Oxfam says aid to Syrians utterly inadequate

Global efforts to help Syrians both inside and outside their war-torn country have proved “utterly inadequate”, international aid group Oxfam said in a damning report which analyzed aid and resettlement opportunities for Syrian refugees provided by more than 28 countries.

“The international community is proving utterly inadequate in helping Syrians both inside and outside their country,” Oxfam said.

It criticized countries including Russia, which has not resettled any Syrian refugees and has only provided one percent of its fair share contribution to humanitarian aid, and France, which has only contributed 22 percent of its fair share to aid.

Oxfam said the only laudable exceptions to their criticism — besides countries neighboring Syria, which have taken in more than four million Syrians — were Norway and Germany.

Only 17,000 Syrians have so far been resettled in a third country. The slow resettlement process has pushed thousands more to try to reach Europe by a dangerous sea and land route.

[AFP]

EU offers Turkey incentives to better tackle refugee crisis

The European Union is ready to offer Turkey new incentives to better tackle the Syria refugee crisis, including money, the easing of visa restrictions and better intelligence sharing. In exchange, Turkey would improve its asylum and documentation procedures and beef up border security.

Around 2 million refugees from Syria are currently in Turkey, and tens of thousands of others have entered the EU via Greece this year, overwhelming coast guards and reception facilities.

It doesn’t address demands made by Turkish President Erdogan for Turkey’s EU membership process to move ahead more quickly.

Under the offer, Turkey would receive up to 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to help manage its refugee crisis, and EU funding to help build six reception centers for refugees in Turkey.

The EU is caught in a delicate balancing act, wanting to encourage Turkey to better control its borders amid continued criticism of the abuses of the Kurdish minority there and attacks on the media and justice system.

Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann arrived on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos with Greece’s prime minister to see the impact of the refugee crisis and to examine facilities set up to handle the thousands of people who arrive daily.

About 400,000 people have reached Greece so far this year, most in small overcrowded boats from the nearby Turkish coast. Most arrive on Lesbos.

[AP]

Finland suddenly a top choice for Iraqi asylum-seekers

Finland, a country of 5.5 million people on the edge of the Arctic with vast expanses of forests and reindeer roaming the wilds, has suddenly and unexpectedly emerged as a top destination for Iraqis who are crossing the Mediterranean to Europe along with hundreds of thousands of others fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

Some 11,900 Iraqis have applied for asylum in Finland this year, accounting for 70 percent of all claims. More than 8,600 arrived in September alone.

Finnish officials say the sudden increase seems to be partly driven by online rumors about quick handling of asylum applications, generous benefits and an abundance of jobs. “We don’t know where these ideas came from,” said Hanna Kautto, a spokeswoman for the Finnish Immigration Service.

In reality, Finland’s reception for asylum-seekers differs little from other EU countries, and its economy has entered its fourth year of recession.

[AP]

The psychological toll of the Syrian refugee crisis

The nearly 12 million Syrians — half of them children — who have fled their homes to protect themselves and their families have seen unspeakable violence, both during the war in Syria and during their escapes.

These experiences are understandably traumatic, but their long-term effect may be even greater than we realized. A new study has found that half of the Syrian refugees who have fled to Germany are experiencing psychological distress and mental illness resulting from trauma, Germany’s chamber of psychotherapists announced this week.

The researchers evaluated refugees seeking asylum in Germany, and found that more than 70 percent had witnessed violence and that about 50 percent were victims of violence themselves.

The findings also revealed that 40 percent of adult refugees experienced nightmares, and 50 percent had vivid flashbacks reliving a traumatic event.

Forty percent of the children who were evaluated had witnessed violence, and 26 percent had watched their families being attacked, the new research found. 1 in 5 suffers from a psychological disorder as a result of trauma.

Dietrich Munz, president of the German chamber of psychotherapists, estimatedthat while 3,000 to 4,000 psychotherapy sessions are offered in German refugee camps each year, the demand may be 20 times higher.

[Huffington Post]

Ethnic make-up of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe

Syrians account for 50% of the refugees arriving in Europe after crossing the Mediterranean, but several other nationalities are turning up in large numbers. According to UN figures, 75% of the total refugees hail from countries in the midst of armed conflict or humanitarian crises. So apart from Syria, where are they coming from, why did they leave, and how are they reaching Europe?

Afghans – 13% – According to the Afghan government, 80% of the country is not safe, as extremist groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State’s local affiliate are waging insurgencies in many provinces. Most are walking over the border into Iran, a trek that takes up to two days. Then they drive to Iran’s border with Turkey, where they cross again on foot, in another laborious hike. Once in Turkey, Afghans take a day’s bus journey to the same Aegean ports many Syrians are using to reach Greece.

Eritreans – 8% – Eritrea is Africa’s version of North Korea, a country with no constitution, court system, elections or free press. Outside of the metropolitan elite, most Eritreans must submit to a form of forced labor – lifelong military conscripts who have no choice about where they live or work. Any dissenters are sent to prison without any judicial recourse. Most walk over the border into Ethiopia or Sudan, a dangerous first step that sees some shot by border guards, begin a brutal journey through the Sahara to Libya, [where] they are held in smugglers’ compounds and usually tortured until their families send the $2,000 required for payment before the refugees are permitted to board a ramshackle boat to Italy from one of the country’s western ports.

Nigerians – 4% – Boko Haram, the Islamist extremist group, continues to fight an insurgency in northern Nigeria, killing and kidnapping locals and forcing many to flee. Other Nigerians are escaping from poverty. Most head over the northern border to Niger and join the smuggling trail to Libya, experiencing similar horrors to Eritreans crossing the desert from Sudan.

Somalians – 3% – Islamist insurgents, including al-Shabaab, are fighting an insurgency, with civilians caught in the middle. One popular route is through Kenya, Uganda and south Sudan. Then people head north to Sudan, where most follow the same route and adversities as the Eritreans. But a smattering of refugees now follow the Balkan route – into Kenya, fly to Iran, then cross the Iranian-Turkish border, before heading by boat to Greek islands.

Pakistanis – 3% – More than 1.2 million Pakistanis have been displaced by insurgencies in north-west Pakistan.  Like Afghans, Pakistanis walk into Iran, then take a bus to the border with Turkey, where they cross again on foot. They then pick up the Balkan route that begins on the Turkish coast.

Iraqis – 3% – Vast swaths of Iraq, including its second city, Mosul, have recently been conquered by Isis, worsening a nightmare that began with the west’s invasion of the country in 2003. Iraq borders Turkey, so most reach Turkey by land and then take boats to Greek islands.

Sudanese – 2% – Civil wars in the country’s Darfur and Kordofan regions continue to displace civilians. Darfur is still unsafe – a Human Rights Watch report recently alleged that the Sudanese government had carried out many killings and mass-rapes of civilians in dozens of towns. Sudanese refugees are smuggled to Libya, and then across the Mediterranean to Italy. Like Eritreans and Somalians, many die of thirst in the desert and fall victim to extortion and torture by smugglers in Libya.

[The Guardian – Statistical source: the UN refugee agency]