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Mediterranean migration crisis

Mediterranean migration crisis20 posts
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18 Jan, 2016

Strict borders boost human trafficking

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Doctors Without Borders says traffickers are being boosted by strict border policies intended to stop migration in Europe. Many Balkan and central European states have tightened their borders in the wake of the Paris attacks in November 2015.

Our teams have seen, ever since the closure of the border to some nationalities …the return of smugglers in the area…These trafficking networks had disappeared in June with the legalization of the border crossing … but have notably increased again since the new restrictions were implemented.

Women Targeted

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Amnesty International reports that female refugees coming to Europe face violence and harassment in excess of what is faced by male refugees.The report is based on interviews with 40 women and girls in Germany and Norway last month who had traveled from Turkey to Greece and then across the Balkans. The threat is greatest in Hungary, Croatia and Greece, where facilities are not segregated by sex and women are forced to sleep and shower alongside men. The “ad hoc” nature of receiving refugees is blamed for some of the issues. International Rescue Committee:

One of the challenges we have been facing is that it is taking a long time for the international community, and by that I mean governments, to wake up to this crisis and to realize that it is not something that they can wish away.

15 Jan, 2016

Eviction planned

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Up to 2000 refugees living in a makeshift camp near Calais face eviction as local authorities announce plans to bulldoze their camp. Authorities say that they have constructed a winter shelter and say that those who are unable to find a bed at the new shelter will be transported to other centers around the country, but residents are skeptical and cite ill-treatment from security guards as one reason for their distrust.  Care 4 Calais group:

Someone needs to think of a real solution, not just for these refugees, but for all of the refugees stuck across Europe.

1 Oct, 2015

Will send back Syrian refugees

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At a New Hampshire rally Trump says that if he’s elected president he will send back Syrian refugees taken in by the U.S. because they may be Islamic State militants in disguise.

I’m putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration. If I win, they’re going back…They could be ISIS, I don’t know…This could be one of the great tactical ploys of all time. A 200,000-man army, maybe. That could be possible.

Trump: Syrian Refugees in US 'Are Going Back'

14 Sep, 2015

Identifies two refugee islands

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Sawiris says he has identified two Greek islands that could be used to host Syrian refugees. He says talks would depend on whether the owners can secure approval from the Greek government. Ne also suggests setting up a joint-stock company with a capital of $100 million, to ensure that any money invested “will not be completely lost, as the asset (the island) will remain.”

6 Sep, 2015

Will not allow Israel to be ‘submerged’ by refugees

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Netanyahu rejects calls by Mahmoud Abbas and opposition leader Isaac Herzog to let more Syrian refugees enter Israel, and says that a 30-kilometre fence will be constructed across the Jordan border.

We will not allow Israel to be submerged by a wave of illegal migrants and terrorist activists. Israel is not indifferent to the human tragedy of Syrian and African refugees… but Israel is a small country — very small — without demographic or geographic depth. That is why we must control our borders.

5 Sep, 2015

Austria and Germany open borders

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Germany opens borders to thousands of refugees from Hungary. About 4,300 people arrive in Germany, escaping Syria and Iraq. Austria says it received at least 6,500 refugees and migrants who flooded across the Hungarian border, where charity workers provided hospitality and much-needed bedding and food. Merkel:

The right to political asylum has no limits on the number of asylum seekers. As a strong, economically healthy country we have the strength to do what is necessary.

4 Sep, 2015

Offers to buy island for refugees

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Sawiris says “there is no limit” on what he is willing to spend to buy an island from Italy or Greece to provide 100,000 to 200,000 refugees with a new home. He says the new country could be called “Hope.” He says people would be free to return home at any time or stay on the island. Greek and Italian officials were not available to comment on the proposal.

It’s a very simple solution. They sell the island to me and I’ll make a temporary shelter for these people. I’ll make a small port or marina for the boats to land there. I’ll employ the people to build their own homes, their schools, a hospital, a university, a hotel. I sometimes think the politicians don’t have a heart. All I need is the permission to put these people on this island. After that I don’t need anything anymore from them. I’ll pay them for the island, I’ll provide the jobs, I’ll take care of all the logistics. I know I can do that.

22 Aug, 2015

UNHCR: 264,500 migrants arrived in 2015

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UNHCR says that some 264,500 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean this year. They include more than 158,000 who have arrived in Greece — many landing on small islands ill-equipped to deal with the influx — along with about 104,000 who’ve gone to Italy, around 1,950 to Spain and almost 100 to Malta.

15 Aug, 2014

100,000 migrants entered Italy in 2014

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Italy’s interior ministry says 101,480 boat migrants arrived in the country in 2014. Italy has rescued more than 70,000 migrants through its “Mare Nostrum” (Our Sea) mission of Mediterranean patrols which it began in October 2014. The operation patrols the waters between Africa and Sicily. Recent migrants have been refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war and Eritrea’s harsh military service. Italy’s interior minister says the country is “proud to be saving lives” of migrants and without its efforts the Mediterranean would have become a “lake of death”.