However they want to address the issue, most people are horrified at the refugee crisis now besetting Europe, with its scenes of chaos, conflict, and desperation. Yet in Israel, at least one high official sees in it not horror, but hope. As Rania Khalek has reported : “Dore Gold, director general of the Israeli foreign … Continue reading “Remaking the World in Greater Israel’s Image”
Tag: refugees
Mass-Producing Huddled Masses
Inscribed on a plaque inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty is a poem by Emma Lazarus titled “New Colossus.” The sonnet waxes lyrical about how different the Green Goddess is from ancient colossal statues, and how that symbolizes the contrast between American ideals and those of empires since antiquity. The Statue of Liberty is: “Not like … Continue reading “Mass-Producing Huddled Masses”
Iraqi Allies Scrambling for Exits
The list of what the authors call events over a “random 79 days in a 2,500 day-old war” is gruesome. 4/26/08 — Bahaa — DEATH — Death caused by multiple injuries sustained during torture 9/11/2005 — Dieyer — KIDNAP, DEATH — Abduction, death 6/29/04 — Lamees — DEATH — Shot several times in her arms … Continue reading “Iraqi Allies Scrambling for Exits”
Between Libya and the Deep Blue Sea
RAS AJDIR, Tunisia — NATO’s five-month bombing campaign in Libya, run under the guise of protecting civilians, is also killing victims fleeing the conflict, directly and indirectly. Since the start of Libya’s Arab Spring and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air campaign against Muammar Gadhafi’s regime, more than 1,800 men, women, and children have … Continue reading “Between Libya and the Deep Blue Sea”
Netanyahu: Stupid Like a Fox?
My hero of the year (for now) is a young, brown-haired Palestinian refugee living in Syria called Hassan Hijazi. He was one of hundreds of refugees who held the demonstration on the Syrian side of the Golan border fence, to commemorate the Naqba—“Disaster”—the exodus of more than half the Palestinian people from the territory conquered … Continue reading “Netanyahu: Stupid Like a Fox?”
For Afghan Refugees, Polls Are Far and Near
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Afghan voters just went to national parliamentary elections, but refugees from that country here in neighboring Pakistan could only rue the fact that they have been left out of this vote. Some 2 million Afghans living overseas in Pakistan and Iran took part in the 2004 presidential election and the first parliamentary … Continue reading “For Afghan Refugees, Polls Are Far and Near”
Afghans Find Their Welcome Running Out in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – The number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan who will return to their homeland this year is expected to be double the 2009 figure, but it’s not only a longing for their native soil that is fueling the Afghans’ departure. Many of the refugees say Pakistanis – officials and local folk alike – … Continue reading “Afghans Find Their Welcome Running Out in Pakistan”
Friday: 46 Iraqis Killed, 114 Wounded
Updated at 7:40 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2010 At least 46 Iraqis were killed and 114 were wounded in a series of significant attacks across the country. Most casualties were from two bombings north of Baghdad, but some smaller attacks were striking in their savagery. Meanwhile, the United Nations is investigating claims that Iraqi asylum seekers were mistreated before being deported back to Iraq, where the refugee problem remains discouraging.
Iraqi Christians Cling to Their Faith in Jordanian Exile
AMMAN – As the 2003 United States-led invasion of Iraq began, the country’s Christians started streaming across the border into neighboring Jordan. Today most of them continue to live here in abject poverty with no hope of ever returning to the land of their ancestors. "We have lost our home country, we are not willing … Continue reading “Iraqi Christians Cling to Their Faith in Jordanian Exile”
Friday: 5 Iraqis Killed, 8 Wounded
Updated at 8:30 p.m. EDT, Oct. 23, 2009
As US envoy to the UN Susan Rice visited Baghdad to hold talks with Prime Minister Maliki about ending U.N. sanctions on Iraq, a United Nations spokesman separately said it was concerned that Iraqi refugees in Europe are being forcibly returned to a dangerous, war-torn country. The prayer day has so far been rather quiet. At least five Iraqis were killed and eight more were wounded. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warned of chaos if January’s national elections are delayed.