ONE MAN'S STORY
One man seeking asylum in Europe. For me, reading a personal story highlights the issues more clearly. Please note, as stated in the article, this is not only happening in Greece or Britain. It is happening all over Europe. Via the United Nations Refugee Agency. Mohammad is from war-torn Darfur, often described as the scene of some of the worst violence in the world over the past two years. Hundreds of villages have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured, or have died of illness and disease linked to the fighting and scorched earth tactics of the infamous janjaweed militia. Large numbers of women and girls are believed to have been raped. More than 2 million people have been displaced. War crimes and crimes against humanity are widely believed to have been committed. Enough for an asylum claim by someone from Darfur to be taken seriously, one would think... Read the full story here
posted by deviousdiva @ 12/15/2005 03:05:00 PM
10 comments
I can't believe the EU doesn't recognize refugees from Darfur. I think of all places in Africa right now, it is perhaps one of the worst. Asylum from countries where there is a lot of bloodshed, especially bloodshed that has been basically counted as illegal and genocidal by the UN, should be automatic. And if one country is too backed up to process the claim in a prompt manner, there should be some system where he can get sent to another for processing. Sure, perhaps this complicates things, but these are human beings here. They have to live their lives.
I was sad to read that he fled leaving his wife and children behind. I have mixed feelings about that. Obviously, I can't imagine the situation they were in, but I also can't imagine getting myself out if it meant my husband and children were left behind. It is a hard choice, obviously.
Mohammed, like many other legitimate refugee claimants, are having a hard time for several reasons. The biggest ones being public opinion and the cost of processing claimants. Politics and money. The same reasons they didn't want to declare Rwanda a genocide...it exempts them from having to get involved. Europe doesn't want to appear too friendly to refugees lest they have 1.8 million on their doorsteps by January.
I guess it's much more logical to stage 13 billion€ Olympic Games than to grant refugee status to someone who definitely qualifies as a refugee. Even if they had sent half that much in aid to Darfur, there's a strong possibility Mohammed wouldn't have left his family behind to wind up sleeping on the streets of Omonia to begin with.
Hi everyone. sorry, I don't have time today to reply to all your comments.
eff, Yes there are laws in place that inform the whole process of asylum and a system of appeal if the claim is rejected. However, it's business as usual within the EU and everywhere else. In my opinion, Europe does not really want to accept any asylum seekers and will do anything to avoid doing so. Passing complicated laws and making the process as difficult as possible, I believe, is deliberate. The ideal situation from their point of view would be to able to bring in labour and skills when needed and to expell them when the job is done. The truth is wealthy nations only "care" when their own interests are at stake.
Look out for next post, which I will publish in a while, on asylum chaos in Britain.
Look in the MIRROR first ladies, before this bleating for humanitarianism is ever uttered against.
I am not sure what Mohammad's case has to do with the article you are pointing us to, ethnocentrist? The entire site seems to be a crusade against Islam. There are hundreds of such sites around the Internet if you look around (you don't need to go too far, as I'm sure you know). The sole purpose of these sites seems to be to discredit one group or another. Call me a bleedingheart/loony/leftie/liberal all you want, I have no interest in reading such inflammatory tracts. In my opinion, they serve no other purpose but to foster more suspicion and hatred. Something we have enough of already.
I guess it's much more logical to stage 13 billion€ Olympic Games than to grant refugee status to someone who definitely qualifies as a refugee.
You see this all does end up a swipe at Greece in the end even though it is in the same boat, with the same responses as the rest of the planet.
I think the Olympic games worked out fine. Unless you are going to indict the entire modern Olympics. Grerce did not turn its Olympics into a commerical bordello and therefore it had a cost. Big deal.
There are bigger waste's of monry then having every nation in the world get together and broadcasting the thing world wide. About 99% of international news is about committing violence on each other. Once in a while it is nice to have another image.
Were their cost overruns? Yes. Is that a major scandal? Don't kid yourself. I awoke this morning to read about how our baseball stadium in DC is, once again going to need a budget "revision".
(it is also the center of controbersy over immigrant labor with unionized minority groups very angry at the prospect of immigrant labor, land siezure, environmental concerns, etc. sound familiar?)
I am curious do you think anti-immigrant xenophobia is less prevelent in the US?
abe, Thank you for coming and taking the time to comment. To answer your question. No, I do not think anti-immigrant xenphobia is less prevelent in the US, or in Britain or in the rest of Europe. I just feel it is an issue that needs to be addressed and as I happen to live here at the moment, this is the best way I know how to be involved in the discussion. (and to put across my opinions on the matter)
Diva,
IF you have no interest in familiarizing yourself with all aspects of these topics, including the degradation, rape, and murder of western women by your asylum seeking Muslim and other 3rd world horde, then why do you post about such things and continuously mewl for more of it? Like I give two craps about about the specificity of Mohammad's case. I was commenting on how all of you gushed at this one case and were in favour of better asylum seeker treatment. The woman in that link is NOT a lone case. It is an epidemic in all western states that have been "humanitarian". ALL western states.
So to me, one needs to know just what one is asking for. Wouldn't you agree?
ethnocentrist, Why are you so angry? I merely posted a story of ONE asylum seeker because, as I said
"For me, reading a personal story highlights the issues more clearly."
I do not mewl for rape or murder of ANY women. And you cannot seriously accuse me of wanting any of it? I do not understand how posting ONE story about ONE man has lead to this anger? You cannot link my post about Mohammad to the article you point to. Or to the venom you write. I do not gush. I pointed to a story that I felt made the issues clearer. At least to me.
I believe you mislead yourself. You look for fault where it is not. Mohammad has nothing to do with the cases you point out. Nor do thousands others.
I have been to your blog and checked out all your links. You know where I am coming from and I know where you are coming from. Give me some credit. Your ideas are not so obscure or different than many thousands of others. And mine the same. You sit on your side of the fence with your articles and facts and statistics. I sit on mine with my feelings and emotions and myself.
Diva,
I am not angry, though you may interpret my words as such. I have been truly angry once, maybe twice and you have seen it. Both instances happened on SeaWitch's blog. The first time was true anger and not directed at you and the second was irration, and that was directed at you.
Today, I am not angry with you, only asking you serious and difficult questions. I know I can come across as quite gruff, though it is the way it is.
Anyway, the issue is clear. I KNOW you do not advocate rape, beatings, and murder directly, though indirectly that is exactly what the end result HAS been with these asylum seekers and what WILL be. Crime has increased dramatically in nations where it was miniscule before. Gang rapes have increased where previously there was none. You're smart enough to realize this, though you look the other way in your pursuit of humanitarianism. Are the native populations obliged to suffer these crimes because of a Mohammad or two or ten? You know what I think the answer to that is. We cannot ignore reality and facts. The reality is the waves of asylum seekers and refugees into western nations are a bane to the populace at large and not only from a criminality point of view. Irrespective of your assertion that "most" are not this way, there are enough that are which in turn has caused major problems. That girl in the link, for all intents could be my daughter for Christ's sake. Despite the Scandinavians having a masochistic bent with all this, I still am outraged that it happened and feel great sorrow for the girl. I would feel a great deal more if, God forbid, it happened to my own.
Eff,
I presume you are speaking to me. I am under no obligation to feed the world nor allow all sorts to make their case to come to western nations. Yes, it sounds cruel, callous, whatever. The truth is you don't jump into freezing rapids to save a drowning victim, for without a doubt there will be two drowning victims.
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