Tag Archives: Refugees Welcome

Refugee Women on Greek Islands in Constant Fear

June 7, 2016 at 5:19 PM
AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

By Giorgos Kosmopoulos, Amnesty International

LESVOS, Greece – Shirin, an Afghan journalist, was once shot at by the Taliban. After fleeing near-fatal attacks in her country in the hope of finding safety in Europe, she now lives in constant fear in a transit refugee camp in Greece. She is, in fact, just one of many women who have fled harm and persecution, only to face new fears of sexual harassment and violence in the camps on the Greek islands.

“We are treated like animals. I’d rather be shot again than endure these conditions,” Shirin, not her real name, told Amnesty International at the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesvos.

It was 18 months ago that the Taliban shot at Shirin’s car. Initially, she fled to Kabul, where she found another journalism job, this time behind the camera. “It’s very dangerous for a woman journalist in Afghanistan,” she said. She continued to receive threats over the phone, and eventually it became too much. She left Afghanistan for Europe. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

4 in 5 People Worldwide Say: ‘We Welcome Refugees’

May 19, 2016 at 9:07 AM

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When Amnesty asked more than 27,000 people across 27 countries if they would welcome refugees, the response was incredible: 4 in 5 people replied with a resounding “yes, we will”!

All over the world, people are watching in horror as the global refugee crisis goes from bad to worse. Our survey shows that while many governments still claim they simply can’t find room for refugees, their citizens feel the opposite way.

The UK and Australian governments are probably more out of touch than any other leaders globally: an astonishing 87% of British people and 85% of Australians are ready to invite refugees into their countries, communities – even their own homes. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Trapped in Europe’s New Refugee Camp: Greece

April 18, 2016 at 11:07 AM

Refugees - Lesvos / Athens - March 2016

Among the olive groves on some of Greece’s beautiful islands there are barbed wire fences.

At least 6,000 asylum-seekers have been locked up here since a new European Union (EU) plan kicked in on 20 March. Some have already been deported back to Turkey, while many more anxiously await the same fate.

But they aren’t the only ones trapped in Greece. Another 46,000 people are stuck in often filthy, overcrowded sites across the mainland. They’re in limbo because they arrived after Greece’s northern border was shut in early March, and before the EU-Turkey deportation deal came into force. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

2015 Has Seen the Worst Refugee Crisis Since WWII

December 28, 2015 at 1:16 PM

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2015 has seen the worst refugee crisis in recent history with over 19.5 million refugees across the globe. Unprecedented numbers of refugees have arrived on Europe’s shores, while countries in the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa continue to host the majority of the world’s refugees. Amnesty is calling for a dramatic shift in the way the international community deals with the global refugee crisis from 2016.  SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

4 Reasons Why Syrian Refugee Resettlement Is the Right Policy for the US

November 19, 2015 at 11:22 AM
Milos Bicanski/Getty Images

Milos Bicanski/Getty Images

Three weeks ago, two Syrian activist journalists, Ibrahim Abd al-Qader and Fares Hamadi, both refugees who had survived harassment from the Assad regime, were killed in Urfa, Turkey, presumably by ISIS. They were added to the list of more than 220,000 Syrian dead, caught between the violence of both the Assad regime and ISIS and other armed groups.

Their murders highlight the continuing dangers Syrian refugees face. These are the people we should be supporting; these are the people who are essential to keeping hope the original vision of the Syrian uprising in 2011: a vision of a Syria built on respect for human rights.  Instead, political leaders threatening to ban Syrian resettlement are threatening to shut the door on them.

Take action to end refugee-bashing here. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Everyone Has the Right to Seek Asylum

November 5, 2015 at 5:24 PM
Hundreds of Myanmar's Rohingya refugees arrived in Indonesia on May 15, 2015. Thousands more are believed to still be stranded at sea reportedly with no country in the region willing to take them in. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees arrived in Indonesia on May 15, 2015. Thousands more are believed to still be stranded at sea reportedly with no country willing to take them in. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

We all have an obligation to help

The right to flee from danger and seek safe haven ought to be something we all innately understand. And yet, one need only turn on the television, browse the Internet or pick up a paper to find arguments against it. Under international law, states have an obligation to help people fleeing persecution by not sending them back in to danger. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

What Can Europe Do to Welcome Refugees?

September 11, 2015 at 12:40 PM

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By Kristin Hulaas Sunde

Now is the time to put pressure on Europe’s leaders to give refugees the welcome and support they’re entitled to. Here’s what Amnesty is asking for, and how you can help.

Right now, EU leaders are gearing up for emergency talks about how to deal with Europe’s refugee crisis. They are responding to a global groundswell of protests and outpouring of compassion after three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s little body was pictured so tragically on a Turkish beach.

So far this year, more than 350,000 people – mostly refugees – have tried to reach safety in Europe. Almost 2,800 have died. Others have been beaten, abused, forced to walk for days in the searing heat, and given little or no help – even a bottle of water – if they do make it to the EU. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Syria’s Refugee Crisis in Numbers

September 8, 2015 at 2:28 PM

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REFUGEES IN THE REGION

More than 4 million refugees from Syria (95%) are in just five countries Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt:

  • Lebanon hosts approximately 1.2 million refugees from Syria which amounts to around one in five people in the country

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  • Jordan hosts about 650,000 refugees from Syria, which amounts to about 10% of the population

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  • Turkey hosts 1.9 million refugees from Syria, more than any other country worldwide

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  • Iraq where 3 million people have been internally displaced in the last 18 months hosts 249,463 refugees from Syria

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  • Egypt hosts 132,375 refugees from Syria

SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Tell President Obama the US Must Do More for Refugees

September 5, 2015 at 5:37 PM

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For centuries, the United States opened its arms to refugees whose lives had been torn apart by war, and those ruthlessly hounded because of who they are or what they believe in. But today, the people of Syria are suffering these hardships on an unimaginable scale, and we’re still waiting for US leadership on the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time.

->TAKE ACTION NOW<- SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Time to End the Refugee Shame

September 3, 2015 at 12:26 PM

RefugeesWelcome

By Gauri van Gulik, Deputy Europe Director at Amnesty International

A solemn moment of silence. The world over, this is the traditional response when lives are cut short by tragedy.

It has also been a common response to tragedies in Europe and off its shores which have ended the lives of thousands of refugees and migrants. Not killed by bombs in Syria, but killed while making terrifying journeys in search of safety and better lives in Europe.

But the scale and rapid succession of these tragedies calls for breaking the silence.

In the space of a week, along with people across the world, I recoiled in horror as four new tragedies added to a growing list of events that have already brought a record number of refugees and migrants to untimely deaths this year. According to UNHCR, 2,500 have already perished en route to Europe since 1 January 2015. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST