Migration

This week’s news takes a look at the situation in the small country of Moldova where a majority of its workers abroad are illegal, examines the further developments in the shooting of the Brazilian man during the chaos of the London Bombings and the resulting inquiry into his death and focuses on Libya’s human rights record and deaths on the US border. We also take a look at Australia’s further integration issues and a record breaking number of African Migrants reaching the Canary Islands of Spain this past week :

• IMF forecasts that Moldova will be the world leader for the amount of money sent home by migrants in 2008. Most of the Moldovan workers abroad are illegal immigrants. See the story here.
• London police misled public after accidental shooting, panel finds a top official failed to inform the commissioner of the victim’s identity, thus allowing erroneous reports to be perpetuated in the media. The Brazilian national was killed by London police during the anarchy of the London Bombing, but inquiries found that errors by the London police were skewed and subsequently covered up in the aftermath of the situation. See the story here.
• Libya is set to take charge of a UN anti-racism committee in a move condemned by human rights groups who say the north African country’s rights record disqualifies it from the post. Libya takes over on the heels of torture allegations put forward by foreign medics recently released from the country. See the story here.
• The number of illegal immigrants who have died trying to get into the United States is higher than ever this summer. According to USAToday, many migrants have not been able to survive the harsh conditions of the deserts between the US and Mexico and often perish during the journey. Resaons for this are discussed in the article. See the story here.
• In a report by CNN, The body of a Cuban-American, Luis Lazaro Lara Morejon who was under investigation in a migrant smuggling case was found riddled with bullets along a road outside the Caribbean resort of Cancun, authorities said Tuesday. See the story here.
• A new test for Migrants to Australia is to be created according to the Sydney Morning Herald. People who are seeking to immigrate will face stricter scrutiny of their ability to integrate into Australian society, the Minister for Immigration, Kevin Andrews said this past week. See the story here.
• A record-breaking 180 African immigrants reached the Canary Islands in a single ocean-going canoe on Monday as new super-sized vessels began to be used in the perilous journey from Africa’s Atlantic coast. The 180 sub-Saharan Africans were picked up by a Spanish maritime rescue vessel off the island of Tenerife. See the story here. 

This week there has finally been some positive media about Iraq and its people. Iraqis cheered the Iraqi national team all around the world this past week when they beat defending champions Saudi Arabia in the Asia Cup of Football with a score of 1-0. Characteristic of the current situation according to unconfirmed sources, all the players on the team no longer lived in Iraq, and a match has not been played on Iraqi soil in nearly 17 years. In addition, there were fears that there might be some violence as during semifinal celebrations 50 fans of the team were killed in attacks in Iraq during street festivities. Despite all the positive and negative developments, the Iraqi national football team did achieve a great victory and is made up of many different cultures and religious affiliations as is the country itself. They are an example of how a positive future is plausible in Iraq despite all of its natural divisions in society. Only few were injured in the celebrations for the final victory of the Asia Cup.

Iraqis achieving victories outside of their country of birth is likely to become the standard in the future as many Iraqis are fleeing and have fled the chaos of their home state. In Cathryn Cluver’s wonderful posting this week on the Oxfam report on Iraq and its refugees we see that more than 2 million Iraqis have fled outside the country, and that inside the nation state the quality of life, education and other essentials have been drastically effected since 2003. For this reason it will be a likely trend that while Iraqis may achieve success outside of their home state, inside of Iraq success may be defined as being able to leave and as a result live outside of their place of birth.

While Iraqis are fleeing in record numbers, the host states that are accepting the refugees have yet to form a balanced approach to accepting refugees from one of the world’s most dangerous places. In a BBC World broadcast of August 2nd the situation in Syria where the brunt of the 2 million Iraqis have fled is discussed in detail in the telecast report. Syria, with a population of appx.18 million have accepted via some sources more than 1 million Iraqi refugees and with Jordan have accepted and are being pushed to accept more refugees. Despite this, the world community outside of Syria and Jordan have accepted very few Iraqi refugees compared to Syria and despite the focus and support they wish to give to Iraq, there has been little concrete action to help the actual people leaving Iraq. At the end of all the above observations, it is clear that a refugee crisis from Iraq had begun from the resulting conflict and that there needs to be a great deal more effort beyond Syria and Jordan in accepting Iraqi refugees…People can be surprised what refugees in conflict can do with some opportunity on an equal field of play.

See: R. Basas’ article The Burden Hardest to Bear for more information on Refugees leaving Iraq to Syria and Jordan

If you are a Palestinian refugee and have family ties to the West Bank, you may be in luck. In an apparent move to bolster the government of Mahmoud Abbas, which has been losing its footing in the Palestinian territories, the Israeli government is allowing “a number” of Palestinian refugees to settle in the West Bank (and the West Bank only - NOT Gaza), under “certain circumstances.” The article in the New York Times which reports this latest development, thus proves what experts have been warning us about over the past few weeks: The refugees stand to become a political pawn in the conflicts that plague the region.

Oxfam has joined the chorus of international relief agencies calling for immediate action against the looming humanitarian crisis in Iraq. According to its latest findings, every third Iraqi is in need of some kind of aid, be it because of food scarcity, insufficient water supplies or proper sanitation. In a report issued today, Oxfam notes that

• Four million Iraqis – 15% - regularly cannot buy enough to eat.
• 70% are without adequate water supplies, compared to 50% in 2003.
• 28% of children are malnourished, compared to 19% before the 2003 invasion.
• 92% of Iraqi children suffer learning problems, mostly due to the climate of fear.
• More than two million people – mostly women and children - have been displaced inside Iraq.
• A further two million Iraqis have become refugees, mainly in Syria and Jordan

Oxfam has called on the Iraqi government to extend its food aid program deeper into the country and demands that the members of the military coalition, i.e. the UK and US enhance their efforts toward easing the humanitarian crisis that exists as a result of the ongoing civil warfare in the country.

International relief and aid organization such as Oxfam have had to withdraw from Iraq over the past few months, given rising security concerns. By the same token, as reported in an article in German news magazine, Der Spiegel, local medical personnel and other highly-skilled experts, including engineers needed to restore water pipelines, etc. are leaving the country in droves. This exodus further exacerbates an already dire situation.

This week’s news is short, but nonetheless important:

• Again, tragedy has struck on the high seas - this time off the Canary Islands: Spanish authorities have called off the search for the 50 migrants lost at sea after their boat capsized late last week. More than forty were rescued, however. The IHT has the story here.
• The International Organization for Migration is working closely with the Senegalese government to prevent migrants from falling prey to smugglers and face a similar fate as the Gambian migrants off the coast of the Canary Islands. Voice of America reports that the campaign aims to inform potential migrants of legal methods of migration. The IOM press release can be found here.
• A similar anti-trafficking campaign geared towards the Dominican Republic features Ricky Martin. He has agreed to shake his bon-bon, to promote a free information hotline and other promotional efforts.
• The Financial Times has published a new series on how Asian countries are dealing with the challenges that arise from their new status as migrant destination countries (requires a free 15-day trial of the FTonline).

 In a few underreported incidents, last Thursday a migrant boat with 20 aboard disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily on its way to Europe. Last Wednesday, 23 migrants were also picked up by Italian coastguards found clinging to a tuna cage near Sicily. Numerous other migrants were picked up as well last week from various boats. It was reported that 35 people had drowned since the beginning of the month of June in between Libya, Malta and Sicily.

The incidents of boat people are seen as an ever-growing cause of concern in the Mediterranean and worldwide as noted by the UNHCR. Beyond drowning, often migrants are killed or thrown into the sea on purpose by smugglers, which add an ever more dangerous element to the fate of asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants trying to flee Africa and other regions towards opportunity in other nations. On July 3rd the IMO and UNHCR met in London to address the issue.

With the new EU Presidency of Portugal coming soon to shape the future of EU policy, Lisbon has stated publicly that there needs to be some real action in addressing illegal immigration. With countries like Spain, Portugal, Malta and Italy having to deal with the majority of boat people, the victims, security and ensuring their human rights are met; Portugal challenged the EU to seek a real combined effort in addressing the issue. Many in Southern Europe feel that leaving the problems to be dealt solely by Mediterranean countries where most of the migrants enter the entire EU by sea requires an EU approach and not solely a national effort.

Despite protests from Portugal, the issue of illegal migration is still intertwined with political challenges and administrative red tape in addressing the issue via the EU. With the Portuguese Presidency of the EU and UN now refocusing on the issue, there is some hope that progress will be possible in the near future.

For Other Sea and Migrant Stories:

FPA Migration Middle East and Africa
FPA Migration Europe

With the fate of many African migrants often being one of death from the failure of rickety boats used to move them towards the European coast, nervous smugglers ejecting their “clients” during the journey, or just a lack of action from receiving countries to save stranded migrants from drowning, there has been some recent progressive measures to reduce illegal immigration to Spain, or at least reduce the risk of those who will eventually make the journey.

Spain and Senegal signed and agreement to help combat illegal immigration until the 30th of June 2008 by working together in reducing the numbers of migrants fleeing Senegalese ports towards the Spanish Canary Islands. The agreement has paid dividends and as a result there has already been a reduction of boats from 901 in 2006, to only 101 in the first half of 2007.

Cooperation between Senegal and Spain has not been adopted solely via setting up common barriers. A number of Spanish businessmen have opted to go to Senegal directly and offer working visas to many of Senegal’s brightest young people who often have to use rickety boats and deal with organized mafia to get to Spain illegally. Often many of the young Senegalese do not survive the journey, or lose their money to unscrupulous individuals who leave them bankrupt with no way out of their country. Some of Spain’s entrepreneurs understand that many would come illegally and often are solely seeking employment to feed their families and make a better life. With institutional supports in Spain and opportunities to work, more than 500 Senegalese have taken the low risk option to come and work in Spain.

While the limited actions of the Spanish Government and businessmen are a very progressive approach towards addressing illegal immigration, an overall grand push in addressing the issue is needed. On the 25th of June 2007 the EU announced 380 million Euros in funding to assist migrant home countries in increasing security against illegal immigration. Similar to the cooperation agreement between Spain and Senegal, the EU will work on future frameworks to reduce illegal immigration from its source and curb unnecessary deaths for those economic migrants coming to the EU from Africa. While illegal migrations and deaths are certain to continue, there seems to be at least some small and ever growing efforts in addressing the immigration problems and rights of migrants coming to Spain and the EU.

Tomorrow is World Refugee Day and we will cover events commemorating the plight of refugees, the anguish, suffering and isolation they feel in abandoning their homelands, along with the efforts of the international community to ease their situations and raise awareness over the course of the day tomorrow. Our fellow FPA blogger, Cassandra Clifford, has already compiled a list of interesting links on this important occassion, which you can access here.

Nothing can, however, come close to hearing personal accounts of what it means to flee your own country in times of war. The UNHCR compiles these videos and after recent announcement by western governments that they will either refuse to accept additional Iraqi migrants or begin sending them back, this video is a particularly graphic reminder of why developed countries must go far beyond the requirements of the Geneva Convention to help, protect and shelter those in need.

This week’s news roundup covers EU initiatives to create a Common European Asylum System as well as France’s possible new focus on immigration policy as well as highlighting opinion tools for Americans on their attitudes towards immigration after the failure of the Immigration Bill to be passed through the US Senate. Also stories on Aid workers killed in Lebanon and links towards the refugee tragedy in the Mediterranean are highlighted:

• French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said last Friday in his tour of Africa that France will not tolerate waves of African migrants coming to France. Since the election of France’s new President Nicolas Sarkozy, many migrants have been worried about the possible changes to France’s immigration policy. While Kouchner did show a tough stance on France’s new approach to immigration, he did clarify that France’s immigrants should be treated fairly and that much of the concern came from the high risk illegal immigrants. He may have been influenced by events last week where 110 bodies where discovered in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Libya, thought to be illegal immigrants who became victim to their “uncertain vessels” and a fortuneless journey.
• On June 6th 2007 the European Comission published a Green Paper to create the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) as well as an evaluation of the Dublin System and a Directive on long-term residence for the beneficiaries of International Protection. It is hoped that the focus on irregular migrations, which has dominated European Immigration Policy in the past, will be refocused towards the rights and obligations of all EU Member states on the rights of Asylum seekers in the EU. After the tragedy mentioned above, a mechanism to ensure the rights of Asylum seekers needs to be established equally in all EU states.
• With the failed progression on the Immigration Reform Bill, MSNBC has created a website to gain American’s opinions on the immigration issue and the reform bill from American citizens. While the Bill has been set aside indefinitely, the issue of immigration in the US still holds strong among many people. See the links here for opinions.
• In a June 11th article for the Guardian Newspaper, two Red Cross workers were killed and one seriously wounded today in Lebanon. The shell that hit their vehicle came from Fatah Islam militants held up inside the Northern edge of the Nahr al-Bared camp. For more information see the Lebanon post below.

Last week was the 40th Anniversary of the Six Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1967. The attention on the Anniversary however was not given a glorious Battle of Britain style remembrance by much of the international media. Unlike many states who often take pride in remembering their victories in times of conflict, the Six Day War is blamed for being the catalyst of the Israel-Palestinian conflict inherited today by much of the international community. Last week’s Economist focused their front page and introspective articles on the problems since the conflict. The BBC in their program this past weekend Our World on BBC World showed a mini-documentary on the effects of the conflict as well.

The end result of the 1967 war was seen by many as the start of a refugee crisis that in large part affects the stability of the Middle East region today. During the intensive conflict, Israeli forces took the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Many of the inhabitants of the West Bank in 1967 were displaced earlier after conflicts in 1948 in the Israeli War of Independence and in 1967 there was a further movement of people inside the West Bank but also towards Jordan and Lebanon. The end result of intensive fighting on both sides in 48’ and 67’, but also related conflicts in 56’, 73’ and later in 1981-82 in Lebanon and the Golan Heights lead to the external and internal displacement of many Palestinian people outside their initial historical villages. Today the Palestinian people reside mostly in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and even inside Israel proper.

Many of these Palestinian refugees have settled in refugee camps since 1948, as well as ones established after 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in Jordan, and in Lebanon. In the last two weeks conflict inside Lebanon between the Lebanese armed forces and radical groups operating inside Palestinian refugee camps inside Lebanon itself have erupted. After 40 years of being refugees, many of these camps have grown to beyond tents and unpotable water and sewage to become small concrete towns, often cut off from the rest of Lebanese society and wholly supported by charities and international relief funds. The UN mission in Lebanon, UNRWA details the situation of the Refugee Camps, which while having minimal concrete infrastructure, suffer from lack of proper supporting infrastructure, unemployment, and severe overcrowding.

In the past three weeks, militant forces have used these camps to fight against Lebanese forces. Many of the refugees have been caught in the crossfire, and while precise information is limited on the effects and casualties of the conflict inside the camps, it is certain the conflict is growing at an exponential rate.

Many of the concerns of Palestinians in Lebanon have shadowed activities in Gaza and the West Bank. The two main political parties of Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip have fallen into quite severe and violent conflict in Gaza since Israel pulled out of Gaza a year and a half ago. While Hamas, often referred to as a militant group by many of its critics was elected with a majority in Gaza, in Lebanon the nature of militants and their response have lead to more of a push by Palestinians in Lebanon to form coalitions to reject militant actions and cease conflicts with the Lebanese army and inside the camps themselves. In any interview with Steve Paiken on The Agenda, a summary of the situation for Palestinians was said to be the worst since 1967 by a table of four leaders in the Palestinian community interviewed in Canada two weeks ago. It is likely that with conflict in Gaza, Lebanon and perhaps the West Bank soon enough, the state of the Palestinians will be the worst case scenario for refugees for years to come.