Archive for the ‘Migrant Crisis’ Category

The European response to the refugee and migrant crisis: how can we all work to make 2022 a year of action and respect for human rights? – The…

Refugees entering Poland from Ukraine at the Medyka border crossing point. UNHCR/Chris Melzer

This article was exclusively written forThe European Stingby Mr. Wireko Andrew Awuah, a 5th year medical student at Sumy State University, Ukraine and Ms. Esther Esther Patience Nansubuga, a 3rd year medical student at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. They are affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSAs view on the topic, nor The European Stings one.

For the time being, the European response to the refugee and migrant crisis has been a hot topic, particularly in terms of refugees and migrants human rights. The world is not new to the refugee and migrant crisis: its prevalence has always coincided with many social progressions in the world at one point or another for millennia. The severity of the crisis at any given point in time varies according to the circumstances. The refugee and migrant crisis is caused by a variety of factors, including wars and political upheavals; natural and economic disasters; religious conflicts, epidemics, other health issues; and many others. Such causes demonstrate that in most cases, compelling circumstances force people to become refugees or migrants.

In several instances, it is well known that refugees and migrants face human rights violations and humanitarian crises in the places where they migrate to and settle. Furthermore, it is also worth noting that the refugee and migrant crisis has far-reaching consequences for the rest of the world, not just Europe.

As a result, it is clear that there is a need to collectively work together to ensure that 2022 is a year of action. It should be a year where direct and tangible respect for refugees and migrants human rights is introduced and is paramount to every encounter and guideline made to support these affected groups. The migrant crisis is not just a local or regional issue; it affects the whole globe. Because of this, we all have an important role to play in the European response. We must persuade all stakeholders, including international organizations such as the United Nations and its specialized agencies such as the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, of the importance of collaborating with Europe to ensure that refugees and migrants are treated with dignity and human rights, and that relief, medical, and other necessary supports are made available.

We can also make 2022 a year of action by banding together with a common goal in mind, as happened in the early 1980s during the famine and subsequent humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, when the world came together to combat a major humanitarian crisis. This action was initiated and spearheaded by music legends and producers such as Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, and others, who composed and performed the famous song, We Are the World, which touched the heart and conscience of the world, and helped raise money, mobilize relief items, and other humanitarian support for victims of that crisis.

Whether directly or indirectly, the crisis at hand affects all individuals around the world. From this action year forward, it is critical that we ensure that the European response to the crisis shows humanity, and that the human rights of refugees and migrants are prioritized, respected, and protected.

About the author

Wireko Andrew Awuah is a 5th year medical student at Sumy State University, Ukraine. His huge involvements into scientific research works has earned him numerous publications and the best Medical Student Award winner, 2020 at Sumy State University.

Esther Patience Nansubuga is a 3rd year medical student at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. She has interests in public health and global initiatives and has been part of research teams that partake in raising awareness and recommendations.

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The European response to the refugee and migrant crisis: how can we all work to make 2022 a year of action and respect for human rights? - The...

Border Patrol agents don’t buy Biden pledge to secure border as they deal with migrant crisis: ‘Full of s—‘ – Fox News

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FIRST ON FOX: President Biden, in his State of the Union on Tuesday, said he wants to secure the southern border a pledge that immediately drew anger and mockery from Border Patrol agents who have dealt with the migrant crisis that surged under Bidens watch.

"Folks, if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure our border and fix the immigration system," Biden said on Tuesday night. "And as you might guess, I think we can do both."

While the call drew applause from Democrats in the chamber, agents who had served on the front line of the crisis were not jumping to their feet.

220,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EVADED BORDER PATROL SINCE OCTOBER: SOURCE

"Very few people within CBP believe this administration will actually secure the border, they just do not believe in it," one agent told Fox News Digital. "All of their actions, comments and practices are solely about pushing in as many illegal aliens as possible, not just those from the Americas but from around the world."

Other agents were more blunt in their assessment of the presidents remarks.

"F---ing pandering 101, full of sh--," one agent told Fox News.

"I laughed," said another

Another said they didnt even turn it on: "Figured it would be all lies and smokeWere losing so many agents, theyre fed up."

"We all know he doesn't care about secure borders," another agent told Fox.

U.S. President Joe Biden pauses while speaking during a State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf also took aim at Biden over the immigration remarks.

"That mention of border and immigration security was lip service. Nothing more. No vision, no strategy," he said. "Just a wish list and another hollow push for immigration reform legislation. I think the President may have forgotten he has authority to fix the crisis NOW."

There were approximately 1.7 million migrant encounters at the border in Fiscal Year 2021 as numbers flooded to the border. The Biden administration has blamed "root causes" like violence and poverty in Central America, but Republicans (and many Border Patrol agents) have pointed to the rollback of Trump-era border protections, reduced interior enforcement and calls from Washington D.C. for amnesty for illegal immigrants as reasons for the surge.

REPUBLICAN ATTORNEYS GENERAL CALL FOR DHS CHIEF MAYORKAS TO RESIGN OVER BORDER DISASTER

There are signs that the crisis will continue well into FY 2022. An official told Fox News last month that approximately 220,000 illegal immigrants have evaded Border Patrol since October, coming during months that are typically slower for border crossings.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced recently that there were 153,941 migrant encounters in January 2022. In January 2021, there were 78,414 migrant encounters.

On Tuesday, Biden said that his administration has installed "new technology like cutting-edge scanners to better detect drug smuggling" and set up joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch traffickers. He also said that more immigration judges are now in place, so cases can be heard faster and those who dont have a valid asylum claim "can be sent back."

But one of the Border Patrol agents who spoke to Fox downplayed those moves, saying increased technology matters little if there are no agents to respond.

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"Immigration judges usually tend to follow the tendencies or intentions of their appointing administration, that means I and many other agents have little faith in them to actually follow immigration law," they said. "The vast majority of these illegal aliens have no legitimate claims to asylum but administration-picked and taxpayer-funded lawyers will argue otherwise. Unemployment, inability to buy groceries, domestic violence, bad schools and bad weather are not legitimate claims, period."

Biden went on to call for an immigration reform bill, including amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the country, as well as revisions to the law to move legal immigrants into the country quicker.

"Lets get it done once and for all," he said.

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Border Patrol agents don't buy Biden pledge to secure border as they deal with migrant crisis: 'Full of s---' - Fox News

Hundreds of migrants scale border fence to reach Spanish territory – The Irish Times

The arrival of more than 800 undocumented Africans in Melilla this week after the biggest mass attempt to reach the city for years has reinforced Spains status as a main entry point to Europe for migrants from the south.

On Wednesday morning an estimated 2,500 migrants tried to reach Melilla, a Spanish territory on the north African coast which borders Morocco, by scaling the six-metre border fences surrounding the city. A total of 491 managed to reach the other side, according to the Spanish government, in what was the largest such attempt to reach Melilla since 2014.

On Thursday morning, in a repeat incident, an estimated 350 migrants reached the city. The government said that a number of police officers were hurt in clashes with migrants on both occasions.

Photographs also showed migrants with injuries, and the Moroccan Association for Human Rights charity reported that 31 migrants were injured and taken to hospital in the Moroccan city of Nador.

Those who successfully scaled the fences are being housed in Melillas immigrant temporary stay centre, and will now go through legal checks to decide on whether they can remain in Spain.

In a post on social media Socialist prime minister Pedro Snchez said he wished to convey all the support and solidarity of the Spanish government in the face of the situation that [Melilla] has been confronting in recent days. My support also to the police officers who were injured.

In May of 2021 over 10,000 migrants poured into Ceuta, the other Spanish city in north Africa, in the space of 36 hours as Morocco deliberately relaxed border controls due to a diplomatic dispute with Spain. However, in recent months the numbers of migrants trying to reach both cities has been relatively low.

Migrants have instead been heading in large numbers from north Africa to the Canary Islands. In January and February of this year 5,496 migrants reached the archipelago, 3,155 more than during the same period last year, according to the Spanish interior ministry.

The UN migration agency IOM reported that at least 65 people lost their lives making the extremely dangerous crossing in January alone, although the true figure is believed to be much higher.

The surge in the numbers of those making that crossing and this weeks arrivals in Melilla have raised concerns that Morocco has once again eased controls on its borders in an effort to exert political pressure on Spain. Last Mays migrant crisis was triggered by Rabats anger at Madrid allowing the Western Saharan leader Brahim Ghali to be treated in a Spanish hospital. Morocco has made clear that it wishes Spain, its closest European neighbour, to be more supportive to its claims on the disputed Western Sahara territory.

Santiago Abascal, whose far-right Vox party has frequently been accused of Islamophobia, drew a distinction between Ukrainian refugees and the migrants arriving from Morocco, whom he described as young men of fighting age of Muslim origin who have assaulted the borders of Europe in an attempt to destabilise and colonise it.

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Hundreds of migrants scale border fence to reach Spanish territory - The Irish Times

Embraced or pushed back: on the Polish border, sadly, not all refugees are welcome – The Guardian

At the train station in Przemyl in Poland, thousands of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine get off the carriages every day, seeking asylum in Europe. As they arrive, dozens of Polish border guards and soldiers distribute food, water, blankets and hot tea with a smile.

I look on as the soldiers help Ukrainian women and children with their heavy luggage. I watch as they play with the children and caress their faces. As the scene unfolds, I cant help but think that this is the same border force which, for months, a short distance north, along the same eastern border, has been violently pushing back asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who attempt to cross the frontier from Belarus.

It is the same border force which, instead of offering a caring touch and a comforting smile, brutally beat the refugees from Aleppo, who are also victims of Vladimir Putins bombardments. In Przemyl, the Ukrainians are served hot drinks. At the Belarusian border, at least 19 migrants have died in the frigid forests.

Last winter, I covered for the Guardian the refugee crisis between Poland and Belarus, when the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, was accused of organising the movement of refugees, who were lured with the promise of safe passage to Europe, in reprisal for the sanctions Brussels had imposed on his regime.

Forgive me, but I cannot come to terms with the stark difference between the outpouring of kindness towards Ukrainian refugees and the uncertain fate of thousands of asylum seekers from the Middle East, trapped between the violence of the Polish authorities and false promises of the Belarusians.

I cannot hold back the rage I feel for the Yazidi families who fought against Islamic State, but who were being forced to live in small tents in the woods at the European border, struggling to keep warm in damp sleeping bags as night-time temperatures fall below zero. Forgive me if, in contrast with the hospitality shown to Ukrainian refugees, I cannot help but think of the Syrian and Kurdish men and women caught by Polish border guards and illegally and violently pushed back to Belarus.

As Ive covered the exodus of Ukrainian refugees escaping the Russian invasion, I have noticed a growing number of people from Pakistan, Ghana, Morocco and Somalia, mainly students, who have just arrived at Przemyl train station from cities in Ukraine.

It is unclear whether the Polish authorities will allow them to stay. Some would like to go back to their home country but others fear being sent back.

On Tuesday, just 100 metres from my hotel, dozens of Polish nationalists, dressed in black, targeted these groups of non-white refugees, chanting go back to your country. Three Indians were beaten up, leaving one of them having to be taken to hospital.

After the incident, police in Poland warned that groups linked to the far right are already spreading false information about alleged crimes committed by people from Africa and the Middle East who are fleeing the violence in Ukraine.

Its fake news, the Polish authorities said.

Despite the well-intentioned pronouncements of the Polish police, who on this occasion sided with the Middle Eastern and African refugees, I cant help but think that these are the same authorities who, months earlier, while facing the humanitarian crisis at the border with Belarus, spoke of the risk of a migrant invasion from the Middle East and mobilised their troops to push them back.

At that time, over four months the Middle Eastern asylum seekers attempting to enter Poland through Belarus numbered only a few thousand. If the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa welcomes up to 2,000 asylum seekers from Libya in a day, with political will Poland could have resolved the humanitarian crisis at the Belarusian border in a few days.

An average of 50,000 Ukrainian refugees are entering Poland every day, which so far has taken in more than 500,000 people: at this rate, it could face Europes largest wave of refugees since the second world war.

But while Warsaw regarded the arrival of a few thousand Syrian and Kurdish refugees as a significant political problem, the presence of more than half a million Ukrainians in their country seems to have become a badge of national pride for the Poles, who are now struggling to find space for them.

At the station in Przemyl, as I watch a Polish policeman console a tearful and distraught Ukrainian woman, I think about the 32-year-old woman from Syria I met last December in a makeshift dormitory in Bruzgi, Belarus. Since fleeing Idlib, she had been held up in Belarus with her mother whod had a kidney transplant and needed medical help.

I contemplate the different fate of two women who had both become victims of war: the Ukrainian who received a warm meal and a smile from the kind policeman and the other, a Syrian, who can only dream of receiving a fraction of that care and attention.

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Embraced or pushed back: on the Polish border, sadly, not all refugees are welcome - The Guardian

Heres what Ukraines neighbours are doing to help refugees – The European Sting

Refugees entering Poland from Ukraine at the Medyka border crossing point. UNHCR/Chris Melzer

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration ofThe European Stingwith theWorld Economic Forum.

Author: John Letzing, Digital Editor, Strategic Intelligence, World Economic Forum

In just one week, one million refugees have fled Ukraine. Many more will follow as part of whats expected to become Europes worst refugee crisis of the century so far.

But heartening efforts are being made in neighbouring areas to help.

The bulk of evacuees from Ukraines deadly war zones have arrived in Poland; others headed west or south have mostly entered Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, and Romania. Theyre almost entirely women and children, and their arduous journeys have often been made on foot. Regardless of the occasional alarmist headline, theyre being welcomed.

Poland is providing accommodation, and guaranteeing free train travel. Both there and in Romania, locals have been appearing unprompted at reception centers to offer refugees food and water.

In Slovakia, residents have also been showing up at the border to hand out essentials.

Many of the displaced arriving in Slovakia are expected to move further west to the Czech Republic, where Pragues public transportation network has been declared free of charge for those with a Ukrainian passport or ID. The Czech Republic is also offering a special visa enabling people arriving from Ukraine to immediately gain legal employment.

For the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, Ukraines plight likely resonates. Soviet tanks entered Budapest in 1956 to crush a democratic uprising, before rolling into what was then Czechoslovakia in 1968 and lingering for decades. As many as 100,000 Czechs and Slovaks left in the months after the invasion.

These countries are now embracing arrivals from Ukraine despite a hardening of anti-migrant sentiment and rhetoric in the region in recent years towards newcomers from the Middle East.

The Red Cross says its working with regional partners to help people whove fled to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Croatia, Lithuania, and Russia, by providing essentials, SIM cards for mobile phones, and mental-health support.

Jos Andrs, a well-known Spanish American chef, has been in Poland serving chicken stew and apple pie to refugees escaping the conflict. Polish people are already feeding people as they cross the border, he noted soon after his arrival. His non-profit organization has also worked with locals to distribute meals in Moldova and Romania.

A wide variety of people have been forced to flee. The African Union said its disturbed by reports that African citizens in Ukraine have been denied safe passage, which would be both contrary to international law and shockingly racist. Ukrainian cities now under siege are home to tens of thousands of African students.

Ukraine itself has also been a destination for the displaced. As of mid-2020 it was hosting more than 2,000 recognized refugees and a roughly equal number of asylum seekers, from about 60 different countries.

In addition, there are the many expatriates who have been living and working in Ukraine. Maurice Creek, an American basketball player, documented his experience being initially stranded and eventually reaching safety.

Entry points for evacuees have become crowded. But at one location in Dorohusk, Poland, a group of locals has been showing up to give refugees free rides. People in Lublin, 100 kilometers to the west, have been offering up the use of their spare bedrooms.

Donations to help people displaced by the conflict can be made via UNHCR, the ICRC or via the UN Business Guide.

For more context, here are links to further reading and viewing from the World Economic Forums Strategic Intelligence platform:

On the Strategic Intelligence platform, you can find feeds of expert analysis related to Migration, Humanitarian Action and hundreds of additional topics. Youll need to register to view.

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Heres what Ukraines neighbours are doing to help refugees - The European Sting