ANTHONY RANTS ON

AUSTRAILIA AND REFUGEES:

Senators on Thursday rejected laws that would have enabled Australia to turn away asylum seekers to discourage them from attempting long and dangerous ocean journeys in rickety boats. The legislation had scraped through the House of Representatives by 74 votes to 72 after six hours of passionate debate, amplified by two recent deadly accidents involving boats filled with Australia-bound migrants. But the Senate rejected the bill 39 votes to 29 after sometimes tearful arguments.

REFUGEES IN ISRAEL:

Over 40,000 African refugees have made the dangerous treck across the Sinai Desert in search of a safe haven in the State of Israel. Not every African is truly fleeing from persecution; some are only looking for work and a higher standard of living. Nevertheless, among those crossing the border illegally, are Africans fleeing from horrifying human rights violations. Unfortunately, once they arrive most are met with prejudice and hatred. When the Africans cross the border into Israel, they are placed in a detention center, and then eventually dropped at the Central Bus Station in South Tel Aviv with basically nothing. Those with temporary protection receive a visa which they must renew every three to six months. This visa forbids employment, which is a catch- 22 considering the fact that it is impossible to survive without work.

JERUSALEM -- Israel is deporting a second planeload of African migrants as it continues a crackdown on what officials have described as “infiltrators.” Israel says the deportation of 150 people back to their home country of South Sudan is aimed at curbing a flood of African migrants.  More than 60,000 Africans have illegally entered Israel from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula since 2005, most from Eritrea and Sudan.  They claim to be refugees, but Israel says the vast majority are economic migrants seeking a higher standard of living.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the migrants as a “national plague,” saying they are a threat to security and the Jewish character of the state.  But many Israelis are appalled by the expulsions.  Critics say Israel is a nation of refugees established in the wake of the Holocaust, and it has a moral obligation to help people in need.

REFUGEES FROM SYRIA:

In Iraq

Reports indicate that the heavy migration of Syrian refugees to Kurdistan in Northern Iraq can be attributed to the fact that the Iraqi authorities refused to receive them on their territory. The refugees fear that the Iraqi authorities will hand them over to Damascus once they enter Iraq. The Kurdistan region has become a safe haven for Syrian Kurds in light of the deteriorating political situation in their own country.  

In Turkey

If the SyrianPurgatory comes with world-class services in Turkey’s camps for Syrian refugees. Residents enjoy free health care, an open-air cinema and Internet cafes. If they marry, they get a complimentary night in a five-star hotel.The one thing inhabitants of the Kilis camp on Turkey’s southeastern border with Syria don’t have is what they want most: A road home. Refugees remain in Kurdistan for over six months, they may be included in the ratio cards system which is currently being implemented in Iraq and Kurdistan and allows refugees to buy food. The system is based on an agreement with the Ministry of Commerce of the Kurdish government.

SOMALI REFUGEES:

In kenya

Somalis allege Kenyan forces arbitrarily detained people, subjecting them to indiscriminate beatings and sexual abuse. In the Dadaab refugee camp, where police carried out a raid on refugees after several explosive attacks resulted in the death of two Administration Police officers, a woman was raped. So long as instability exists in Somalia and ripples across the border, bringing guns, grenades and armed gangs, Kenya has reacted with repression. Kenya also has a substantial indigenous Somali population, concentrated mainly in the North Eastern Province, the least developed region in Kenya. In turn, these Somali communities harbour a long-standing suspicion of the Kenyan state. They are bedevilled by a history of insurgency, misrule, repression, chronic poverty, massive youth unemployment, high population growth, insecurity, poor infrastructure and lack of basic services. With political unrest and conflict close by in Somalia, the ethnic Somalis living there have battled to ward off political, social and economic discrimination and isolation.

In Ethiopia  

Dollo Ado in southern Ethiopia has been receiving a weekly average of 450 new Somali refugees. More than 8,500 have been registered so far this year, pushing the refugee population in the area's five camps past the 150,000 mark. these people are living in tents under deplorable conditions that include heavy rains, flooding and the threat of Malaria.

DRC REFUGEES:

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is still contending with ongoing conflict in its troubled east. More than 1.5 million people remain internally displaced and there are more than 450,000 Congolese refugees in neighboring countries. A myriad of armed groups threaten civilians in North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale provinces, uprooting families from their homes and taking away their livelihoods when not killing or raping them outright. While local government officials, UN agencies and international and local NGOs strive to mitigate the suffering of the displaced, the ongoing violence and insecurity in eastern DRC must be addressed in order for living conditions to improve significantly. 

THIS SUMMARY OF REFUGEES AROUND THE WORLD IS FAR FROM COMPLETE. IT IS APPAULING THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET SUFFER THROUGH A MISERABLE EXISTENCE CAUSED BY CONFLICT, THIRST FOR POWER, GREED AND HATRED.