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Bayern Munich Donates $1 Million to Refugees

soccer
The 2013 UEFA Champions League winner, FC Bayern Munich, is donating $1.11 million to refugees in Germany who arrived via Hungary and Austria. There is a training camp set up to supply food and enroll refugees in German classes. Bayern Munich will also donate soccer equipment to the incoming refugees.

Germany has taken 20,000 refugees in Munich alone and plans on taking 800,000 asylum seekers before the year is over. In 2014, the entire European Union took 626,000 refugees.

There are many aspects about Germany that makes it attractive for refugees. Germany has the strongest economy in Europe and is one of the safest countries in the world. Refugees in Germany get to enjoy a strong human rights record and free education for their children.

The police force in Germany asked Germans to stop donating items for the incoming refugees because the volume of aid they were taking in became overwhelming.

Germany estimates that each refugee costs about $14,500, which means 800,000 refugees will cost $11 billion this year. There will be $6.7 billion set aside in 2016 for refugees agreed to by the government.

Bayern Munich’s example is just a small package of what Germany is offering to refugees. The entire community has been involved in aiding refugees. Industries are going to provide job opportunities for refugees in Germany and there will be recruitment at refugee centers.

On September 12, Bayern Munich walked out with one German child and one refugee child to symbolize integration and to encourage Germany.

– Donald Gering

Sources: Al Jazeera 1, Al Jazeera 2, The Guardian, The Independent, UNHCR
Photo: PBS

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German Organization Connects Individuals with Refugees

Today in Germany hundreds of thousands of refugees arrive each year, looking for asylum and safety. Many are from primarily Islamic nations.

The massive influx of people has strained local officials— finding adequate housing for everyone is a challenge.

Many cities have put massive amounts of refugees in old schools or re-purposed shipping containers. Often, the refugees are not welcome in their new neighborhoods due to religious tension. According to National Public Radio, “The western German city of Schwerte even proposed placing 21 refugees in a barracks on the grounds of a Nazi-era concentration camp.”

Berlin Residents Mareike Geiling and Jonas Kakoschke believe that refugees deserve a more humane treatment than mass, impersonal accommodations. This prompted them to create the organization Refugees Welcome— a website that matches refugees looking for asylum with people in Germany and Austria willing to open their homes to these people in need.

“We don’t like the idea of putting these people into one place where many, many people live,” explained Geiling to NPR.

“Many asylum-seekers have to stay there for years … doing nothing, because they are not allowed to do anything. They are not allowed to work, they are not allowed to have German classes sometimes and sometimes it’s not a city, it’s a village and there’s nothing to do and so you get depressed after years and stuff like this,” said Kakoschke.

Kakoschke and Geiling are a couple living in Berlin, and they were the first to open their doors to a refugee in need. The couple matched with a thirty-nine year old Muslim man from Mali, who had recently applied for asylum and is waiting for a working permit. For this reason, Kakoschke and Geiling raise money to cover their new roommates cost of rent and utilities.

NPR reports that the Malian man is afraid to give his name for safety reasons, but said “It surprised me a lot because … the people here don’t want to see people like us in their land.”

Before Kakoschke and Geiling opened their doors to him, the roommate was homeless. “Sometimes I’d take the bus from different sector to different sector at nighttime until, you know, 2:30” in the morning, he says. Then he’d “get out and sleep for 20 minutes and go back on the train again sometimes and go back in the mosque and pray there for 30 minutes and sleep there for one hour.”

Refugees Welcome has been very successful so far on a small scale. The website has matched 122 refugees to welcoming German and Austrian flatmates.

Refugees Welcome reports, “Through Refugees Welcome people have moved in to 80 homes in Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Konstanz, Leipzig, Marburg, Munich, Munster, Norderstedt, Offenburg and Wolfratshausen. Through Refugees Welcome Austria (our Austrian sister-organisation) people have moved in to 44 places in Eisenstadt, Knittelfeld, Salzburg and Vienna. The new flatmates are from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria and Tunisia.”

– Aaron Andree

Sources: NPR, Refugees-Welcome
Photo: thegaurdian

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Should We be Accepting Refugees in America?

Accepting_Refugees_in America
As Europe continues to struggle with a steady stream of refugees from Syria, Iraq and beyond, the United States is still debating a proper policy response to the crisis. It begs the question – what are the implications for accepting refugees in America on a large scale?

White House discussions regarding U.S. refugee policy have been held in recent weeks, but it still seems that the Obama administration is far from making a concrete decision.

President Obama has stated that the U.S. will accept around 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year, but more longstanding U.S. involvement has yet to be confirmed.

In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, director of migration and refugee services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops William Canny laid out some key ways that genuine U.S. involvement could greatly aid Syrian refugees.

“In addition, the United States can resettle a much larger number of the 4 million Syrian refugees than the 1,600 we have to date,” Canny says. “The U.S. refugee program could absorb as many as 100,000 Syrian refugees if the political will to do so existed. Security checks are in place to ensure that those resettled are not a threat to us.”

According to the UN, 7.6 million Syrians have been internally displaced since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, and an additional 4.1 million have been displaced outside of the country altogether. The need for increased U.S. response is growing rapidly.

“A robust U.S. commitment to the resettlement of Syrian refugees would encourage other reluctant nations, especially those in Europe, to accept more and to keep their doors open until this horrific conflict can be ended,” Canny continues. “It also would show that the United States is not indifferent to human suffering and remains, as always, a beacon of hope to the world.”

– Alexander Jones

Sources: New York Times, US News, Washington Post
Photo: Google Images

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Makeshift School Serves Calais Refugees

Makeshift school serves Calais refugees
When refugees imagine the amount of time they will be living in an encampment, they probably do not anticipate staying long — their minds already drift to a possible future beyond the camp’s makeshift walls.

However, as more refugees flee from conflicted countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Africa, these supposedly temporary living arrangements are beginning to become communities of their own. For a camp in Calais, France, mosques, churches, shops, a barber and, as of last month, a school can be found in the encampment for those passing through.

According to an article by the global campaign A World at School, the largest camp in the northern part of Calais and Western Europe is known as “the Jungle,” housing as many as 3,000 immigrants who wait in the hopes of gaining entrance into the United Kingdom.

Near the Jungle is the English Channel tunnel, known for its connection between France and England, which serves as a potential point of entry for migrants. Despite the danger and increased security around the border zones, migrants are willing to risk everything for the chance to jump on trains and lorries bound for the UK.

Meanwhile, refugees attempt to include aspects of normalcy into their everyday schedules by attending school or passing the time playing a game of dominoes. Makeshift tents and poorly constructed buildings make up the encampment, which is filled with people who have already survived the dangerous trek from their homes in the Middle East and Africa.

Today, it is not uncommon to see a school inside of a refugee camp, so when refugees started asking how to say French words or numbers, a makeshift school was created by Nigerian Zimarco Jones. It was soon up and running, staffed with the help of French volunteers.

Constructed from materials such as branches and wood panels, the makeshift school seats 20 students and faces a blackboard. Since its establishment in July, it has been given the name L’Ecole Laïque du Chemin des Dunes, which translates to The Secular School of Dune Way.

Mostly young men attend the school to learn both English and French and other subjects, but Jones plans to build an additional school for the more than 20 children and 200 women who live in the camp.

The current state of conflict in the world has displaced an astronomical number of children from their homes, wreaking havoc on their childhoods and robbing them of their education. Fortunately, there are opportunities that can be found in those temporary homes and stops along the way to their final destination — some place they earnestly look forward to one day calling home.

– Nikki Schaffer

Sources: A World at School, The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2
Photo: Al Jazeera America

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Refugees in Calais See Hope In Britain

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Many refugees in Calais, France are using any means possible — most of them using rather dangerous means — to make their way to Britain in hopes of a new life.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants sit in refugee camps in Calais waiting to make their next attempt into the United Kingdom. Many of these individuals have traveled all the way from Africa, the Middle East and some from even further away. For most, sanctuary in Britain is the last stop on a very long journey that may have lasted for months, with hopes that a better life and more opportunities await them on the other side of the English Channel.

In France, where many migrants await the next move, which may potentially land them in Britain, lie refugee camps filled with hundreds of thousands of migrants from all around the world. Many have fled injustice and corruption within their native countries, such as that of Sudan, Eritrea and other crime-ridden and infamously violent nations.

Within the camps are volunteers and medical staff to help those who have been injured or have fallen ill throughout their long journeys. Nurses in the camps have recounted a number of cases where individuals have even been hit by trains and fallen off moving trains while trying to make their way across the Channel. This is a horrific image to imagine, but it is the reality of the extent people in these circumstances are willing to go to make it to their final destination. The legitimacy of their travels is backed by the success of others. An estimated 40 people actually make it across each day, though the numbers have varied greatly. Those who have been successful give those still struggling the hope they need to keep going.

With all these people from around the world flooding the entrance to the United Kingdom, both Britain and France have asked for more intervention, particularly from other members of the European Union. The French government has upped its security measures by increasing the number of police officers at the French side of the Channel as well as implementing other new security means. However, with the number of migrants in the hundreds of thousands at least, and a handful of migrants making their way to the UK each day, there obviously is a need for more assistance in order for the two countries to maintain border security.

This issue has been going on since the beginning of June, and a recorded 10 migrants have died in the journey specifically from Calais to the other end of the Channel. This is an issue of international security for which no clear solution has been found thus far, neither the migrants seeking refuge nor the European nations themselves.

– Alexandrea Jacinto

Sources: The New York Times, BBC
Photo: The New York Times

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Economics and Refugees

Economics and Refugees-TBPWhen there is an influx of people to a new area, in an effort to escape the horrors of war, disaster and other hardships, local economies can be significantly strained. A humanitarian effort to help those in need is beneficial, but oftentimes the number of people in need can create circumstances where it is extremely difficult to provide everyone with their basic needs.

Normally, local economies are structured to provide for a relatively stable amount of people. The equilibrium of local supply and demand is stable, however, when an influx of people grows the demand for all types of goods at once, it creates a supply vacuum. This increase in demand and lack of supply creates a whole host of problems.

Turkey has absorbed about 200,000 Syrians. Many have become beggars, wandering in traffic, looking for spare change and unable to find employment. Others take up trades on the street, taking customers from existing Turkish vendors and businesses. These two cases are examples of the lack of supply and the increase in demand. The beggars along with the increased competition for some small Turkish businesses have created a hostile atmosphere against the Syrian refugees.

Lebanon is a more extreme example of the strain that refugees can put on an economy. One in 10 of Lebanon’s residents is now a Syrian refugee, escaping the war and famine that has eviscerated their homeland. This has created a range of problems similar to those seen in Turkey, however, the magnitude of the number of refugees seen in Lebanon is much worse.

Lebanon is a much smaller country than Turkey, and it is also taking in many more refugees than Turkey. Food prices in Lebanon have skyrocketed due to the increased demand from more than a half-million refugees entering the country in the span of a few years. Electricity was already faulty and has now been hit with a 27 percent increase in demand due to the housing of many of the new refugees. Again, similar patterns are immerging within Lebanon as they did in Turkey.

Just as Turkey experienced similar economic disruptions, the social aspect of the new population has put social tensions on the list of concerns for government officials in Lebanon. Some economists argue that the new populace has actually been beneficial to the local economies of rural areas in Lebanon because of an increase in spending in the local area.

In places like Canada, the effects of refugees are somewhat different. Typically, when developed nations accept refugees from other countries they are not accepting hundreds of thousands at a time. This difference is important because it means that local economies are not strained to the same extent.

A study by the Institute for the Study of Labor found that employed refugees in Canada were no worse off than average. However, the study also showed that the unemployed did end up needing significant government assistance.

The study concluded that refugees were not damaging to the economy and identified discrimination and lack of credential recognition as potential factors in unemployment rates amongst refugees. Better job training programs could help refugees adjust to a new economic landscape and help them integrate into the economic system.

The case of the Syrian refugees is one of the best modern-day examples of how massive amounts of refugees can disrupt local economies. In the case of Canada and other developed nations, it exemplifies how a smaller amount of refugees entering the country does not affect the economic and social situation in ways that are comparable to Turkey and Lebanon.

Context is important to see how refugees can affect local economics, but it is clear is that events that create massive migrations can be harmful to neighboring economies. Perhaps programs that help disperse refugees across more countries could be improved or expanded to reduce the impact that refugees have when overwhelming local areas. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize that it is in everyone’s interest to take in those in need and help them adjust to their own new realities.

– Martin Yim

Sources: New York Times, Reuters, Institute for the Study of Labor
Photo: Flickr

South Sudanese Refugees Warmly Welcomed by Uganda

South-Sudanese-Refugees-Warmly-Welcomed-by-UgandaSince the onset of ethnically-motivated conflict within South Sudan in December 2013, an estimated 150,000 South Sudanese civilians have fled the violence to neighboring Uganda. Government officials and civilians alike have cited the remarkably acceptant refugee policies exercised by Uganda as catalysts for these migrations.

Refugees who travel to Uganda for asylum are met with an abundance of economic and social opportunities upon their arrival. Unlike many other nations currently experiencing heightened influxes of refugees due to the persistence of several regional conflicts, Uganda does not place newly arrived migrants into refugee camps operated by the UN and other foreign aid organizations.

Instead, refugees who successfully escape their conflict-ravaged homelands for the peace and security of Uganda are presented with the opportunity to move into permanent settlements where they are provided with their own plot of land. Additionally, various UN agencies provide access to food, water, and home construction resources for newly arrived refugees. Localized primary schools and health clinics are commonly accessible in these areas of Uganda, and are responsible for providing valuable resources to newly settled migrant populations.

Titus Jogo, Refugee Desk Officer for the Adjumani District in Northern Uganda, stated in a recent interview regarding the legal statuses of South Sudanese refugees seeking asylum, “They have all the rights that are attributed to any human being, irrespective of their status as refugees.”

The conflict within South Sudan, the newest nation in the world after its founding in 2012, was initially caused by political disputes between President Salva Kiir and his former Deputy Minister Riek Machar. The conflict is largely consistent of multiple tribal factions which include the Neur Tribe, loyal to Machar, and the Dinka group, loyal to President Kiir; both of these tribal groups have been accused by international monitoring groups of committing war crimes and human rights violations, including ethnically targeted massacres and sexual assaults.

The most recent report provided by the UNHCR estimates that over 730,000 people have fled the conflict in South Sudan to neighboring nations such as Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. This report also estimates that an additional 1.5 million South Sudanese civilians are currently suffering from internal displacement due to the escalation in ethnic violence. Many of these displaced civilians experience frequent relocations to areas known as ‘protection-of-civilians’ sites, which are coordinated by the UN Mission in South Sudan and provide secure refugee camps for civilians who have fled their homes.

Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki-moon recently explained in a statement regarding conditions within South Sudan, “The violence that has ravaged South Sudan over the past 18 months proves that there can never be a military solution to this conflict. I therefore call on all leaders of South Sudan – particularly President Kiir and former Vice-President Riek Machar – to prove their leadership by investing in a political solution and immediately concluding a comprehensive peace agreement. At the same time, the international community must take decisive steps to help end the fighting.”

The UNHCR recently released an international appeal for increased foreign aid designated for the current mission within South Sudan, noting the mounting number of refugees traveling to neighboring countries has depleted financial resources. While the organization estimates that $99 million US is necessary to continue funding this operation, only 9% of this goal has been raised to date.

The report explained that “Current resources remain insufficient to provide vital life- saving assistance and services, particularly in the areas of health, education and livelihoods and environment. Many South Sudanese refugee children, their country’s hope for the future, face key barriers to education including overcrowding in classrooms, a lack of teachers, and a lack of recreational activities to support constructive social engagement.”

– James Miller Thornton

Sources: The Guardian, Shanghai Daily, UN
Photo: UNHCR

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The Young Syrian Refugees

Young_Syrian_Refugees
Since the civil war in Syria broke out just three years ago, four million people have sought refuge in the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. So far, 100,000 have been killed. 7,000 of them are children.

The Middle East’s biggest refugee camp, Zaatari, lies in Jordan. It shelters 120,000 Syrians in a community divided into 12 districts. It costs $500,000 to run the camp. Camp workers dole out 500,000 pieces of bread and 3.5 million liters of water a day. Three-fourths of residents are women and children.

Of the 650,000 people that fled Syria to arrive in Turkey, one-third are allowed into refugee camps. There is no room for the res; they have to fend for themselves. Nizar Najjar is the assistant director of Camp Bab al-Salameh. He explains, “Sometimes we do not have the capacity to receive new refugees. Some people (are forced to) just put up their tents in fields.”

Those in camps do not have it much better. Dr. Al-Naser is a part of a group called “Medical Relief for Syria”. He says that the spread of disease is a big concern. “It’s a problem with sanitation, how to dispose of bathing water and used toilet water. There are lakes of waste in some areas.” Trucks bring in the camp’s only source of freshwater.

Young Syrian refugees are often traumatized. They have faced the horrors of being under siege, losing their homes and being separated from their families. Groups that flee travel by night and hide during the day. Some are shot at by fighter jets. Even once they reach the border, shelling still echoes in the distance.

Sara* is a 12-year old girl who fled Syria with her mother and brother along with her aunt, uncle and grandmother one year ago. She does not know the whereabouts of her father, who was kidnapped in 2013. The family was forced to leave once they lost touch with a brother-in-law that was providing them with money and resources.

Sara’s family arrived at a camp in Lebanon run by activists. They managed to find a simple apartment. It gives them a safe place to stay, but it is not insulated and floods as soon as it rains. Rent and electricity cost $230 each month. Back in Syria, they were a middle-class family, and now charities help them with essentials like food, rent and medical expenses. Sara’s grandmother has diabetes and high blood pressure.

It also costs money to renew visas, which is now mandated every six months. Many times, families are forced to return to Syria because they cannot afford it. It is difficult for refugees to find jobs and earn money. Sara’s 14 year-old brother makes $30 each week working for a nearby mechanic.

Affording school is nearly out of the question with high costs of transportation, books and other fees. Sara loved school back in peace-time Syria and completed grade five. She has not been in school for over three years now but is able to take French and English language classes that are offered by aid agencies in the area.

Antonio Guterres is the UN commissioner for refugees. He asks countries around the world do more to help these displaced people, including raising money to support them and their host countries. The president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, makes a similar request. He also hopes to rebuild Syria and add more access to basic public services.

Sara dreams of becoming a doctor and for her country’s healing. “I want this war to end. I expect the world is so much bigger, with so many more people. With time, the world changes. I hope the war will be over one day.”

*Names has been changed to protect her identity

– Lillian Sickler

Sources: Care, Daily Mail, The Guardian, CBS News, World Vison, The Daily Beast, MIC, NPR
Photo: Flickr

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Jordan: A Refugee Haven

Jordan

The Middle East—in the north, Syria’s civil war between rebel forces trying to overthrow the dictator Bashar al-Assad rages. To the west, the perpetual conflict between Israel and Palestine continues. And with the rise of ISIS in Iraq to the east, there is no shortage of refugees.

Caught in the middle of this chaos is Jordan. The country has opened its borders for floods of refugees since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011. An estimated 1.4 million Syrians have crossed into Jordan during the war, making it the highest concentration of refugees globally. In an interview with 60 Minutes last September, Jordan’s King Abdullah said that welcoming the refugees is the right thing to do: “Where else can the Syrians go? They are in dire straits.”

The situation in Jordan is a microcosm of a troubling trend. There are approximately 60 million refugees globally, averages that have not been seen since the end of World War II. Whether it is war, like in the Middle East, or a changing climate, people seek normalcy where there is food security and educational opportunity.

Unfortunately, assimilating refugees into a host country’s culture so that they may become working members of society is very costly. King Abdullah says that absorbing so many people has put a tremendous economic strain on his country. He does not know how long Jordan can continue.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been an essential cog in the machine supplying Syrian refugees. Formed by the United Nations in the early 1960s, the program feeds 80 million people in 75 countries annually. The United States pays a third of its $4 billion annual budget.

Their largest operation ever has been at a United Nations refugee camp just inside Jordan. Housing an estimated 130,000 people, this city in the desert has become home to many.

The WFP has set up grocery stores in the camp. Instead of receiving three meals a day, each refugee gets a voucher of $29 dollars a month. This gives them the dignity of cooking for themselves, said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. In an interview with 60 Minutes last Thanksgiving, Cousin explained that this is a gesture of respect. “Many of these people had led normal, working lives,” she said. “The war took that from them.”

The organization has also been active in Syria. A portion of the 45,000 metric tons of food that is devoted to Jordanian refugee camps goes into Syria as well. Throughout the war, Assad’s forces have blockaded Syrian cities suspected of supporting the rebels. In Homs, the encirclement lasted more than 600 days before the WFP was able to negotiate a ceasefire with both sides to bring in vital food supplies.

The embattled civilians requested that the children, women and sick be evacuated before food was brought in. The WFP left Homs with 1,300 refugees and took them to the safety of Jordan. They left with a month’s worth of food supplies.

It is estimated that 6 million Syrians do not know where their next meal will come from. In the interview with 60 Minutes, an anonymous Syrian described how dire food shortages have become. His hometown just outside Damascus was sealed off. Despite the continued shelling and the exposure to nerve gas, he said hunger broke the town.

“No one thought we could starve to death in 21st century Syria,” he said. “The sad thing is that people are starving when food and aid is just minutes away, outside the blockades.” As the Syrian civil war continues and instability steadily dots every other corner of the region, Jordan has become the only option for refuge for many people.

Expanding humanitarian aid will allow Jordan and the WFP to help the millions who are still displaced today.

– Kevin Meyers

Sources: USAID, Business Insider, CBS 1, CBS 2
Photo: Flickr

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Angelina Jolie and Daughter Visit Turkey for World Refugee Day

Angelina-Jolie-and-Shiloh-World-Refugee-DayAccording to the UN Refugee Agency, Turkey is the top refugee-hosting country in the world with just under 2 million asylum seekers. A vast majority of the refugees are Syrians, Kurds and Iraqis fleeing the violence of the Syrian Civil War and ongoing crisis involving the Islamic State.

In an effort to bring awareness to one of the largest refugee crises in history, Angelina Jolie embarked on a UN tour of the affected region. The movie star and long-time humanitarian was joined by her daughter, Shiloh, and stopped at the Midyat Refugee Camp in Turkey on June 20th to commemorate World Refugee Day. Jolie was also accompanied by UN Special Envoy Antonio Guterres. The group met with Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss the challenges that Turkey faces given an unprecedented number of refugees.

Jolie issued a statement at the camp in which she calls on the world to act. She said, “We are here for a simple reason: This region is at the epicenter of a global crisis. Nearly 60 million people are displaced from their homes. That is one in every 122 people on our planet. Our world has never been richer or healthier or more advanced. Yet never before have so many people been dispossessed and stripped of their basic human rights.”

Later in her speech Jolie stressed the impact that refugee camps have on the people that house them. While providing more security than war torn cities and villages, the camps more often than not make the poor even worse off. Jolie stated, “Families like the six young people I met yesterday, living in Lebanon without parents, on half food rations and paying US$100 a month to live in a tent because UNHCR does not have the funds or capability to take full care of everyone.” Already with limited resources and away from home, refugees have the burden of coming up with funds to keep their temporary shelter even though, as refugees, they “cannot legally work in their host-countries.”

There is hope, however. Jolie made her speech on a key day, a day dedicated to bringing light to the very issues at the core of her delivery. Her celebrity status will ensure that more people listen to her message, and in turn act to help. Jolie and other media figures have even inspired governments to act. Jolie thanked the governments of Turkey and other refugee hosting nations for taking in millions. To finish, the actress wished all the families she spoke to, and by extension the refugee families across the globe, a good Ramadan with “Ramadan Kareem.”

– Joe Kitaj

Sources: UNHCR, US Magazine
Photo: Flickr