am sorry about fewer photos, but a lot of the UK papers are making copying photos nearly impossible unless I cut them out, save them into a photo processor myself and then post them from my computer, which mostly I don't have time for. Irish papers are still allowing photos to be copied into posts for now as is the UK Daily Mail and the BBC.

Libya: 183 bodies now recovered after capsize of boat in Zuwara

‘The scale of the tragedy is unbearable,’ say aid workers, who have recovered the bodies from boat that sank in August

Libyan Red Cross workers carry a body that washed up in Zuwara, Libya.
Photograph: Mohamed Ben Khalifa/AP

Lisa O'Carroll and agencies
@lisaocarroll

Monday 7 September 2015 15.34 BST
Last modified on Monday 7 September 2015 16.52 BST

The bodies of 183 people who drowned attempting to reach Europe last month when a people-smuggling boat capsized have now washed up on the coast of Libya.

Shocking photographs of children’s bodies were posted on social media 10 days ago but aid agencies in the port city of Zuwara say scores more bodies have now been recovered.

Mark Micallef, executive editor of Migrant Report, a non-profit organisation documenting the crisis in the Mediterranean, said the police and the Libyan Red Cross (LRC) have now recovered 183 bodies.

“We recover bodies practically every week but the scale of this tragedy is unbearable,” an LRC volunteer told Migrant Report.
Refugee crisis: what can you do to help?
Read more

The coastguard used at least two helicopters in the recovery process. “The day after the incident we collected more than 60 bodies from less than half a kilometre of beach. So many people’s lives wasted,” the volunteer said.

The boat, carrying 400 people, sank off the Libyan port of Zuwara, 160km west of Tripoli.

Mohsan Ftis, liaison officer for Médecins Sans Frontières in Zuwara, said the Red Cross locally had said they had saved 110 people the night of the accident and there had been local demonstrations against people smuggling in the aftermath.

“What I saw that night, the bodies of just regular people floating out, made me angry, sad, scared for the first time. It made my stomach churn and still the images of this night come into my head, it is a big accident and a very sad moment.

“The people have protested and we don’t see this people smuggling in Zuwara, people are angry and this scares the smugglers. It helps that people are coming out,” said Ftis.

An estimated 2,500 people have perished in the Mediterranean trying to get to Europe this summer.

Last Thursday, Libya’s coastguards said they had rescued more than 100 people on an overloaded rubber dinghy bound for Europe about to sink off the coast of Tripoli on Thursday.

“We rescued 104 African migrants, including 14 women. Most of them were from Sierra Leone and Nigeria,” Lieut Mohamad Dandi of the Tripoli coastguard told AFP.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/libya-183-drowned-people-smuggling-boat-zuwara

 

[Be Well]

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/09/07/migrants-richer-than-some-hungarians-says-hungarian-mep/

MIGRANTS ‘RICHER THAN SOME HUNGARIANS’ SAYS HUNGARIAN MEP

NICK HALLETT 7 Sep 2015

A Hungarian MEP has said that many of the ‘refugees’ who have come to his country are little more than economic migrants and are even wealthier than some of the poorest people in Hungary.

György Schöpflin, a member of the governing Fidesz party, told Sky News that some of refugees who swamped Budapest’s main railway station last week were not as desperate as media outlets had made them out to be.

“When you’re looking at some of these refugees, they’re actually rather better off than some of the rather poorer people in Hungary.

“They do have very sophisticated smart phones, designer clothes – they’re not the poorest of the poor.”

Schöpflin, a Europhile and former Jean Monnet Professor of Politics at University College London, added: “Many of them are desperate of course, but some of them are only economic migrants and that’s a different situation. They have to be sorted out.”

He added that Hungary will accept “somewhere around 2,000″ migrants permanently, but called on other EU nations to take action, and laid particular blame on Germany and Austria for causing the crowds after they insisted the migrants be processed.

The crowds continued to grow until Friday evening when, in a surprise move, the Hungarian government authorised buses to take thousands of migrants to the Austrian border where they disembarked and gathered in the small town of Nickelsdorf.

They then crowded into the town’s station while the Austrian government laid on two trains an hour to take them to Vienna.

Some migrants even walked all the way from Budapest to the Austrian border after they grew tired of waiting and distrustful of the Hungarian authorities. Even when the buses arrived, some believed they may actually be taken to refugee camps instead of Austria.

Germany and Austria have already pledged to take in as many migrants as possible with the head of Germany’s Federal Office from Migration and Refugees saying there was “no upward limit” on how many they could accept.

 

[Be Well]

HUNGARY PREPARES MILITARY DEPLOYMENT TO COUNTER MIGRANTS

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/09/07/hungary-prepares-military-deployment-to-counter-migrants/

SIMON KENT 7 Sep 2015

BUDAPEST, Hungary (Sept. 7) – Hungary is preparing legislation that will enable it to deploy its army and para-military police on the country’s southern border with Serbia.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban made the announcement today as he detailed a package of measures he said protected both his nation and Europe’s collective Christian culture from being threatened “perhaps not by war, but by being overwhelmed”.

Mr Orban, speaking to a gathering of Hungarian diplomats in the capital Budapest, said he hoped this controversial move would succeed in “hermetically sealing” the border, with people crossing at official points only. He also questioned whether the flood of people now seeking sanctuary in Europe should be seen as immigrants, not as refugees, because they are seeking a “German life” and refuse asylum in the first EU country they reach.

“If they want to continue on from Hungary, it’s not because they are in danger, it’s because they want something else,” the prime minister said, adding that the migrants’ target was Germany and “a German life”, not physical safety.

As Breitbart London has reported, Hungary is seen as a gateway between Mediterranean ports in Italy and Greece that receive most of the inbound immigrants heading from the Middle East. The vast majority of those travel onwards through Serbia and Macedonia before reaching Hungary with the stated aim of moving to Germany and other wealthier western European countries.

Left unchecked, this inflow will place an impossible financial burden on the EU, Mr Orban said, endangering what he called Europe’s “Christian welfare states”. He has previously said the arrival of large numbers of mostly Muslim migrants posed a threat to Europe’s Christian culture and values.

Mr Orban also called on the EU to consider providing financial support to countries such as Turkey which are near to the conflict zones so that migrants did not move on.

“It’s absurd …. when the Germans say they will spend billions on providing for the new arrivals instead of giving the money to the countries around the crisis zone, where the (migrants) should be stopped in the first place,” he said.

“It would be better for everyone. They wouldn’t come here. It would cost less. And our approach couldn’t be called into question morally either.”

While Hungary would remain part of the EU’s passport-free ‘Schengen zone’, Mr Orban said discussion of a quota system to limit future movements was premature.

“As long as Europe cannot protect its external borders it makes no sense to discuss the fate of those flowing in,” he said, adding that he did not rule out a “fair” discussion of quotas at a later stage.

Meanwhile, Socratis Hasikos, Cyprus interior minister with added responsibility for migration policy, has told state radio his country would be willing to take 300 refugees but would want them to be Orthodox Christians. He said:

“We have already stated that 260, a maximum of 300, people can be taken in … everyone (EU member states) should pitch in.

“We would seek for them to be Orthodox Christians … it’s not an issue of being inhuman or not helping if we are called upon, but to be honest, yes, that’s what we would prefer.”

 

[Be Well]

END OF THE LINE: HUNGARY SEALS BORDERS AS MIGRANT FLOW SURGES ON

http://www.breitbart.com/london/201...gary-seals-borders-as-migrant-flow-surges-on/

SIMON KENT 7 Sep 2015

BUDAPEST, Hungary (Sept. 7) – Hungary has had enough. After weeks of turmoil driven by immigrants surging through the country’s frontiers on their way to Germany, borders with Serbia to the south and Austria to the north are being closed in an effort to return order to the nation’s sovereignty.

Dedicated train services for migrants between the capital Budapest and border regions are also being wound up.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told reporters late Sunday night he supports the closures after what he called “intensive talks” with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“We have always said this is an emergency situation in which we must act quickly and humanely,” said Faymann. “We have helped more than 12,000 people in an acute situation. Now we have to move step-by-step away from emergency measures towards normality, in conformity with the law and dignity.”

Austria’s agreement to once again close its border came after a statement broadcast by state television broadcaster ORF, when Mr Orban said the two countries should state clearly they will not accept more refugees, “because otherwise several million people would arrive in Europe.”

Entering the EU without documents is against the rules, but despite that Austria allowed migrants to enter the country. Most of the migrants arriving are economic refugees, Orban has been quoted as saying.

He pointed out that Hungary has sufficient “financial and police forces” to provide accommodation and food to those needing protection, “but despite that they all want to go to Germany.”

“The problem is not with us,” the prime minister stressed, adding his country is open to talks about European quotas for taking in refugees once the frontier is sealed off, Orban told ORF, Reuters reported.

Later today a special rail link to the Hungarian border town of Hegyeshalom will come to an end, Austria’s national railway company told the Associated Press. A standard direct service between Vienna and Budapest will take its place, spokeswoman Sonya Horner said.

Fourteen trains from Budapest arrived at the Hegyeshalom station through Sunday afternoon, disgorging refugees onto the platform. They supplemented 104 buses used to clear Budapest’s central Keleti train station and Hungary’s major motorway of around 4,000 migrants and deliver them to the border in a 48-hour operation that started Saturday.

Police waived document checks as passengers walked to waiting Austria-bound trains, which typically left less than three minutes later. Austrian police said more than 13,000 refugees had passed through their country to Germany over the past two days, far more than expected.

Meanwhile Hungary is rushing to complete a new border fence separating it from Serbia while at the same time building holding areas for immigrants trying to enter the country without passports or identity documents. Under EU rules anyone claiming asylum in a member country must be register at their first point of landing and as Greece and Italy are failing to do so Hungary is intent on enforcing a rule others are turning their back on.

Hungary has set a deadline of September 15 for work on the fence to be complete.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Conflict News ‏@Conflicts 8m8 minutes ago

Netherlands announces it will take 7,000 #refugees #RefugeeCrisis


Conflict News ‏@Conflicts 9m9 minutes ago

BREAKING: Hungarian Defence Minister resigns after meeting was held to discuss huge refugee inflow - @AJENews

 

[Be Well]

Conflict News ‏@Conflicts 8m8 minutes ago

Netherlands announces it will take 7,000 #refugees #RefugeeCrisis


Conflict News ‏@Conflicts 9m9 minutes ago

BREAKING: Hungarian Defence Minister resigns after meeting was held to discuss huge refugee inflow - @AJENews

Hmm, was he forced to resign or what? I'd like to know details. So I guess the N'lands wants more attacks.

 

[Melodi]

What I can find so far..


Hungarian defense minister resigns as migrant inflow continues
Reuters
51 minutes ago



BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's Defense Minister Csaba Hende resigned on Monday after a national security council meeting held to discuss the huge influx of refugees and migrants arriving in the country.

The country, which has seen more than 100,000 people arrive, many fleeing conflict in the Middle East, last week proposed measures that would allow it to deploy the army to its borders in a bid to stem the inflow.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-winger who has pushed for a hard line on Europe's immigration crisis, accepted Hende's resignation and offered the job to Istvan Simicsko, also a member of his Fidesz party.

(Reporting By Thomas Escritt and Sandor Peto)
http://news.yahoo.com/hungarian-defense-minister-resigns-migrant-inflow-continues-165103207.html

 

[Melodi]

Hungary's defence minister resigns over refugee crisis
Hungary's defence minister resigns as refugee inflow continues while Greece decides to use second port to ease pressure.

07 Sep 2015 17:32 GMT | Humanitarian crises, Europe, Greece

Junior interior minister Yiannis Mouzalas said a second departure point would open at the fishing village of Sygri in coming days [Reuters]

Hungary's Defence Minister Csaba Hende resigned after a national security council meeting was held to discuss the huge influx of refugees and migrants arriving in the country.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-winger who has pushed for a hard line on Europe's immigration crisis,
Syrian refugees embark on journey from Hungary to Austria

accepted Hende's resignation on Monday and offered the job to Istvan Simicsko, also a member of his Fidesz party.

The country, which has seen more than 100,000 people arrive, many fleeing conflict in the Middle East, last week proposed measures that would allow it to deploy the army to its borders in a bid to stem the inflow.

Greek island 'on the verge of explosion'

The Greek island of Lesbos is "on the verge of explosion" with the arrival of more than 15,000 mainly Syrian refugees, pushing local resources to the limit, the immigration minister said.

Yiannis Mouzalas told To Vima radio on Monday that boats taking refugees to the Greek mainland would soon be using a second port to ease pressure on the island of 85,000 inhabitants.

"Mytilene currently has 15,000-17,000 refugees and this is the official figure from all services," Mouzalas, a junior interior minister, told the station.

"We are placing emphasis here because the situation is on the verge of explosion," he said.
Syrian refugees disembark on the island of Lesbos [Getty Images]

Second departure point

The minister said the second departure point would open at the fishing village of Sygri in coming days.

Lesbos is one of several Greek islands struggling with an influx of thousands of refugees, many of them Syrian refugees, setting sail from the nearby Turkish coast.

"We hope that in the next five days the (islanders) and the refugees will see clear signs of improvement," he said.

More than 230,000 people have landed on Greek shores this year, with the numbers soaring in recent weeks as people seek to take advantage of the calm summer weather.
More than 230,000 people have landed on Greek shores this year [AP]

UK promise

Meanwhile on Monday, British Prime minister David Cameron said the UK will re-settle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees from camps in Turkey, Jordan and Syria over the next five years.

The figure represents a vast expansion of Britain's refugee programme, a change signaled by Cameron last week.

He told Parliament that Britain has a moral responsibility to act, citing shocking images in recent days.

Cameron said vulnerable children and orphans will be given priority. New arrivals will be given five-year "humanitarian protection" visas upon arrival in Britain.

Source: Agencies
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/greece-lesbo-island-explosion-refugees-150907144726913.html

 

[Dozdoats]

Sand sculpture ...

Img from https://westernrifleshooters.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/humanity-washed-ashore.jpg?w=2210&h=1470
============================

STORY and more art at the link-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...n-toddler-Aylan-Kurdi-s-dead-body-Turkey.html

Slumped in the sand just like the real body of the young boy it depicts, this sculpture is one of thousands of emotional responses which have poured out across the globe to the shocking images of dead Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi.

Indian artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created the sand sculpture of the three-year-old at Puri beach, 65 kilometers from Bhubaneswar in eastern India.

The words written below, 'Humanity washed ashore. SHAME SHAME SHAME...,' encapsulate the horror felt by all who have seen the pictures of Aylan face down in the sand of Turkey's Bodrum beach after he drowned alongside his mother Rehan, 35, and brother Galip, five.

The desperate family - who fled the ISIS-besieged Syrian city of Kobane - were on an overcrowded dinghy bound for the Greek island of Kos when it capsized. The boys' father Abdullah survived.

On social media, users have created moving and poignant artworks in response to the tragedy, with many portraying the tragic little boy as an angel.

Scroll down for video

 

[Shacknasty Shagrat]

I hope the refugees are provided with food that they are accustomed to.
SS

'African Migrants Protest “Monotonous” Italian Food – Riot and Slash Workers’ Tires

Jim Hoft Sep 6th, 2015 2:36 pm

Hundreds of North African immigrants clashed with police in Bresso, near Milan, Italy last week.
The immigrants were upset about their living conditions and the failure of authorities to issue residence permits.

Immigrants in Veneto refused to eat the pasta provided by local officials. They wanted to be fed food from their home countries.


They immigrants then slashed the staff workers’ tires.

The Local reported:

For two days, a group of about 40 asylum-seekers staying at a refugee centre in the Veneto province of Belluno refused to eat the “pasta with tomato sauce, bread and eggs” meals they were given and called to be fed food from their own countries, Libero Quotidiano reported.

To reinforce their point, they blocked a street with a wooden bench, put their lunch on the ground along with bags of clothes and threatened to leave the centre in La Secca, a hamlet in Ponte nelle Alpi.

They reportedly said “we do not eat this stuff”.

The refugees, said to have been staying at the centre for the past four months, also reportedly slashed the tires of cars belonging to staff working there in protest against living conditions.

The protest, which follows similar ones at centres in Pozzallo in Sicily and Rome, was also partly sparked by “boredom”, the newspaper said, as they “do not know what to do with themselves”.

Police soon broke up the protest and the refugees resumed eating, but Antonio De Lieto, the president of Libero Sindicato di Polizia, a non-profit organization that represents staff of the state police force, told The Local that the action was “excessive”.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...-monotonous-italian-food-slash-workers-tires/

 

[Be Well]

I hope the refugees are provided with food that they are accustomed to.
SS

'African Migrants Protest “Monotonous” Italian Food – Riot and Slash Workers’ Tires

Jim Hoft Sep 6th, 2015 2:36 pm

Hundreds of North African immigrants clashed with police in Bresso, near Milan, Italy last week.
The immigrants were upset about their living conditions and the failure of authorities to issue residence permits.

Immigrants in Veneto refused to eat the pasta provided by local officials. They wanted to be fed food from their home countries.


They immigrants then slashed the staff workers’ tires.

The Local reported:

For two days, a group of about 40 asylum-seekers staying at a refugee centre in the Veneto province of Belluno refused to eat the “pasta with tomato sauce, bread and eggs” meals they were given and called to be fed food from their own countries, Libero Quotidiano reported.

To reinforce their point, they blocked a street with a wooden bench, put their lunch on the ground along with bags of clothes and threatened to leave the centre in La Secca, a hamlet in Ponte nelle Alpi.

They reportedly said “we do not eat this stuff”.

The refugees, said to have been staying at the centre for the past four months, also reportedly slashed the tires of cars belonging to staff working there in protest against living conditions.

The protest, which follows similar ones at centres in Pozzallo in Sicily and Rome, was also partly sparked by “boredom”, the newspaper said, as they “do not know what to do with themselves”.

Police soon broke up the protest and the refugees resumed eating, but Antonio De Lieto, the president of Libero Sindicato di Polizia, a non-profit organization that represents staff of the state police force, told The Local that the action was “excessive”.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...-monotonous-italian-food-slash-workers-tires/

Send them back to their home countries so they can have something to do and the food they like.

 

[Be Well]

http://www.breitbart.com/london/201...-ad-campaign-telling-migrants-dont-come-here/

DENMARK LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN TELLING MIGRANTS: ‘DON’T COME HERE

NICK HALLET 7 Sep 2015

The Danish government has published adverts in Lebanese newspapers today telling migrants to stay away from Denmark.

The move, which was first announced in July, follows a decision by the country’s centre-right government to cut benefits to migrants. Integration Minister Inger Støjberg said the adverts would communicate the new policy straight to the immigrants before they even set off.

“There is something strange about the fact that a refugee would travel through several countries before ending up in Denmark,” she added.

The Local reports that the first adverts have now appeared in four Lebanese newspapers, including the Daily Star, which published an English-language version. The ad says that Denmark has cut benefits to migrants by up to 50 per cent and adds that those granted asylum will not be able to bring family members.

#Denmark’s advertising campaign to deter refugees out today in ten languages. Here is the English version. #dkpol pic.twitter.com/7pk7dvo1aA

— Justin Cremer (@justinCPH) September 7, 2015​

The move has proved controversial, however, with left wing activists planning to put counter-advertisements in foreign papers in a “welcome refugees” campaign.

The adverts have also been criticised by members of the governing Venstre party, with MEP Jens Rohde saying: “One wishes that our minister – before she sets a bunch of things in action and appears on TV thumping her chest about how strong she is – would do some field studies so she could actually see what the conditions are like in Syria, Libya, Greece and the refugee camps.”

Støjberg has defended the ads, however. She wrote on Facebook: “Today I have, as promised, published advertisements in four Lebanese newspapers informing about the changed conditions for people who apply for asylum in Denmark.”

“The aim is to inform objectively and soberly about [Danish rules], which the government is in the process of tightening,” she added. “In light of the huge influx to Europe these days, there is good reason for us to tighten rules and get that effectively communicated.”

The adverts have also been published in 10 different languages on the Danish government’s website, including Albanian, Arabic, Farsi, Pasto and Somali.

 

[Be Well]

Very cogent analysis with some interesting possible solutions.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-s...st-migrant-crisis-requires-mideast-solutions/

THE MIDEAST MIGRANT CRISIS REQUIRES MIDEAST SOLUTIONS

NOAH BECK 7 Sep 2015

Political responses to crises are often tardy and embarrassingly fad-driven, as with the current global outcry over the image of a three-year-old Syrian boy washed up on the Turkish shore. He was hardly the first innocent victim of this century’s most brutal war. Where has the world been for the last 54 months?

Indeed, the unfolding humanitarian crisis was an entirely foreseeable consequence of Obama’s spineless Syria policy, and the Western European leaders who followed it. So it is understandable if some collective shame for Western failures — driven by tragic images that went viral — has prompted Europe suddenly to announce that it will accept more refugees from the war-torn Middle East.

But how did the West become more responsible for the Mideast refugee crisis than the wealthiest Mideast states (whose funding of Islamist rebels helped to create that crisis)? According to news reports and think tanks, Arab Gulf donors have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Syria in recent years, including to ISIS and other groups.

Even if Gulf states were not at all responsible for aggravating the Syrian refugee crisis by strengthening ISIS, their wealth, proximity, and cultural/religious affinities with the refugees should still make these countries far more responsible than Europe is for their welfare. The vast majority of refugees are Muslim Arabs. They therefore share a common language, religion, culture and ethnicity with the wealthy Gulf countries that have shunned them for reasons of national security (as if the West did not have such concerns). Any dialect or denominational differences Mideast refugees may have with Gulf states are nothing compared to the cultural, linguistic, ethnic, and religious differences between most Middle East refugees and the European countries they hope to enter.

Even more absurd, Gulf countries are bringing in foreign laborers to build up their vast, oil-rich territories. Putting aside their horrific exploitation of those workers (which is a scandal all of its own, even if campus protests, international boycotts, and UN resolutions never mention it), why are they not instead accepting Mideast refugees who would happily accept the work that imported labor is now doing? Similarly, why have no Gulf countries granted Palestinian refugees citizenship if they so readily advocate for them at the U.N. out of some purported concern for their welfare?

By contrast, tiny Israel absorbed nearly a million Jews from the Middle East and North Africa who were similarly made homeless when, in the 1940s and 1950s, their survival meant fleeing the Muslim-majority states where they had lived for millennia. Israel has also accepted plenty of non-Jewish refugees, from the Vietnamese boatpeople in the late 1970s to African refugees and migrants in recent years. Israel has provided humanitarian medical assistance to countless Syrians and now Israel’s deputy minister of regional affairs Israel (an Arab Druze) has joined the leader of the political opposition in urging Israel to accept Syrian refugees, despite the demographic and strategic risks of doing so.

Yet Europe now tries to hurt Israel’s economy by stigmatizing goods from the West Bank, with no similar economic campaigns against any of the Gulf countries, whose human rights records are exponentially worse on every issue: freedom of speech, women’s rights, religious freedom, minority rights, gay rights, treatment of guest workers, helping refugees, etc.

Such double standards will undoubtedly worsen as Europe becomes increasingly Muslim — a trend that will only intensify with the current migrant crisis. But appeasement has not kept Europe safe from Islamist attacks, as evidenced by the 2004 Madrid bombings, the 2005 London attacks, the 2014 Belgium attack, and this year’s attacks in Paris (to name a few).

Europe clearly failed to integrate Muslim immigrants into its societies, which only reinforces doubts about the wisdom of bringing in more such immigrants.

More importantly, the EU’s sudden, politically correct acceptance of refugees addresses the symptoms rather than the root cause: the rise of ISIS — an evil cancer that metastasizes with each day that the world dithers. The longer ISIS survives, the more people are killed, tortured, and enslaved, the more Syria’s minorities will be persecuted under an extreme Sunni Islamic rule, and the more refugees will desperately try to flee wherever they can.

Defeating ISIS will have to happen eventually anyway, because ISIS threatens everything that civilized life offers, so the sooner that painful task is accomplished, the sooner the related problems (like the migrant crisis) will be solved.

ISIS took territory from Syria and Iraq that is roughly the size of Indiana (according to this New York Times article last July about ISIS’s destruction of Mideast Christianity), so there is plenty of land to resettle refugees, once ISIS is defeated.

Notwithstanding the generous island-purchase-offer by an Egyptian billionaire, the best long-term home for these refugees is not some remote Greek island (which only consolidates ISIS’s victory). Rather, the refugees should be able to live in security and dignity in the same region from which they fled, which means defeating ISIS and converting the ISIS-liberated territories into mini states that will serve as safe havens for moderate Sunnis and the various minorities at risk, including Christians, Kurds, Druze, Yazidis, and Alawites (who will become the most targeted after Syria’s Alawite-led regime falls).

The Kurds — who have fought ISIS with more courage and determination than any other party — have more than proven themselves worthy of a state.

The fact that Christians were once 20% of the Middle East and are now safest in the only non-Muslim country in the entire region (Israel), reinforces the need to create a Mideast Christian State. Such a state could exist around Mosul and/or other parts of Iraq/Syria where Christianity has historically existed (Assyria, Antioch, etc.).

The Druze — an ancient religion that has often also suffered persecution — could be given a state in southwest Syria.

There could be yet another, non-religious state that welcomes any other minorities (like the Yazidis) and moderate Sunni Muslims.

Until ISIS is replaced with stable and sane states, the Gulf countries should welcome all Mideast refugees.

To address the Middle East refugee crisis intelligently, the EU should help to defeat ISIS, convert liberated territories into states for the region’s persecuted minorities, and pressure Gulf states to absorb all refugees in the interim.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

TahrirSy تحرير سوري ‏@TahrirSy 13m13 minutes ago

Ashdown: Lords minister just confirmed #refugee orphans&children brought in under #Cameron scheme will be deported at age 18.#Syria #Britain

 

[Melodi]

Syrian child refugees 'to be deported at age 18', says Paddy Ashdown

David Cameron says Britain will resettle up to 20,000 refugees of Syrian conflict
Oliver Wright Author Biography

Political Editor

Monday 07 September 2015

Syrian refugee children who are allowed into to the UK under new measures announced by David Cameron could be deported when they reach 18, it has been claimed.

Britain will resettle up to 20,000 refugees who have fled from the conflict in Syria, the Prime Minister announced, but some may not arrive until the end of the decade and could face deportation after they have been in the UK for five years.

Refugee groups and opposition politicians lined up to criticise the announcement made by Mr Cameron for being “pitifully short of what’s needed” to tackle the crisis. The Speaker of the Commons has granted an emergency debate on the issue today.

Mr Cameron claimed the UK’s new resettlement scheme would ensure that vulnerable children – including orphans – are a priority, following in the tradition of the Kindertransport programme that helped Jewish children escape from Nazi Germany.

But it later emerged all those accepted under the scheme will only be given the right to remain in the UK for five years. This, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats Lord Ashdown suggested, could mean orphans and children being deported at age 18 having made a new life in Britain. A government spokesman said that after the five-year period refugees could apply for indefinite leave to remain.

More than 370,000 people have now signed The Independent’s petition urging the Government to take immediate action to open the country’s doors to refugees. In addition, at least 5,000 people have volunteered to provide housing and assistance to refugees. Over 40 councils are discussing accommodating refugees in their cities.

A poll for The Independent by ORB finds that nearly half of Britons believe that the Government should “do more” to help those fleeing the crisis. In his statement, Mr Cameron acknowledged the depth of public feeling and said it was right that Britain should “fulfil its moral responsibility” to help refugees.

“Given the scale of the crisis and the suffering of the Syrian people it is right that we should do much more,” he said, announcing that Britain would “resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the rest of this parliament”.

Mr Cameron said the scale and speed of the resettlement programme would depend on the advice of the UNHCR working on the ground in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, where the majority of the refugees are living in camps.

But he refused to set a target for how many refugees Britain would take this year, leading to criticism that he was doing too little.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, described the 20,000 figure as “slim compared with vast total of human need”, while the shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said much more could be done in a far shorter space of time.

“In the 1930s Britain took 10,000 children in just nine months,” she said. “I am urging the Prime Minister to look again at this – and to talk to local authorities about how many more people they can swiftly help. It isn’t enough to take refugees over five years when the crisis is now.”

The Green Party MP Caroline Lucas added: “The Prime Minister’s announcement amounts to letting in just 12 Syrian refugees per day until May 2020 and is pitifully short of what’s needed and of what British people want and expect. The UK should be taking more refugees – and doing so as quickly as possible.”

Charities operating in the sector were more supportive, but also suggested that the Government could potentially have done more.

“It shouldn’t have taken a photograph to get politicians to start to do the right thing, but this news offers a vital lifeline to thousands of Syrians,” said Steve Symonds of Amnesty International.

“However, it does not address the huge challenge facing Europe right now – countries like Greece and Hungary cannot cope alone. Nor does it offer a solution to the many Eritreans, Afghans and others, forced to flee bullets, bombs, torture and overcrowded refugee camps elsewhere.”

Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring welcomed the announcement, but urged Mr Cameron to set out an “ambitious” timetable for completing the resettlement programme as soon as possible. Maurice Wren, Refugee Council chief executive, said the programme needed to be “frontloaded”.

The poll for The Independent found that 49 per cent of the public believe the UK should do more to help with the current influx of people leaving the Middle East and Africa, with 38 per cent opposed and 12 per undecided. However, only 41 per cent believe the PM should allow more refugees fleeing the conflict into Britain, with 46 per cent opposed and 13 per cent undecided.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...fugees-to-be-deported-at-age-18-10490273.html

 

[Be Well]

http://www.breitbart.com/london/201...to-urge-west-into-taking-60-million-migrants/

EU AND OXFAM LAUNCH TAX PAYER FUNDED CAMPAIGN TO URGE WEST INTO TAKING 60 MILLION MIGRANTS

DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDS 7 Sep 2015

One of the world’s largest, allegedly corrupt charities* has joined forces with one of the world’s largest, allegedly corrupt governments** to guilt trip the Western world into welcoming 60 million migrants to their shores. On Sunday, the European Commission and Oxfam launched their YouSaveLives campaign to give “a face and a name to this vast army of invisible people.”

The launch, which took place at Expo Milano in Italy featured a theatre group acting out refugees’ stories; the presentation of Oxfam’s Off Grid Box, a latest generation device capable of producing clean energy and drinkable water using solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable sources; and a screening of the EU and Oxfam funded documentary District Zero, which tells the story of a Syrian refugee in Lebanon.

Present at the launch was Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, who said: “The citizens of the European Union are the principal source of the aid being offered to refugees. Promoting the “You Save Lives” campaign involves informing these citizens and providing them with an idea of what the funding is spent on.

In 2014 the European Commission allocated €854 million to aid displaced people in 33 different countries. This funding has made it possible to reduce suffering and give hope to those who have lost everything.”

He was joined by Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, who added “Oxfam has always worked to bring help to populations whose lives have been devastated by war, famine and other humanitarian crises. Today more than ever it is vital that we draw attention to the needs, hopes and dreams of the countless people who have been forced to abandon everything and flee.”

The campaign also has an online presence under the title EUSaveLives, which aims to “make the invisible [that is, refugees] visible.” It highlights EU Commission’s dedication to international aid spending, asserting that “relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity towards people in need all around the world.” The Commission and the EU member states combined are the world’s leading donor of humanitarian aid

Of the people of Syria it tells us: “With the war showing no signs of abating, Syrians who manage to flee the conflict are facing increasingly difficult conditions in neighbouring countries. International humanitarian aid has been vital in helping them to meet basic needs such as water and sanitation, food and shelter.

“Lebanon has the highest per capita concentration of refugees worldwide with nearly 1.2 million registered Syrian refugees and Palestine refugees from Syria.

“In Lebanon’s Bekaa valley, hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrian families are living in tents or unfinished buildings. In winter, the heavy snow blocks access for water and food trucks, and water tanks freeze, as families struggle to stay warm in sub-zero temperatures.”

The average temperature in the Bekaa valley in January, the coldest month of the year, is 13.3°C, more than twice London’s average of 5.9°C.*

*13.3 degrees celsius is 55.94 degrees fahrenheit.

According to homeless charity Crisis, local agencies report 7,581 people slept rough in London alone throughout 2014/15; a 16 percent rise on the previous year, most of those through the winter.

The UK is currently processing 7,030 asylum applications from Syria, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), on top of the more than 5,000 accepted since 2011.



NOTE: Just posting headline and snips.
*http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ity-probing-misconduct-aid-workers-Haiti.html

Former head of counter fraud at Oxfam is jailed for stealing £64,000 from the charity while probing misconduct by aid workers in Haiti

Edward McKenzie-Green was sent to Haiti to investigate fraud on behalf of Oxfam
The 34-year-old filed almost £65,000 worth of bogus invoices over nine months
The father-of-one was abusing anabolic steroids designed for animals at the time of the thefts
Court told that McKenzie-Green 'damaged' Oxfam's reputation


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/b...oup-finds-fault-with-european-union.html?_r=1

Anti-Corruption Group Finds Fault With European Union

...Weak enforcement of the existing rules means that “corruption risks persist at the E.U. level,” the report warned, saying the risks contribute to public skepticism of “the commitment of politicians and bureaucrats to a more open and ethical style of government.”

A series of prominent scandals in recent years have included the resignation of a European commissioner in the face of suspicions he knew about attempted bribery to soften anti-tobacco legislation, and the prosecution of lawmakers for agreeing to large payments in exchange for proposing amendments at the European Parliament.

 

[Be Well]

LAX SECURITY, PHONY IDS SURROUND EUROPE’S MIGRANT FLOOD

http://www.breitbart.com/national-s...ity-phony-ids-surround-europes-migrant-flood/

JOHN HAYWARD 7 Sep 2015

The Associated Press has filed an astounding report on the piles of fake documents appearing as discarded refuse along the migrant route into Europe, as the number of people claiming to be “Syrian” for the purposes of securing asylum status surges exponentially.

A Pakistani identity card in the bushes, a Bangladeshi one in a cornfield. A torn Iraqi driver’s license bearing the photo of a man with a Saddam-style moustache, another one with a scarfed woman displaying a shy smile.

Documents scattered only metres from Serbia’s border with Hungary provide evidence that many of the migrants flooding Europe to escape war or poverty are scrapping their true nationalities and likely assuming new ones, just as they enter the European Union.

Many of those travellers believe that using a fake document — or having none at all — gives them a better of chance of receiving asylum in Germany and other western European states. That’s because the surest route to asylum is to be a refugee from war and not an economic migrant fleeing poverty. That fact has led to a huge influx of people claiming to be Syrian.

Serbian border police say that 90 per cent of those arriving from Macedonia, some 3,000 a day, claim they are Syrian, although they have no documents to prove it. The so-called Balkan corridor for the migrant flight starts in Turkey, then goes through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the European Union in Hungary.

“You can see that something is fishy when most of those who cross into Serbia enter January first as the date of their birth,” said border police officer Miroslav Jovic. “Guess that’s the first date that comes to their mind.”​

The fake-passport industry is booming, in tandem with smuggling and other migration-related business opportunities. The BBC reports that German police have seized packages filled with Syrian passports, believed to be inventory destined for thriving fake-document sales operations. An official from the European Union’s border agency described the customers for these passports as “economic migrants.” Europe will be incredibly fortunate if that is all they are.

The twisted logic of open-borders “humanitarianism” makes it acceptable to entice migrants across dangerous land and sea routes, increasing the chances of more children drowning in the Mediterranean, because commissioning military vessels, cruise liners, cargo jets, and trucks to haul all the migrants from Libya and Turkey into Europe would be too obviously absurd.

Perhaps the European leaders presiding over this act of regional suicide should reconsider, tap their taxpayers for a few billion more euros, and set up both safer and more orderly transportation networks. If they send trucks and planes to the Turkish border to pick up Syrian refugees, at least they’ll have a fighting chance of knowing who’s really Syrian.

The Associated Press notes that the actual Syrians mixed into the refugee tide resent those with phony passports trying to cash in on their migration crisis.

For an idea of what a staggering security risk this migrant tide poses, just look towards the oil-rich Gulf states. They are taking zero refugees from nearby Syria, even though these nations are located far more conveniently, are already Islamic, and have so much money to burn that they fritter it away on modifying the local geography for artistic reasons.

And yet, in the words of a Syrian refugee recently arrived in Germany, as quoted by Bloomberg News: “In Europe, I can get treatment for my polio, educate my children, have shelter and live an honorable life. Gulf countries have closed their doors in the face of Syrians.”

Bloomberg News notes that “several Gulf countries have offered extended stays to thousands of Syrians, allowing many to reunite with family members and take jobs,” but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what Europe is dealing with, and these arrangements are expressly described as temporary. Some of the oil plutocracies have kicked in money for refugee camps near the conflict zones, but pointedly refuse to take more refugees.

They are worried about changing their “demographic balance” as well as “very worried about security threats from Syrian refugees,” in the words of Royal United Services Institute research fellow Michael Stephens.

The refugees, for their part, know what will happen to them if they try rushing the borders of a rich Islamic monarchy, and how they would be treated even if they survived the attempt, so they’re invading Europe instead.

The Washington Post cites humanitarian groups who observe that Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain have offered zero resettlement spots for Syrian refugees between them, even though several of those nations have put money behind Islamist forces in the Syrian rebellion, helping to create the very bloodbath these refugees are fleeing.

Nevertheless, one Saudi official quoted by Bloomberg claimed, “Europeans turned a blind eye to what was happening in Syria until the crisis reached their shores.”

Media coverage is very, very careful to show photos of families with children, and there certainly are plenty of them, but a huge portion of these “refugees” are military-aged males. The same media that was whining about “carefully-edited videos” during the Planned Parenthood exposés is editing footage of the migrant crisis with the care of any Hollywood production—just as they did when President Obama’s executive orders provoked a migratory crisis into the United States from South America, and citizens were surprised to learn that so many of those helpless little toddlers turned out to be teenagers with suspicious tattoos.

Young men are people too, of course, and there are some very specific incentives for them to flee Syria, as the Assad regime, ISIS, and various rebel factions target them for either conscription or elimination. As the UK Guardian put it, “the choice for young Syrian men is leave, or learn to kill.” But that does not excuse media and politicians from obscuring the true demographics of the migrant wave, or the security risks posed by allowing so many young men across the border so quickly, at a speed that makes verifying their identities nearly impossible.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150907/eu--europe-migrants-4cb5d4df78.html

Hundreds surge past police near Hungary border, march north

Sep 7, 7:01 PM (ET)
By NICOLAE DUMITRACHE and SHAWN POGATCHNIK

(AP) Volunteers help organize food and clothing aid as they prepare to welcome migrants,...
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ROSZKE, Hungary (AP) — Hundreds of angry and frustrated asylum-seekers broke through police lines Monday near Hungary's southern border with Serbia and began marching north toward Budapest, while Britain and France pledged to take in tens of thousands more refugees to try to ease the crisis.

As European leaders debated how to share responsibility for the more than 340,000 people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia who are already seeking refuge, Germany promised to spend billions of euros in extra aid for those already there and those yet to arrive. France weighed whether increased airstrikes against Islamic State militants would help to stem the flow of those fleeing Syria.

But the Hungarian prime minister scoffed at a proposed quota system for refugees in the 28-member European Union, saying it wouldn't work unless Europe first secured its borders.

Hungary's inability to control the flow of people across its southern border with Serbia was on graphic display Monday. Crowds who had grown tired of waiting for buses at Hungary's first migrant holding center near the border village of Roszke tore down flimsy police tape, advanced down a country road and walked around and straight through rows of police trying to block them.

(AP) A group of migrants and refugees walks on a highway leading to Budapest, close to...
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Police shoved individual migrants and fired jets of pepper spray, but it had little effect as about half of the 500-strong crowd reached the M5 highway that connects Serbia and Hungary. They headed north along the shoulder, raising their arms and chanting "Germany! Germany!"

Police merely walked beside them as a lone helicopter monitored the marchers' progress north as darkness fell. The highway was blocked for nearly 50 kilometers (30 miles) as a precaution. A few hours later, as the marchers paused by the roadside to try to sleep in the cold on the pavement, police delivered buses and requested they board for delivery to a refugee camp. Most refused.

The northward march mirrored Friday's surge of people down Budapest's motorway toward Austria, which forced Hungary to concede defeat and bus thousands to the Austrian border. Germany's rail company said Monday it had carried 22,000 asylum- seekers over the weekend on more than 100 trains, a number boosted by the fact that Hungary again has dropped visa checks on foreigners buying train tickets for the wealthier countries to the west, particularly Germany.

Following an overnight Cabinet meeting, Germany said it would set aside 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) to boost aid for asylum-seekers and hire 3,000 more federal police. It also planned to make it easier to build refugee housing and for non-German speakers to hold jobs.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reflected on what she called "a moving, in some parts breathtaking weekend behind us," when Austria and Germany threw open their borders for thousands of asylum-seekers trying to get out of Hungary. She said all EU countries could help accommodate the families fleeing war and poverty.

(AP) A man holds his child as he tries to talk to Hungarian police officers in Roszke,...
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Britain and France, seen as less generous than Germany so far, overcame reluctance and stepped up their commitments Monday. British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country would resettle up to 20,000 Syrians from camps in Turkey, Jordan and Syria over the next five years.

"The whole country has been deeply moved by the heartbreaking images we have seen over the past few days," he told Parliament. "It is absolutely right that Britain should fulfill its moral responsibility to help those refugees."

French President Francois Hollande said his country would take in 24,000 refugees over the next two years. To relieve the burden on Germany, he told Merkel that France would take in 1,000 of the migrants who have just arrived from Hungary. Most say they are fleeing the 4-year-old civil war in Syria.

Saying France has to target "the causes of these horrors," Hollande announced possible airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, an idea he previously had resisted. France will send reconnaissance flights over Syria starting Tuesday, he said, and "we will be ready to strike."

Calm returned Monday to the main Austrian-Hungarian border point, where thousands crossed over the weekend by foot, bus, train and car after complaining of neglect and human rights violations in Hungary and refusing to stay in refugee camps there.

(AP) In this image taken from TV, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron makes a...
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Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and other EU leaders said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban bungled Hungary's intake of migrants so badly that it left Austria and Germany no choice but to open their borders Saturday.

Orban compared Hungary to a "black sheep" representing a voice of reason in the European flock of countries. He argued that the EU first must focus on security measures to force those from troubled lands to seek asylum in neighboring countries, not in the heart of Europe. He said the current discussions on a new quota to handle 120,000 migrants soon would lead to discussions on hosting millions more.

In a related development, Hungarian Defense Minister Csaba Hende resigned Monday. The statement from Orban's government didn't explicitly blame him for failing to complete the construction of a fence along Hungary's 175-kilometer (110-mile) border with Serbia, but it was supposed to be finished last month and remains largely incomplete.

The marchers heading for Budapest and, they hoped, eventually Germany blamed Hungary for their difficult and slow journey.

"They treated us very badly. They left us without tents, without blankets, on the ground ... without toilets for two days. We could not ever bear that," said one Syrian man walking along the highway who would give only his first name, Saadi.

(AP) Refugees and migrants wait to pass the borders from the northern Greek village of...
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Migrants trying to reach the heart of Europe via Turkey, Greece, the Balkans and Hungary have faced dangers, difficulties and delays on every link of the journey.

Scuffles broke out Monday near the village of Idomeni on Greece's northern border with Macedonia, where police angered a 2,000-strong crowd by permitting only small groups to cross every half hour. Tensions eased only when police permitted larger groups to proceed.

Greek Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas estimated that at least two-thirds of the more than 15,000 travelers stranded on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos would be ferried to mainland Greece in the next five days. Lesbos bears the brunt of the refugee influx from nearby Turkey, with more than 1,000 arriving daily on small boats in often dangerous conditions.

Germany has an open-door policy for asylum seekers, particularly from Syria, but also wants to send back travelers who are only job-seekers, not war refugees.

In a late-night meeting that lasted until early Monday in Berlin, the German government decided to make it easier to deport people from stable nations such as Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania.

German media reported that five asylum-seekers were injured in a fire Monday in Rottenburg in southwest Germany — three when they jumped from a burning house and two who were treated for smoke inhalation. No cause for the blaze was given, although right-wing militants in Germany have set fire to other properties earmarked for asylum-seekers recently.

Merkel's deputy, Sigmar Gabriel, said integrating newcomers into society would require confronting the fears of native Germans.

"There will be conflicts," the economy minister said. "The more openly we talk about the fact that people are worried, that there's fear in the country and that there may be conflicts will, I think, help us deal with this realistically and confront reality."

---

Pogatchnik reported from Budapest. Associated Press reporters Angela Charlton, Sylvie Corbet and Elaine Ganley in Paris, Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Gregory Katz in London, Pablo Gorondi and Alexander Kuli in Budapest, Balint Szlanko in Roszke, Hungary, George Jahn in Vienna, and Giannis Papanikos in Idomeni, Greece, contributed to this report.

 

[bev]

In post #102, note that there are illegal immigrants / refugees from Western Africa - Sierra Leone and Nigeria. I'm pretty sure there have been new cases of Ebola in that area. I hope none of these people are bringing Ebola with them!