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In recent months across Europe, a dramatic spike in refugee arrivals to Greece and 39 dead bodies of Vietnamese citizens discovered in an abandoned lorry in Essex provoked a return of the migration crisis in news coverage. Some headlines and articles warned of an emergency reminiscent of 2015 the early days of Europes refugee crisis thatthe EU Commission declared over nine months ago.

Prolonged; spread over a large land mass; the need for a multi-agency response; intense suffering all features of a humanitarian crisis, a term frequently bandied about by European politicians usually to describe events far away and in need of European support, funding or comment.

When the almost five-year-long migration crisis in Europe began, publications and politicianswere tentative about referring to it as such. But soon it was almost exclusively labelled as the refugee or migrant crisis. In some cases, European was inserted for clarity, while heated debate about the correct use of the words "refugee" and "migrant" raged on.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

French police officers and gendarmes stand by tents during the evacuation of the Grande Synthe migrant camp, northern France, on September 17, 2019.

Francois Lo Presti/AFP/Getty

French gendarmes walk by tents during the evacuation of the Grande Synthe migrant camp, northern France, on September 17, 2019.

Francois Lo Presti/AFP/Getty

French police officers move migrants on from a camp in Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019.

Care4Calais/PA

French police officers move migrants on from a camp in Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019.

Care4Calais/PA

A bulldozer at work as French police officers move migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, 17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France,17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

Migrants at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk as people awaited eviction from the camp 12 September 2019.

Steve Parsons/PA

Aran Quader, 6, and his sister Yaran, two, at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk on 12 September 2019, days before refugees were evicted.

Steve Parsons/PA

Hamdren Quader 32, with his wife Xalat, 26, and children Kajhan, 8, Aran, 6, and Yaran, two, at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk, France, on 12 September before refugees were evicted from the camp days later.

PA

A bulldozer at work as French police officers move migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, 17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

French police officers and gendarmes stand by tents during the evacuation of the Grande Synthe migrant camp, northern France, on September 17, 2019.

Francois Lo Presti/AFP/Getty

French gendarmes walk by tents during the evacuation of the Grande Synthe migrant camp, northern France, on September 17, 2019.

Francois Lo Presti/AFP/Getty

French police officers move migrants on from a camp in Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019.

Care4Calais/PA

French police officers move migrants on from a camp in Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019.

Care4Calais/PA

A bulldozer at work as French police officers move migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, 17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France,17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

Migrants at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk as people awaited eviction from the camp 12 September 2019.

Steve Parsons/PA

Aran Quader, 6, and his sister Yaran, two, at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk on 12 September 2019, days before refugees were evicted.

Steve Parsons/PA

Hamdren Quader 32, with his wife Xalat, 26, and children Kajhan, 8, Aran, 6, and Yaran, two, at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk, France, on 12 September before refugees were evicted from the camp days later.

PA

A bulldozer at work as French police officers move migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, 17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019.

Help Refugees/PA

The differences between the ways we describe these emergencies are incredibly important. Declaring a humanitarian crisis shifts responsibility and focus to states and their leaders, whereas placing migrant before the crisis, suggests that the fault of the crisis is, at least in part, theirs. Contrarily, a crisis that is humanitarian invokes images of Darfur, Syria, Congo or Afghanistan all countries significant numbers of Europes refugees have fled.

Humanitarian crises unfold in these countries in response to major events and indicate that a large group of people are in dire need of assistance. In Europe, however, the refugee crisis arrived, it did not unfold or develop. It threatened Europe, too, and the humanitarian aspect was eliminated from the get-go.

Between 2014 and 2019, at least 17,428 people lost their lives in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe,according to the IOM Missing Migrants project, and these figures are notoriously easy to underestimate. How the seemingly sudden, catastrophic flow of people reaching Greek and Italian shores in 2015 was framed has been frequently attached to the hostile response that greeted them. A number of European politicians continue to exploit the word crisis but will not declare it humanitarian, as it appears they are dedicated to ensuring the response is, instead, preventative and punishing.

A humanitarian crisis demands protective measures, yet, in Europe, an unrelenting attack onpillars of refugee law andwell-established principles of the law of the sea have been the hallmarks of response.

Predictably, people have continued to reach Europe and these policies have radically exacerbated the risks to their lives and health. A controversial deal with Turkey means Greek islands have essentially become open-air holding prisons, as well as collectivelybeing nearly five times over capacity.

Italy has pursueda series of policies of shutting down ports and arresting those who operate rescue missions. In 2018, less people crossed the Mediterranean than the year before but of those who did, six drowned every day.

Even prior to the recent Turkish incursion in Northern Syria, the numbers arriving to Greece had spiked where conditions are infamously inhumane. Fires regularly destroy areas of camps and remaining belongings; children are not provided specialised services or separate sleeping facilities and self-harm and suicide attempts, increasingly by children too, are engrained in every-day life.

When the Commission declared the migration crisis over, it was starkly clear that it is a crisis that continues to be treated as one Europe is subjected to, rather than one it caused. The number of people arriving may have reduced but their suffering has multiplied.

In Europe, the success of the response has been measured in alleviating the pressure on member states, rather than reducing humanitarian distress. That arrivals have suddenly increased and camps in Greece face a looming catastrophe not only proves this crisis is far from over but that this humanitarian response,widely believed to be the most expensive in history, has failed.

Turkeys Erdogan threatens to send millions of refugees to Europe unless it backs Syria safe zone

Indeed, as many critics posit, Europe may not be responsible for the conflicts that force people from their homes. However, there should absolutely be no doubt as to who is responsible for destroying key humanitarian protections; a Draconian border regime; criminalising rescue ships; refusing to create safe routes to asylum and in many cases deliberatelymaking life unliveable for vulnerable people.

The declaration of a humanitarian crisis attracts criticism. It invites (willingly or unwillingly) international responses and stresses the need for sustainable planning. It encourages sympathetic supporters and emphasises the imperative of humanitarian aid, though victimising those affected by humanitarian crises remains incredibly problematic.

A refugee or migration crisis, however, indicates that refugees and migrants are different to those we associate with traditional humanitarian emergencies and less deserving of the assumed response. It adds to the othering that is already pervasive in media coverage, implicates people as architects of their own suffering and abdicates Europe.

Language matters. Just as Europe has flouted responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the suffering of hundreds of thousands, the term refugee (or migrant) crisis may have the same effect.

View original post here:
Don't call it the refugee crisis, it's a humanitarian issue failing to recognise that creates even more suffering - The Independent

How is Europe integrating young refugees? Not very well, according to a new report by the EU's Agency for Fundamental Rights, which warns the bloc risks creating a "lost generation".

Nearly 2 million migrants received international protection in the EU between 2015 and 2018. Most of those granted asylum are young people, who are likely to settle there.

"It's crucial, given their age, to integrate them successfully in order for them to succeed in life and for them to contribute meaningfully to societies," Ludovica Banfi, who co-authored the report, told Euronews.

The Agency for Fundamental Rights interviewed refugees and professionals working with them across six member states -- Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden. It calls on governments to speed up asylum procedures, make it easier for families to be reunited and provide more housing.

At the peak of the 2015 migrant crisis, asylum procedures lasted very long, significantly delaying -- often by two years -- the integration process for refugees, Banfi explained.

More needs to be done to give them access to vocational training and help them find jobs, she added.

The report does identify some positive initiatives across member states.

"Countries like Austria and Sweden are doing quite well when it comes to the provision of individual housing," Banfi said, noting that the city of Vienna is able to accommodate 70 percent of asylum seekers.

Education is another promising field for the integration of refugees: "The majority of countries we've looked into have introduction programmes for children (...) where they can learn the language and gradually integrate into the mainstream school systems," she explained.

"So there are good practices out there. However, there are still a number of gaps that need to be addressed."

Original post:
EU's rights agency warns of 'lost generation' of young refugees - Euronews

(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, 18 NOV - The ongoing refugee crisis in Greece continues to lurch from one tragedy to the next with the death of a nine-month old baby at the notoriously overcrowded Moria reception center on the island of Lesvos the latest in a long line of black pages in what continues to be an extremely sad story.

The Greek arm of NGO organization Meicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) confirmed at the weekend that a baby had died a few days ago in hospital after being admitted with severe dehydration. Despite receiving emergency care in hospital, the infant did not survive.

"The MSF team has confirmed the information with the hospital.

We are overwhelmed by this new tragedy," said a statement by eicins Sans Frontieres via their Twitter account.

The organisation urged the Greek government and EU once again to act quicker and take drastic measures to resolve the current mass overcrowding and squalid living conditions refugees face especially on the island camps. "Children are dying in Europe due to neglect of health care and unacceptable living conditions; nothing has improved nearly four years after the EU-Turkey agreement. It's outrageous and cannot go on. The mental and physical health of people at Moria is constantly at risk. Greece and the European Union must act immediately!" This latest death another dark stain in the history of Greece's refugee crisis which exploded in 2015, stabilized somewhat from 2016-18 but has once again blew up in a big way in 2019.

Approximately 15,000 people are staying in and around the Moria camp on Lesvos, cramped into a space more than four times its capacity of just 3,000.

Greece continues to struggle with the ongoing migrant crisis, which has begun to spiral out of control since the summer. The island camps are desperately overcrowded and the flows of people coming into the country continues unabated.

According to the latest official data, a total of 10,882 migrants crossed from Turkey to the Greek islands from September 16 to October 16 alone. And the influx has continued in the early part of November.

The government has begun to step up a program of transferring migrants from island camps to alternative sites on the mainland, but progress is slow and exacerbated by continuing incoming flows of people as well as opposition from locals in the mainland communities where the state wants to build new or extend existing facilities.

Although Greece's parliament finally approved a new controversial bill on asylum earlier this month, in an effort to tackle the growing refugee crisis, there has been strong opposition from SYRIZA and human rights groups, who have labelled the new stricter laws "a naked attempt to block access to protection and increase deportations." The controversial and complex 237-page bill entitled "international protection and other provisions" is mainly focused on asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the idea is that it will empower Greece to process asylum claims quicker, as well as send more people illegible back to Turkey.

But the bill is being seen as inhumane, especially by human rights groups. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR also expressed its concerns about the legislation, saying that it could weaken the protection of refugees.(ANSAmed).

Go here to see the original:
Another week, another migrant tragedy in Greece - General news - ANSAMed - ANSAmed

A Venezuelan grandmother and her grandson eat a meal at a community kitchen in Ccuta, Colombia, April 2019. UNHCR/Vincent Tremeau

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, andIOM, the International Organization for Migration will today launch a US$1.35 billion regional plan to respond to the increasing humanitarian needs of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean and the communities hosting them.

As of early November 2019, there were approximately 4.6 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela around the world. Nearly 80 per cent are in Latin American and Caribbean countries - with no prospect for return in the short to medium term. If current trends continue, 6.5 million Venezuelans could be outside the country by the end of 2020.

The 2020 Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) being launched in the Colombian capital, Bogot, is a coordination and a fundraising tool established and implemented by 137 organizations. These are working across the region, aiming to reach almost four million people - including Venezuelan refugees and migrants and host communities - in 17 countries.

The 2020 RMRP is the result of a wide-ranging field-driven consultation process involving host governments, civil society and faith-based organizations, local communities and donors, as well as refugees and migrants themselves.

The plan includes actions in nine key sectors: health; education; food security; integration; protection; nutrition; shelter; relief items and humanitarian transport; and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). In addition to the emergency response, the 2020 RMRP puts a strong focus on ensuring the social and economic inclusion of refugees and migrants.

Only through a coordinated and harmonized approach will it be possible to effectively address the large-scale needs, which continue to increase and evolve as the current crisis deepens, said Eduardo Stein, Joint UNHCR-IOM Special Representative for Venezuelan refugees and migrants. To this end, the RMRP appeal for 2020 is one of the key instruments to mobilize resource for more collective and concerted action.

Despite many efforts and other initiatives, the dimension of the problem is greater than the current response capacity, so it is necessary that the international community doubles these efforts and contributions to help the countries and international organizations responding to the crisis, Stein said. More support to governments is needed, with a focus on development concerns in addition to immediate humanitarian needs.

The RMRP 2020 is the product of the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform, the coordination mechanism for the response to the Venezuelan refugee and migrant crisis, is co-led by UNHCR and IOM and involving a wide range of UN, NGO and civil society organizations.

The RMRP 2020 plan will be available at 16:00 Bogot time (22:00 CET) at the R4V.info portal.

For more information contact:

In Geneva:

In Buenos Aires:

In Colombia:

For background information please consult the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform website.

See more here:
US$1.35 billion needed to help Venezuelan refugees and migrants and host countries - UNHCR

Few issues dominate our politics today more passionately than immigration, but we rarely see the crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border dramatized in fiction. Now Texas author and border native Oscar Csares has written what one critic calls a quietly suspenseful novel titled Where We Come From.

Csares' story about a woman who shelters undocumented immigrants shows us desperate migrants but also the border inhabitants they first encounter before arriving in places like South Florida. Csares will present his novel this weekend at the Miami Book Fair; he spoke with WLRNs Tim Padgett from the studios of public radio station KUT in Austin, where he teaches creative writing at the University of Texas.

Excerpts from their conversation:

WLRN: Shortly after Where We Come From was published this year, Americans were shocked by the drowning deaths of a Salvadoran migrant and his infant daughter in the Rio Grande. When you wrote the novel, were you anticipating a need to humanize the immigration crisis?

CASARES: You know, I wrote kind of far out from the immediate crisis that were in the midst of. I had started writing probably in 2014. But the closer we got to publication, the more we realized that somehow this was going to feel like it was right from the headlines.

READ MORE: New Report Claims 'Needless, Ongoing Trauma' from Trump's Family Separation Policy

Your novels hero is Nina, a weary but gutsy Mexican-American woman in Brownsville, Texas. She decides to allow a house in her backyard to be used as a sort of underground railroad for undocumented immigrants. She also gets involved with some pretty criminal characters who treat these immigrants like animals. Why was it important to tell the story through her eyes?

This was not some big plan of hers. She kind of stumbled into it. She did a favor for her maid, thinking it's a one-time deal. But the [migrant] traffickers see the little house and think this might be a great place to come back to. And then she finds herself entangled in this mess.

She's not opposed to immigration. She's not advocating for it. This is a person who didn't want to get involved, who had her own life, her own troubles already. But as it falls, literally, on her doorstep, she can't turn away anymore. And I think that issue of having to confront it and not be able to shy away from it was important for me.

We also see this border world through Nina's 12-year-old godson, Orly. How similar or how different is Orly from you and your own experience growing up on the border in Brownsville?

You know, my kids are here in Austin growing up 350 miles away from there. I talk about the border all the time to them. They know that that is some part of their ancestral homeland.

And just to reiterate, your family is Mexican-American.

Yes. And how do [those kids, like Orly,] make it back culturally? How do they stay connected to that?

MORE THAN A MIGRANT

The last and most important migrant Nina secretly shelters is Daniel, a boy who's escaping narco-violence in Mexico. You write that for Nina, Daniel is more than her mojadito out back, or more than just that slur for undocumented migrants, "wetback."

As the immigration crisis falls, literally, on her doorstep, she can't turn away anymore. And I think that issue of having to confront it and not be able to shy away from it was important for me. Oscar Casares

Thats right she gets to know his yearnings, his dreams, his fears. He becomes something much more meaningful to her.

And yet Nina warns Orly not to get too emotionally involved with Daniel. I was wondering if you could read that passage for us.

Yeah, I'd be happy to:

And you, why do you care so much if a stranger is alone, a boy you never met, from somewhere you will never go? she says. Thats not for you to worry about. You can feel sorry for him, but his problems are not your problems.

I thought To Beto was going to find a way to get inside. He was looking in all the windows.

You let me worry about him.

But its just weird, someone locked up and eating alone.

She pulls out a chair and sits close enough to touch him.

Dont be saying weird this and weird that. You saw him one time and only a little bit until he left again. Who is he?

What do you mean?

He knows she wants an answer but he doesnt altogether understand the question.

What is he to you? Is he your brother? Is he your primo or your to? What is he to you that you care so much?

He looks shaken, like she might have slapped him without raising a hand. Nothing.

She leans back in her chair, tilts her head to make eye contact. She wants him to think about his answer.

Are you sure?

He looks at up her and nods.

Tell me again.

What?

What you just said, say it again. What he is to you.

Hes nothing to me.

Nothing, she says. Then you can keep a secret about nothing.

I also can't forget a vignette in your novel about an elderly Guatemalan woman who dies in the borders harsh terrain, holding a picture of the grandchildren she wanted to join in Missouri. Do you foresee more novelists tackling border and immigration dramas like, say, family separation?

I think it's one of those unavoidable topics that we're living with. My novel just happened to catch this as things were escalating. But I think the longer that we are witnesses to this, it is going to be played out quite a bit more in fiction and film, for that matter.

Oscar Csares will present his novel Where We Come From at the Miami Book Fair on Sunday at 3:30 pm at Building 8 of Miami-Dade Colleges downtown campus, 300 NE 2nd Ave.

Go here to see the original:
The Immigration Crisis Falls On Her Doorstep. 'Where We Come From' Explores What Happens Next. - WLRN