***
Updates on the growing global refugee crisis
Fri, 2015-08-21 14:12
#1
Updates on the growing global refugee crisis
Fri, 2015-08-21 15:33
#2
Bangladesh is another country people are trying to flee from.
Fri, 2015-08-21 18:02
#3
.....i knew nothing about Bangladesh. thought it was part of eastern North Africa had to search for more info and found people are fleeing there too?
Fri, 2015-08-21 18:46
#4
Capitalism and the Global Refugee Crisis
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/08/21/pers-a21.html
"According to the United Nations, there are more refugees in the world today than at any point in human history. At the end of 2014, almost 60 million people were forcibly displaced. This is nearly three times the number recorded just a decade earlier.
On a global scale, one out of every 122 people is now either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum. A majority (51 percent) of the planet's refugees are below the age of 18. Millions have been made homeless and thrown into grinding poverty as a result of imperialist-backed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya.
The world's largest refugee crisis is centered on Syria, where the number of those fleeing has now exceeded four million.
What is being cast as a 'migrant problem' is in fact a problem of imperialist rule and of the capitalist system..."
Fri, 2015-08-21 20:05
#5
Sat, 2015-08-22 12:55
#6
Why Al Jazeera will not say Mediterranean 'migrants' (aljazeera.com)
According to the UN, the majority of those landing on Europe's shores are fleeing war [Yannis Behrakis/Reuters]
Sat, 2015-08-22 21:18
#7
We Canadians are so lucky. Surrounded by three wide oceans and with the USA between us and Mexico, we're like a few Titanic survivors in a large lifeboat far from the drowning. Even Australia has teeming poor islands not much farther away than Africa is from Europe.
And our own David Suzuki claims that we are ecologically "full" (in an interview in a Paris magazine). Prime Minister W. Laurier ($5bill)prediced a population of 60 million by 2000. My es sincere admiration goes to that minority who want more immigrants and especially to those who work to bring refugee
Sat, 2015-08-22 21:18
#8
We Canadians are so lucky. Surrounded by three wide oceans and with the USA between us and Mexico, we're like a few Titanic survivors in a large lifeboat far from the drowning. Even Australia has teeming poor islands not much farther away than Africa is from Europe.
And our own David Suzuki claims that we are ecologically "full" (in an interview in a Paris magazine). Prime Minister W. Laurier ($5bill)prediced a population of 60 million by 2000. My es sincere admiration goes to that minority who want more immigrants and especially to those who work to bring refugee
Sat, 2015-08-22 22:03
#9
mmphosis, in hindsight I wish I had used the word refugees in my title. If a mod reads this I hope they can change it.
Rikardo I couldn't agree more. I believe that in part the North American Security perimeter is intended to block refugees from making it here.
I didn't know that about David Suzuki. We should be accepting far more refugees. I didn't mean to be pointing a finger at other countries. It's appalling that Greece and other impoverished countries are being expected to deal with the crisis.
Sun, 2015-08-23 00:44
#10
And let us never forget that it was a Canadian RCAF General who led the NATO bombing war against Libya, and that Canadian bombers fly today bombing the Middle East, hence Canadian imperialism and Canadian capitalism has done more than its share of 'heavy lifting' in the production of this flood of humanity fleeing their homelands.
Sun, 2015-08-23 15:31
#11
Right on, NDPP
Sun, 2015-08-23 15:31
#12
Right on, NDPP
Thu, 2015-08-27 15:31
#13
20 To 50 Migrants Found Dead in Truck in Austria, Suffocation Likely Cause
http://www.rt.com/news/313603-migrants-dead-austria-lorry/
"Austrian police have confirmed that between 20 and 50 refugees have been found dead in a tractor trailer in the country's east. It appears the migrants, whose bodies have begun to decompose, suffocated in the back of the truck.
It comes amid a worsening migrant crisis in Europe, with tens of thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa - primarily Syria - trying to make their way to Europe's Schengen zone.
Refugee Horror
'Only Response EU Can Think Of Is Trying To Sink Refugee Boats' - Analyst Dan Glazebrook
Thu, 2015-08-27 15:45
#14
The irony from history is that if the Stalinists had not erected a wall and if brown people from the USSR's 'stans kept pouring across the border into Western Europe the Europeans would have built it for them and policed it as well.
Thu, 2015-08-27 18:53
#15
But they did build that wall. And if a brown person tried to climb it, who shot them?
Thu, 2015-08-27 21:20
#16
Thu, 2015-08-27 23:21
#17
Could someone please report this post so it goes to a moderator so the title of the thread can be changed to "Refugee" instead of "Migrant"?
Fri, 2015-08-28 12:05
#18
Russia Accepted Over 1 Mn Ukrainian Refugees Forced Out of Homes By Donbass War
http://www.rt.com/politics/313692-russia-accepted-over-1mn-ukrainians/
"Over 1 million people have moved to Russia from southeast Ukraine since the beginning of the armed conflict and about 600,000 of them decided never to return home, the head of the Federal Migration Service says."
Fri, 2015-08-28 22:48
#19
Europe in Free Fall
http://thesaker.is/europe-in-free-fall/
"...The undeniable reality is as simple as it is stark. The EU cannot absorb so many refugees. The EU does not have the means to stop them. For the foreseeable future the prognosis is clear: more of the same only worse, possibly much worse..."
Learning About the Migration Crisis From Ancient Rome
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/28/learning-about-the-migration-cris...
"There is much the ancient world can teach us. One of the key lessons is that mass migration - motivated by war, societal collapse, and/or extreme poverty - is capable of destroying even the most powerful of empires.
Unsurprisingly, the political classes sitting at the apex of this unsustainable reality are in denial, refusing to countenance for a moment their role as authors and architects of a world that creeps ever closer to the abyss."
Sat, 2015-08-29 23:06
#20
Casualties of 'Fortruss Europe': Refugees Dead on Land and Sea
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/08/29/refu-a29.html
"The death toll among desperate refugees fleeing war zones in the Middle East and Africa continues to mount, with horrifying scenes that go beyond anything seen in Europe since WWII.
The vast majority of these refugees are seeking to escape violence unleashed on their homes and families by the imperialist powers, above all the United States with its accomplices..."
That's YOU Canada...
Sun, 2015-08-30 12:57
#21
The refugee crisis will only continue to grow as war and climate change impact the world.
This story is about the European crisis but the thread is about the means with which refugees are being halted around the world.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/macedonia-migrants-border_55d718d2e4...
IDOMENI, Greece (AP) -- Macedonian special police forces fired stun grenades Friday to disperse thousands of migrants stuck on a no-man's land with Greece, a day after declaring a state of emergency on its border to deal with a massive influx of migrants heading north to the European Union.
A crowd of 3,000 migrants who spent night out in the open made several attempts Friday to charge Macedonian police after the border was shut to crossings the previous day. At least eight people were injured in the melee, according to Greek police.
One youngster was bleeding from what appeared to be shrapnel from the stun grenades that were fired directly into the crowd.
Police backed by armored vehicles also spread coils of razor wire over rail tracks used by migrants to cross on foot from Greece to Macedonia.
*Edited my comments to refer more properly to refugees as such rather than calling them migrants.
Sun, 2015-08-30 14:10
#22
above all the United States, with its accomplices including France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
Were you feeling left out?
Mon, 2015-08-31 12:36
#23
Countering the Hate: 'People Are Getting Involved in Tremendous Ways' (spiegel.de/international/)
When it comes to the absorption of people who are fleeing persecution and require protection, there can be no upper ceiling.
Mon, 2015-08-31 17:26
#24
CrossTalk: Western-Made Refugee Crisis (and vid)
http://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/313860-western-crisis-eu-refugees/
"The real and imagined refugee crisis engulfing Europe: What accounts for the EU's near indifference to the plight of refugees clamoring to enter European countries? Could it be that these people are from countries NATO members have attacked and turned into failed states or havens for terrorists? These refugees never wanted to leave home in the first place."
Tue, 2015-09-01 20:11
#25
More Than 11,000 Families in Iceland Have Offered To House Syrian Refugees
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/more-than-11000-families-in-ic...
"In the wake of one of the greatest challenges Europe is facing with millions of Syrians fleeing war and persecution, one country is taking matters into their own hands. Thousands in Iceland responded on Facebook saying they'll welcome Syrians into their homes after their government capped refugee numbers at 50.
By Tuesday morning, more than 11,000 families have offered their homes, food and clothes to the refugees, in a country with a population of around 330,000 inhabitants.
More than 4 million Syrians have now fled their home country and an additional 7.6 million are still displaced inside Syria."
The more I hear about Iceland, the better it sounds...
Wed, 2015-09-02 18:41
#26
'Refugees' or 'Migrants'? Difference is Critical, A Matter of Dignity'
"So, refugee or migrant - what's the difference?"
Refugee Crisis Deepens Across Central Europe
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/09/02/refu-s02.html
"With Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban, taking the lead, the European Union (EU) and its constituent states are adopting an increasingly repressive approach to the growing number of refugees fleeing to the EU from Syria and other western countries in the Middle East and Africa..."
Wed, 2015-09-02 23:20
#27
But they did build that wall. And if a brown person tried to climb it, who shot them?
Some of these people's forefathers probably did their part.
It's always confused me why it is okay to build walls to limit peoples right to migrate any place and any time.
Refugee Crisis Deepens Across Central Europe
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/09/02/refu-s02.html
"With Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban, taking the lead, the European Union (EU) and its constituent states are adopting an increasingly repressive approach to the growing number of refugees fleeing to the EU from Syria and other western countries in the Middle East and Africa..."
Wed, 2015-09-02 23:22
#28
Wed, 2015-09-02 23:24
#29
Wed, 2015-09-02 23:27
#30
It seems that the US and its closest ally have no objections to building walls.
Thu, 2015-09-03 01:34
#31
Aylan Kurdi, 3yrs, Syrian Refugee from Kobani, RIP
http://revolution-news.com/heartbreaking-images-of-drowned-refugee-boy-r...
Photo of Drowned Toddler's Body on Turkey Beach Fuels Refugee Debate
http://www.rt.com/news/314167-drowned-children-refugee-crisis
Can't Send One and Not Expect the Other....
https://twitter.com/pattena1/status/639260129993486336
And never forget RCAF General Charles Bouchard and Canada's 'heavy lifting' in Libya
Thu, 2015-09-03 10:55
#32
Listened to Fin Donnelly this morning speak to the reality of the children and their mother who drowned. Wow i really like him a lot just by the way he conducted himself. No politics just caring. The family were trying to get to BC.
Fin had been trying to help their aunty who has been in Canada for 20 to get them reunified. Harper's government refused to let them in.
Thu, 2015-09-03 11:44
#33
The situation involving Syria and Syrian refugees, has come about because of the efforts of Canada and the West to destroy that country for various geopolitical reasons. I can assure you, no matter what Fin Donnelly may say or do now, that the NDP were strong supporters of this Syrian project and the West's regime change operation which is part and parcel of the catastrophe now in progress.
Thu, 2015-09-03 12:16
#34
Aylan Kurdi Drowned Off the Shores of Turkey. His Family Was Trying To Reach Canada
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/drowned-boys-family-sought-refu...
"The drowned child washed up on a Turkish beach captured in a photograph that went around the world Wednesday was three-year-old Aylan Kurdi. He died, along with his five-year-old brother Galip and their mother Rehan, in a desperate attempt to reach Canada..."
Worst Refugee Crisis Since WWII: UPDATES
http://www.rt.com/news/314206-refugee-crisis-migrants-europe/
Thu, 2015-09-03 13:37
#35
But they did build that wall. And if a brown person tried to climb it, who shot them?
Some of these people's forefathers probably did their part.
It's always confused me why it is okay to build walls to limit peoples right to migrate any place and any time.
<p></p>
Probably for the same reason that it's okay for the Korean government to give me a drug test whenever I sign a new contract, and rescind my right-to-work, and hence to remain in the country, if I test positive for banned substances. Their country, their rules.
Thu, 2015-09-03 14:31
#36
Seems like ages ago when Don Newman retired that I suggested Barton would be a suitable replacement. But no, they went with Solomon instead.
Thu, 2015-09-03 14:49
#37
Refugee Crisis: Canada Must Do More, Harper Policies Have Failed, Rivals Say
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/refugee-migrant-harper-election-1.3213128
Father of Aylan Kurdi, Drowned Syrian Boy, Declines Canadian Citizenship
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/syria-migrants-canada-dro...
"The boy's father, Abdullah Kurdi, also said today Canadian officials have now offered him citizenship after seeing what happened, but he has declined."
Thu, 2015-09-03 17:27
#38
Shame on whoever named this thread
This thread's title calls the masses arriving in Europe as a migrant crisis. These are people fleeing death in war. They are the definition of refugees.
As a jew whose entire european family died during WW II I remember the Canadian government's "None is too many". My family were ordinary people with no where to flee because no one would take them.
Thu, 2015-09-03 18:11
#39
Pondering asked it be changed to refugee shortly after its creation..
Thu, 2015-09-03 18:18
#40
Catchfire
catchfire[at]rabble.ca and all your problems are instantly solved.
Thread title changed!
Thu, 2015-09-03 22:55
#41
Thank-you Catchfire! I wish it would not be but I think this will be a forever thread and this title is much more respectful.
Fri, 2015-09-04 10:06
#42
Regarding the situation in Syria, the NDP are trying to have the parties work together in a non-partisan fashion, proposing measures to bring in 10,000 refugees now be put in place (IE to cut the bureaucratic red tape). Karl Nerenberg describes:
As for Canada's response to the world refugee crisis -- which is not restricted to the Middle East, but includes such African countries as Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan -- the Harper government says it wants to take full advantage of the generosity of Canadians through private sponsorship.
While individual and community generosity is laudable, however, only the government has the capacity to mount a coordinated national effort.
The Official Opposition NDP hopes the gravity of the current crisis might allow the Conservatives to put partisanship aside, and mount such an effort. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair was careful to say that now was not the time to assign blame, but rather to seek solutions.
His party issued a news release with a number of proposals.
NDP International Development Critic Hélène Laverdière, a former diplomat, proposes that Canada bring in 10,000 Syrians by the end of this year "through appointing a Syrian Refugee Coordinator."
That official would pull "resources from various departments including Foreign Affairs, Citizenship and Immigration and other departments."
Laverdière also suggests increasing Canada's diplomatic presence in the region, removing bureaucratic obstacles to resettlement, and ending "Canada's policy of discrimination, to treat all refugees equally."
And finally she urges the government to fast-track private sponsorship and increase Canada's contributions to such agencies as the UNHCR.
There's a further description of the NDP's proposal here.
Fri, 2015-09-04 10:20
#43
Laverdière also suggests increasing Canada's diplomatic presence in the region, removing bureaucratic obstacles to resettlement, and ending "Canada's policy of discrimination, to treat all refugees equally."
Yeah, Laverdière is a paragon of progressive humanitarian and diplomatic thinking:
[url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-rejects-calls-to-pul... 2012:[/url]
The official Opposition wants Canada's ambassador recalled from Syria, but the government says he will stay in the besieged country to blast President Bashar Assad for his attacks on domestic dissenters.
NDP foreign affairs critic Helene Laverdiere urged the government to recall the envoy because she said it would send a strong message to Mr. Assad, who has waged a bloody 11-month crackdown on dissent in his country that has left thousands dead.
Of course, we were then at war with Eastasia, whereas now we're at war with Eurasia, I think...
Isn't it time for Laverdière to retire? Please?
Fri, 2015-09-04 11:00
#44
"If you want to have real sanctions that work, you have to do it where it hurts." - More Helen L.
Yes, for those of us that have been following the systematic and prolonged attempts to destroy and dismember Syria, with various hired foreign jihadi mercenaries - a process more than adequately documented in numerous Syrian threads, Canada's role as a 'Friend of Syria' in this project is abundantly clear. As with Libya, our connection to considerably more dead or desperate Syrians than the Kurdi family is quite clear. As also with Libya, the NDP was all for it.
Fri, 2015-09-04 11:53
#45
Regime Change Refugees: On the Shores of Europe - by Vijay Prashad
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/04/regime-change-refugees-on-the-sho...
"...What care there is comes in the brief instance when we glance at a photograph such as that of the dead body of Aylan Kurdi. He breaks our heart. But he will do little to change our politics.
In essence, this is a call for a resolute anti-imperialism.
That is our job. In the name of Aylan Kurdi."
Canada's Web of Lies Over Syrian Refugee Crisis - by Roger Annis
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/04/canadas-russia-hating-minister-of...
The Russia-hating minister of immigration of Canada has been caught in a grotesque story of lies in his efforts to defend Canada's miserable record of refusing refugee applications from Syrian victims of the civil war in that country.
Fatima Kurdi lives in Vancouver and works as a hairdresser. The woman is devastated by the news of her sister and nephews. Barely able to speak through her tears, she told reporters gathered in front of her home on Sept 3,
'They didn't deserve to die they didn't. I can say only one thing - stop the war in Syria.'
The conflict in Syria is regarded by the UN as the world's worst humanitarian crisis in 20 years. More than 200,000 people have died. Half of Syria's population of 22 million people is homeless. And more than 3 million Syrians are refugees outside their country..."
Fri, 2015-09-04 13:53
#46
bs ndpp the NDP clearly came out against Syria and Iraq. you remind me sometimes of Harper and his lies ya know. fyi by doing this you portray yourself to be what you're not. playing politics with these people's lives is not stellar behaviour imv. can ya focus on the actual refugees and not your personal hates or political inclination?
~
back to refugees and Pat Carney (she was in some PC government a few years back they said) was on Global Van this morning stating what needed to happen to facilitate refugees coming. she described what her government did with Vietnam boat people refugees.
the problem is not a lack of people wanting to bring in Syrian refugees the problem is Harper's government's policies and how it's taking 6.5 years to get in.
Fri, 2015-09-04 15:51
#47
Petition: Chris Alexander – Resign at once! / Chris Alexander – Démissionne sans tarder!
The tragic picture of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, drowned off Turkey as he and his family fled Syria as refugees, should be the final straw! Please call for the resignation of Chris Alexander as Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration! (Text continued below.)
L’image tragique du petit Aylan Kurdi, 3 ans, noyé au large de la Turquie alors que sa famille et lui tentait de fuir la Syrie en tant que réfugiés, devrait être le coup de grâce! Demandez la démission de Chris Alexander à titre de ministre de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration du Canada! (Plus d'informations ci-dessous.)
Fri, 2015-09-04 15:54
#48
NDP Opposes Canada's Role in Mideast War on Tactical Grounds
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/04/10/cana-a10.html
"The NDP's open and unequivocal support for the pursuit of Canadian imperialism's interest in the Middle East, in alliance with the aggressive drive of the Obama administration to maintain US hegemony in the region, should come as no surprise.,,When Harper announced the government's plan to have Canada mount military action in Syria, the NDP's primary point of attack was from the standpoint that this would strengthen Assad, implicitly lending the NDP's support to the imperialist powers' ultimate goal of regime change in Damascus..."
Petition: Chris Alexander - Resign At Once!
http://cjpme.nationbuilder.com/petition_alexander?utm_campaign=em_2015_0...
"The tragic picture of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, drowned off Turkey as he and his family fled Syria as refugees, should be the final straw! Please call for the resignation of Chris Alexander as Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration..."
Sat, 2015-09-05 11:23
#49
Deceivers: Western Complicity in Tragic Death of Drowned Syrian Boy
http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/09/04/deceivers-western-complicity-in-tr...
"...Millions of people were not looking to flee from Libya under Gaddafi, Syria under Assad, or even Iraq under Saddam. Instead they left after Western actions to supposedly 'make things better' were initiated and implemented by deceptive and scheming leaders like David Cameron. It is because of this that the West has a personal responsibility to every single one of those people who has had their life destroyed..."
'West Creates Refugees by Destroying Islamic Nations' - Chechen Leader
http://www.rt.com/politics/314350-chechen-leader-blames-west-for/
"If today no one rises against the inhumane policies of the Western countries, tomorrow the disaster may come to any Muslim country. I call upon you to urgently discuss this problem, to develop a unified position and to save the lives of thousands of people.
Tens of thousands of Muslims are dying. Women, old people, children, and young people as well. Under such conditions the leaders of the Islamic countries have no right to remain silent, to stand aside and remain simple observers,' he added.
Europe and the USA are not simply refusing to act, they instigate the tragedies..."
Sat, 2015-09-05 11:39
#50
Europe's Refugee Crisis and the Depraved Morality of David Cameron
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/04/europes-refugee-crisis-and-the-de...
"On hearing Cameron's words on the role of 'morality', something he talks a lot about, anyone who has been following the crisis in Syria would not have failed to detect the hypocrisy..."
Sat, 2015-09-05 14:47
#51
Who Is Responsible For the Refugee Crisis in Europe? - by Bill Van Auken
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/09/04/pers-s04.html
"Any serious consideration of what lies behind the surge of refugees into Europe leads to the inescapable conclusion that it constitutes not only a tragedy but a crime.
More precisely, it is the tragic byproduct of a criminal policy of aggressive wars and regime change interventions pursured uninterruptedly by US imperialism, with the aid and complicity of its Western allies, over the course of nearly a quarter century."
Blowback on a NATO Beach - by Pepe Escobar
http://www.rt.com/op-edge/314411-refugees-violence-syria-europe/
"The Pentagon/NATO 'liberation by bombing' campaign all across the 'arc of instability' shows no sign of losing steam. We've had it coming from the beginning. There will be more blowback.
An immensely sad, solitary form of blowback - washing ashore, in silence, on a NATO beach."