“These people are not people we are used to… these people are Europeans.” Kiril Petkov, Bulgarian Prime Minister, Associated Press, March 1, 2022 In the history of accepting refugees, countries have shown more than an erratic streak. Universal human characteristics have often been overlooked in favour of the particular: race, […]
Tag: refugees
We’re Europeans, Christians, Whites!
Racist Ukraine coverage in mainstream Western media. Notice the racist overtones. 1. BBC “It’s very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed” – Ukraine’s Deputy Chief Prosecutor, David Sakvarelidze 2. CBS News “This isn’t Iraq or Afghanistan…This is a relatively civilised, […]
A Phenomenon Of (Im)migration (II)
Part I Economy and migration One of the focal causes of the migration movement across the globe historically and contemporary is an imbalance between population and economic resources which very often is leading to population movements or migration from one place to another. From the very general economic perspective, migration […]
The Phenomenon Of (Im)migration (I)
The recent immigration crisis on the Belarus-Polish (EU) border can be repeated and even more to include and Lithuanian (EU) border with Belarus with unpredictable political results. Nevertheless, the 2021 November refugee crisis on the eastern border of the EU once again open the question of immigration, refugees, and asylum […]
Britannia Turns Back The Boats
Pushing people back across borders; turning asylum seekers away from shores. When such tactics were openly adopted and used with impunity by Australia’s navy and border force, it caused outrage and concern in the maritime community and pricked the interest of border protectionists the world over. Disgust and outrage have, […]
Weaponised Refugees And Hybrid Attacks
Refugees and asylum seekers provide rich pickings for demagogues and political opportunists. The Australian approach politicises their plight by arguing that they are illegitimate depending on the way they arrive, namely, by boat. The twentieth anniversary of the MV Tampa’s attempt to dock at Christmas Island with over 400 such […]
Reluctant Acceptance: Responding To Afghanistan’s Refugees
Do not for a minute think that this is a kind, heart-felt thing in the aftermath of Kabul’s fall. True, a number of Afghans will find their way to Germany, to Canada, to the UK, US and a much smaller number to Australia. But this will be part of the […]
Denmark Offshores The Right To Asylum
This has been a fantasy of Danish governments for some time. There have been gazes of admiration towards countries like Australia, where processing refugees and asylum-seekers is a task offloaded, with cash incentives, to third countries (Papua New Guinea and Nauru come to mind). Danish politicians, notably a good number […]
Abuse On The Mainland: Australia’s Medevac Hotel Detentions
Governments that issue press releases about the abuse of human rights tend to avoid close gazes at the mirror. Doing so would be telling. In the case of Australia, its record on dealing with refugees is both abysmal and cruel. It tends to be easier to point the finger at […]
A Safe Zone For Syrian Refugees — So Near, Yet So Very Far
Six years after Turkish President Recep Erdogan floated the idea of creating a safe zone in northern Syria, it still remains a chimera. When the Turks lobbied for the zone, notably in 2013 and 2015, the Obama administration rebuffed them on the plea that protecting it would entail putting a […]
Bomb Algeria Into Democracy?
The Algerian government has offered a compromise: Bouteflika runs for the presidency now for the last time as a symbol of stability with his cadence limited for one year only. Later another elections are held without pressure from barricades and Molotov’s. Though it seems that the funds have already been disbursed between the captains of the future uprising, so the show must go on.
Syria Returns Its Citizens. What Is About Europe?
The resolution of the Syrian crisis is quite close, but the European leaders must realize that the full settlement is impossible without resolving some humanitarian issues. In particular, the return of refugees. Both the Syrians and Europeans are interested in this.
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