Trump administration to allow 872 refugees into US this week

WASHINGTON: The US government has granted waivers to let 872 refugees into the country this week, despite President Donald Trump’s executive order on Friday temporarily banning entry of refugees from any country, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document seen by Reuters.

A Homeland Security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the waivers, noting that the refugees were considered “in transit” and had already been cleared for resettlement before the ban took effect.

Refugees preparing for resettlement typically have severed personal ties and relinquished their possessions, leaving them particularly vulnerable if their plans to depart are suddenly canceled.

The waivers, granted by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), came amid international protests against Trump’s rushed executive order. Critics said the order in some cases was not clearly communicated to the agencies responsible for implementing it.

It was not known if additional waivers would be granted, the official said. The document did not give the nationalities of the refugees who will be admitted into the United States.



     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-3556099351069683"
     data-ad-slot="5708522030"
     data-ad-format="auto">

Over the weekend, non-refugee visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries also targeted in Trump’s executive order were detained, deported and in some cases blocked from boarding flights to the United States.

The countries covered by the traveler ban were Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

The internal DHS document said that between late Friday and early Monday 348 visa holders were prevented from boarding US-bound flights. In addition, more than 200 people landed in the United States but were denied entry, the document showed.

More than 735 people were pulled aside for questioning by US Customs and Border Protection officers in airports, including 394 legal permanent US residents holding green cards, over the same time period.

Trump said the executive order he signed on Friday was designed to protect the United States “from foreign terrorist entry.”

The order stopped all refugee admissions for 120 days while government officials determine how to ensure that any refugees admitted do not pose a threat.

The 872 refugees to be admitted this week, under the waivers, were screened using Obama administration procedures, which typically take two years and include several interviews and a background check.

The DHS said on Sunday night that green card holders would be allowed to board US-bound flights, but would be subjected to additional scrutiny upon arrival.



     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-3556099351069683"
     data-ad-slot="4231788833"
     data-ad-format="auto">

The public guidance from DHS also said some people from the seven majority-Muslim countries could be allowed entry to the United States on a case-by-case basis.

Congressional Democrats and some foreign countries, including key US allies, put pressure on Trump on Monday over the executive order.

Democratic Senators tried to force a vote on a bill to rescind the order, but were blocked by a Republican lawmaker. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said she had 27 co-sponsors for the legislation. But under Senate rules it takes only one member to prevent a vote, and Republican Senator Tom Cotton blocked consideration of the measure.

The Democrats’ leader in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, said he would bring legislation on Monday evening seeking to end the ban, although the measure stood little chance of being passed by the Republican-led Congress. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Biggest Saving with Myanmar Refugees Online Shopping

Extra 40% Off Clearance! Online Only at Catherines.com with code SAVECA valid 11/6-11/10.

40% Off Coats and Select Sweaters! Online Only at Catherines.com with code SAVECA valid 11/6-11/10.

Denied a Vote, Refugees in Thailand Keep Hopes for Return in Check

by SAW YAN NAING / THE IRRAWADDY | 05 Nov 2015

Few of the 110,000 Burmese refugees living in Thailand believe Sunday’s vote will herald a tangible improvement in their lives.

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — While more than 33 million voters across Burma will be eligible to cast their ballots on Sunday, many of the 110,000 refugees on the other side of the Thai border are barely aware of the election at all.

Few show any interest in the poll, and fewer still believe the result will have any positive bearing on their lives. Four out of every five people living in western Thailand’s 10 refugee camps are ethnic Karen, who took refugee from the long-running conflict between the Burma Armed Forces and insurgent groups including the Karen National Union (KNU). Some have been in the camps for three decades; their children were born there and have known no other home.

The vast majority are stateless and have no legal right to participate in the election. For those in the camps, the true worth of the election is assessed in terms of whether it will allow their safe return to the villages they abandoned years earlier. Asked if they believe it will, they are highly doubtful.

“I don’t believe the election will bring any hope for refugee return,” said Naw Moo Nan, a 59-year-old refugee in the Mae La Oon, a camp southwest of Mae Sariang now home to 10,000 people. “I don’t think I can go back and live in my hometown again in this lifetime. Even if I die and am reborn once or twice, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

“For us, the election is less important than a ceasefire in our hometown. We don’t believe there will be a lasting ceasefire between the Burmese government and the KNU…Our village is still being occupied by the Burma Army. There are landmines around the village. So how can we go home? Who can guarantee our safety?”

Saw Honest is the head of the Mae La settlement in Tak province. Home to 40,000 people, it is Thailand’s largest refugee camp. He told The Irrawaddy that most people were focused on their daily needs and awareness of Sunday’s poll was low, while expectations among those following the campaign were lower.

“We are still watching the peace process while we are preparing to get ready to live independently when returning home,” he said. “But at this moment, it is not the right time to return home.”

Border Aid on the Decline

The Border Consortium (TBC), a collection of humanitarian agencies facilitating aid for the refugees, has been forced to make cutbacks as a result of a drop in funding. The consortium’s operating budget for 2015 is predicted to be US$22.9 million, down more than $2 million from the previous year, and the true scale of the decline in funding grants is hidden by the recent depreciation of the Thai currency.

As a result of the decline, TBC was forced to once again reduce its allocation of rice and cooking charcoal rations, along with other program and staffing cuts.

Speaking with The Irrawaddy by phone, Saw Tu Tu, the head of the Mae Sariang branch office of the Karen Refugee Committee, said that foreign aid and support was drying up as donors shifted their spending elsewhere.

“There aren’t so many donors left to keep supporting [the refugees],” he said. “They also think our return is approaching. So, we have to live independently, which is why they are providing us with vocational training.”

Speculation is rife among refugees, aid workers and observers that the Thai government is planning to accelerate the process of refugee repatriation after the election on Sunday.

Burma military chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, visited Thailand in July last year, shortly after Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha ousted the government of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra seized power. The pair reportedly discussed a timetable for returning the refugees to their homeland.

Soon after their meeting, the Thai authorities began a verification program, counting populations in nine refugee camps to verify the nationality and ages of residents, and to ensure that everyone in the camps was registered as a refugee.

Despite these developments, Saw Tu Tu said that the continued heavy presence of Burma Army soldiers on the other side of the border, particularly in northern Karen State, would make a prompt return unlikely for many.

Militarization in Karen State

Much of northern Karen State is controlled by the 2nd and 5th brigades of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU. Both brigades did not support the KNU’s participation in the government’s “nationwide” ceasefire agreement, which was signed by eight non-state armed groups in Naypyidaw on Oct. 15.

The Free Burma Rangers relief organization, which supports internally displaced persons in ethnic regions including Karen State, reported on Oct. 30 that the Burma Army’s 202nd Light Infantry Brigade had increased its presence in the northern Karen township of Papun, along with stockpiling 120mm mortars and ammunition in the area.

The report added that clashes between the KNLA and the military near Kwee Nei and Meh Ka Naw villages on Sept. 30, two weeks before the ceasefire was signed, resulted in injuries and deaths on both sides.

Gen. Baw Kyaw Heh, the KNLA’s vice chief-of-staff and an influential figure in northern Karen State, said that recent developments showed that the area would remain too unstable for refugees to safely return until the terms of the ceasefire were properly implemented at the local level.

“They [the Burma Army] keep transporting supplies to their frontline bases in our areas. They patrol to clean up and consolidate their control in the area, even though they haven’t launched a major operation,” he told The Irrawaddy by phone. “It is not the right time for a refugee return yet…We are concerned about their safety and how they will live and survive.”

New Military Offensive Produces More Refugees

The week before the signing ceremony of the government’s ceasefire accord, the Burma Army launched a sustained assault on locations under the control of the Shan State Army-North, one of the groups that declined to participate, in Burma’s northeast.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported that more than 6,000 people have been displaced by the month-long conflict, many of whom are taking shelter in nearby villages or hiding in the jungle for their safety.

Last month, dozens of civil society organizations called on President Thein Sein to immediately halt the Shan State conflict.

“As this fighting goes on amid the signing of a nationwide ceasefire, we doubt the sincerity of the government on the peace process,” said Ying Harn Fah, a spokesperson for the Shan Human Rights Foundation. “Questions linger among us about whether the government really wants peace or if they just want to project a good image to the international community.”

Burma’s Union Election Commission (UEC) announced on Oct. 12 that the election are canceled in more than 400 village tracts in Kachin, Karen, Shan and Mon States, along with 41 village tracts in Pegu Division. Two weeks later, polling was canceled in a further 50 village tracts in Shan State that had seen fighting between the Burma Army and the SSA-N. The number of disenfranchised voters living in these areas likely numbers in the millions.

UN Refugee Agency Promise for A Safe Return

Iain Hall, a senior field coordinator for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, told The Irrawaddy that the outcome of the elections would likely not have a big impact in the decision-making process of Burmese refugees.

He added that the refugee camps will not be shut down after the election while there is no a set timeframe for refugee repatriation and the majority of refugees still don’t feel confident to return home.

“It is the nationwide ceasefire agreement that may be seen as a more important issue for the refugees than the elections,” he said.

He also said that there is a growing interest in returning home within the refugee community, and refugee leaders have recently been engaged in discussions at the camp level on preparedness for return. The UNHCR, for its part, was helping to provide information on the situation on the other side of the border and remained committed to assisting with third-country resettlement for refugees.

Hall told The Irrawaddy that the UNHCR was working to ensure that those considering a return home were not subjected to outside pressure and were able to make a choice based on free and informed consent.

“UNHCR will put in place a process to ensure that refugee’ decisions to return home are truly voluntary,” he said.

Syrian refugees and our hypocrisy

Even as we were being so hospitable to the Bosnians, we were disdaining the persecuted Rohingya, thousands of whom continue to live in deplorable conditions in our backyard, recalls Abdar Rahman Koya.

Not really long ago, when I was a little kid, I used to watch the Indian grass cutter at work in our lawn.

It seemed easy, I thought, and I decided it must be the perfect well-paying job, because every house with a patch of grass would need the service.

Of course, I soon realised that grass cutting is not the most lucrative career in the world.

Nowadays, having learnt about the cost of living the hard way, I sometimes think of that grass cutter. How much did he sacrifice to send his daughter to private college after she was denied a place in the public university?

And such thoughts translate into a hatred for the system, a system which allows so-called positive discrimination and race-based affirmative action.

Similarly, whenever I see someone talk about equality and humanity in some distant place, invoking verses of the Qur’an, the word hypocrisy looms large in my mind.

A case in point is Malaysia’s recent announcement that it would accept 3,000 refugees from war-torn Syria.

That number, of course, is just about 0.4 per cent of the 800,000 Syrian refugees accepted by Germany.

Suddenly there was a litany of praises for Malaysia’s gesture, and suddenly we hear Islamic exhortations about helping the migrants.

You see, there is something similar about the move to help Syrian refugees and some Muslims’ obsession with repeatedly going to Mecca, spending so much money on airfare and accommodation. And that is this: both go to great lengths, literally, to do “good”.

Instead of pointing out the devils in our midst, we travel thousands of miles to ritually stone the symbolic devil on a barren desert.

Instead of spending money to help families who could not afford a good education for their children, we set aside our money every year going on repetitive holidays in the name of religion.

So is the case in the announcement by Najib Razak in New York, on taking in Syrian refugees.

Instead of quietly and unostentatiously helping our dark-skinned brown neighbours, tens of thousands of whom were knocking on our shores with smelly clothes and empty stomachs (before we were shamed into reluctantly rescuing them from the seas), our prime minister grandly announced to the world, from a pulpit in New York, that we would accept a handful of refugees from Syria, promising them jobs, education and housing, things many in our own country, let alone neighbouring ones, would die for.

We are also unclear on the concept.

Instead of doing a Merkel and reaching out to people who desperately cry for help, we did a Mr Boffo and brought the Unclear on the Concept comic series to life, by treating refugees like a meat shop, sifting through them for professionals and semi-skilled, effectively telling those human beings without proper education or skills to stay in Isis-land (or Assad-land, depending on whom we consider the villain).

In short, we have no clue as to what we are doing, because we are always guided by our biases – religious, racial, skin colour even – not by a moral compass to help humanity.

Indeed, the latest offer by Malaysia to show its international responsibility only shows our hypocrisy about the refugee issue and cluelessness about the concept of humanity.

The elephant in the room is too large to ignore, and it comes in the form of this question: why we jumped to help thousands of Syrians when all this while we were practically showing the middle finger to calls to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention, the pledge to recognise people who flee war and persecution as refugees who must be helped.

Muslim nation

Another point is our government’s assumption that the Syrian refugees would want to resettle in Malaysia. The reality is probably rather different.

The Syrians, despite sharing religious affinities with many Malaysians, may find their lifestyle culturally and environmentally closer to Europe, no matter how Arab some of us pretend to be.

The Syrians are not seeking a Muslim government to shelter them. Heck, a Muslim nation is probably the last place they want to settle in, considering how they have seen their lands being turned into hell by people who use God’s name to do whatever they please. On the contrary, like any human being, they just need to get on with their lives.

Consider, for example, the case with the Bosnian refugees some years back. We went to great lengths to help them. We brought hundreds of them here, placed many of them at the International Islamic University despite them speaking pidgin English and even built an entire village to house them.

Fast forward a decade, you find only a handful of Bosnians still here – most have moved to the West.

Meanwhile, even as we were being so hospitable to the Bosnians, we were disdaining the persecuted Rohingya, thousands of whom continue to live in deplorable conditions in our backyard.

Many of these Rohingyas were bright young children forced to beg on the streets and resort to crime because we refused to recognise the piece of paper they carried stating that they are refugees.

Our hospitality to Bosnians also came at a time when probably hundreds of migrant workers were languishing in squalid conditions at our immigration camps. Something exposed by the late Irene Fernandez, backed by documented evidence, only to find herself later battling for her own freedom.

It is not strange that a government which does not recognise refugees of their own kind, refugees who are culturally more adept to live in this country, are now going all out offering a lifeline to 3,000 refugees from a different land, who probably do not even wish to resettle here.

Because here is a government that has been vocal about the plight of the Palestinians, when what the latter are suffering is echoed by our own hotchpotch concept of licensed apartheid.

Such is our hypocrisy.

We travel half the world to showcase our humanity.

Every year, in some case twice and thrice a year, we splurge a couple of years’ worth of a labourer’s salary to join a sea of humanity circumambulating the House of God.

And then, we talk about justice and punch the Jalan Ampang air on a hot Friday afternoon.

And while all this is going on, some dark-skinned grass cutter’s daughter is hard at work studying for her school exam, not knowing that one day soon, she too will be refused a place at one of our tax payer-funded public universities.

Source: themalaysianinsider.com

Shop for your Kitchen today with Myanmar Refugees

Why Myanmar elections are important to Thailand

BANGKOK: — THE NOVEMBER 8 election is not only important for Myanmar but also for Thailand, as political changes in this neighbouring country have always had an impact on this part of the region.

This election is important and crucial because this is the first time in 25 years that Myanmar’s two major rival political parties – the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) – will contest against each other.

Electoral competition is good because it will give Myanmar people a choice when it comes to votes, unless history repeats itself and the NLD and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi are once again not handed power if they win.

Suu Kyi was not handed power in 1990 despite winning by a landslide, a move that is seen as a repercussion of the 1988 crackdown on an uprising, that eventually brought on economic difficulties and forced millions of people to leave and seek better lives overseas. Unfortunately though, most of these asylum seekers ended up in Thailand’s refugee camps as well as factories, construction sites, fishing trawlers and other places in the Kingdom.

The 2010 election, which the NLD was prohibited from, put President Thein Sein in power and made the military-backed USDP the ruling party. Thein Sein, however, has introduced many reforms and worked on developing the political system by allowing the NLD to participate in the 2012 by-election. Now, the much-loved Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has some space in the field of politics and is able to play a role. Myanmar is also relaxing some of its laws, and many dissidents are able to return home.

However, Thein Sein has either intentionally or unintentionally not completed his reform task and might just be leaving behind a lot of time bombs to explode after the polls. Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution still prohibits people who are married to a foreigner, like Suu Kyi, to lead the country, and the military will still maintain a 25-per-cent quota in parliament.

So, what happens if the NLD wins, but the USDP insists on allying with the military and other minor parties to form the government? There is a high possibility that the NLD will defeat the USDP, but it will still have less than half the total seats in parliament required to form a government – though the two sides may come up with a deal to solve this problem.

Then there’s the peace process. Thein Sein still hasn’t completed that job, as only eight out of the initially announced 15 armed ethnic groups agreed to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement on October 15. This means armed conflict is still continuing in many areas, notably along the border with Thailand.

People in war-torn areas will have little or no chance to cast their ballots on November 8 due to security issues. It is still unclear when the remaining groups will agree to a truce so people in conflict-ridden areas have a chance to participate in politics.

Peace in Myanmar is really important for Thailand, as hundreds of thousands of people have been waiting in border camps for more than two decades. Previous Thai governments had sent many signals to Nay Pyi Taw, seeking to settle the problem with refugees, but there has been no sign of readiness.

Unless the new election brings political stability and peace to Myanmar, the ethnic groups will keep fighting, and people will keep leaving to seek asylum elsewhere. The Myanmar-Thai borders will never be clear and safe, while economic development, special economic zone, Asean connectivity and many other projects between the two countries will never become a reality.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com

Refugee resettled in Cambodia under Australia deal 'wants to go home'

Agence France Presse

PHNOM PENH: A Myanmar Rohingya refugee recently resettled in Cambodia in a controversial and lucrative deal with Australia wants to go home, a Cambodian official said Monday.

Under Canberra's hardline immigration policy, asylum-seekers who arrive by boat are denied resettlement in Australia and sent to Papua New Guinea and Nauru, even if they are genuine refugees.

In a deal that was condemned by rights groups and the U.N., Cambodia agreed to take in Australia's unwanted refugees in exchange for millions of dollars of aid over the next four years.

Only those who volunteer are resettled.

Cambodia received its first batch of Nauru-held refugees - three Iranians and one ethnic Rohingya man from Myanmar - in early June.

But the Rohingya, a 25-year-old man, wants to return to Myanmar because of "homesickness," General Khieu Sopheak, the spokesman for the Cambodian Interior Ministry, told AFP.

"We are not opposing this. After resettling here in Cambodia, he has been meeting with the Burmese (Myanmar) embassy. We received the news from the Burmese embassy that the man wants to go back home," he said, adding that his father visited the man recently.

He said the Myanmar embassy in Phnom Penh had sent letters to the Cambodian Foreign Ministry and Australian immigration authorities to seek their view on the Rohingya's wish to return.

"In principle, we have no objection to (his return to Myanmar)," Khieu Sopheak said.

He added that the man, who was born in 1990, is now "waiting for travelling documents from the Burmese embassy; then we will let him go."

After the four refugees arrived in Cambodia in June, they were whisked away to a new life at an undisclosed location with the help of the International Organization for Migration which is tasked with helping them settle in.

The media have not yet been allowed to meet or interview the four refugees.

The IOM said it was unable to comment on the case "due to the refugee's request for privacy and our own confidentiality rules."

Refugee advocates say asylum-seekers heading for Australia do not generally want to be sent to Cambodia, a country that has been criticized for its own record of helping refugees, particularly Vietnamese Montagnards who are often deported.

Conditions on Nauru and Papua New Guinea have also been heavily criticized.

Khieu Sopheak said the Rohingya man's desire to return to Myanmar would not affect the deal with Australia.

"The agreement is still valid, we will continue to take in more refugees. But for now we have to wait until the other three refugees integrate into Cambodian society before we are going to accept more refugees," he added.

Refugees get hero’s welcome in Germany as UN raps Europe

BERLIN: Thousands of exhausted migrants received a hero’s welcome as they streamed into Germany on Sunday as the UN criticised the huge disparity in European efforts to help them.

As well-wishers turned out en masse at train stations in Munich, Frankfurt and other German cities, the UN’s refugee chief said the crisis could be “manageable” if European countries all pulled their weight and agreed on a common approach.

Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II has sparked a flurry of diplomatic wrangling, with Turkey reacting furiously to what it called the closed-doors response of “Christian fortress Europe”.

But for thousands of refugees who had made a perilous trip across land and sea and finally set foot in Germany — seen by many as a promised land — the welcome was overwhelming.

As they stepped off trains in Munich, many clutching young children, the newcomers were met by crowds of cheering well-wishers holding balloons, who handed them food, water and toys.

“The people here treat us so well, they treat us like real human beings, not like in Syria,” said Mohammad, 32, from the devastated town of Qusayr, his eyes welling up with tears.

‘Ridiculously small’

Although Germany has thrown open its doors, waiving procedural rules for Syrian asylum-seekers, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu on Sunday lashed out at the “ridiculously small” share of refugees EU countries were accepting.

Writing in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he hit out at “Christian fortress Europe” pointing out that Turkey had already taken in more than two million people from war-torn Syria and Iraq.

His remarks came just days after Hungary, which saw 50,000 new arrivals in August alone, raised the alarm over the impact of mainly Muslim refugees on Europe’s “Christian culture”.

But Pope Francis urged a different approach in his Sunday sermon.

He described the refugees’ plight as an issue for Christians everywhere, urging “every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary in Europe” to take in a family.

“Faced with the tragedy of tens of thousands of asylum-seekers fleeing death (as) victims of war and hunger who are hoping to start a new life, the gospel calls on us to be the neighbour of the smallest and the most abandoned, to give them concrete hope,” he said.

The Vatican’s two parishes would take in two refugee families “in the coming days”, he said, setting an example for more than 50,000 other parishes across the continent.

‘Sad and tragic’

Images of the body of a three-year-old Syrian refugee named Aylan on a beach in a Turkish holiday resort set off a fresh wave of soul-searching in Europe last week.

It highlighted the peril faced by thousands fleeing war and bloodshed in the Middle East and beyond.

Meanwhile, another 115 people, half of them women and children, were rescued off a small fishing boat off the southern coast of Cyprus, officials said.

And Greece sent troops to the island of Lesbos after more clashes between police and migrants sparked by delays in the registration process that have left thousands unable to move on.

Most of the migrants are hoping to reach Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, which is expecting a record 800,000 new asylum seekers this year, four times the number in 2014.

By 1500 GMT Sunday, some 6,000 people had entered Germany, with another 4,000 expected to arrive by the end of the day, police said. Another 8,000 people had entered the country on Saturday.

A ‘manageable’ crisis

As the constant flood of arrivals showed no sign of abating, UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said the crisis was “manageable” despite the European Union’s flawed asylum system.

“The European asylum system is deeply dysfunctional, it works badly. Some countries make the necessary effort, and the effort of many others is nearly non-existent,” he told French radio station RFI and the TV5Monde television channel.

But he insisted the situation could be tackled by a united European effort.

“It is a manageable crisis if everyone agrees on a joint action plan.”

His words echoed calls earlier on Sunday by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble who urged EU states to “act together” and Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann who said there was “no alternative to a common European solution”.

Faymann said Austria’s admittance of thousands of refugees crossing from Hungary was “temporary”, adding “a measure of this type cannot be a solution”.

Berlin and other capitals have called for binding refugee quotas for each EU country, and common rules on the granting of asylum.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is expected on Wednesday to present a plan to relocate 120,000 refugees from overstretched Italy, Greece and Hungary.

Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper said the plan would see Germany accepting 31,000, followed by France with 24,000 and Spain with almost 15,000.

EU interior ministers are meeting on September 14, and Austria is among those pushing for a summit to be held swiftly afterwards.

In a passionate speech Sunday to members of his Christian Democratic party in Milan, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi pointed to a picture of the drowned Syrian child, and said there were “thousands like him.”

“We need rules, we cannot take in everyone,” said Renzi. “But nothing will ever stop us trying to save a life whenever possible. This is our challenge.”

– AFP

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Trafficking snakehead might be hiding in Ranong

The kingpin behind the trafficking of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi immigrants is believed to have gone into hiding in Ranong, bordering Kawthoung in Myanmar. – Reuters pic, May 31, 2015.The 'snakehead' behind the trafficking of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi immigrants is believed to have gone into hiding in Ranong, bordering Kawthoung in Myanmar.

This is to avoid detection by the authorities as the heat intensifies to track down the mastermind behind a human trafficking network, going by the observation of locals at Ban Ta Lok here, where a mass grave containing six bodies believed to be that of human trafficking victims was found.

(Snakehead is an international criminal slang for human smugglers)

Recently, Bernama and TV3 which visited the mass grave, about a month after it was discovered, was informed by the locals that the illegal activity was operated by the snakehead's henchmen.

The henchmen are in hiding at a place called Bukit Gelas, not far from where the mass grave was located.

Prior to the discovery of the mass graves, Surin Mochen, 85, pointed out that the likes of Rohingya refugees could be seen roaming around the village, though not that often.

"The henchmen brought the refugees from somewhere. The henchmen have a boss (snakehead) who is from Ranong," he said when met at a mosque where the remains of the victims were placed to have prayers performed, about four weeks ago.

Another local, Yunus Hamid, 45, who was met at the location verified Surin's information.

"The people here are saying the 'boss' (snakehead) is from Ranong, (but) he does not come here. According to local hearsay, the 'boss' in question is of Thai origin.

"Currently, there is no development on the victims of human trafficking. Now, there are soldiers patrolling the surrounding areas," he said.

Ranong is located along the Northern Andaman Coast in the south of Thailand and is easily accessible via boat from Kawthoung, Myanmar.

Today, Thai online media ‘The Daily Star’ reported that Region 9 police deputy commander, Pol Maj-General Putthichat Ekachan was quoted as saying that 81 arrest warrants had been issued thus far, including four new arrest warrants. The arrest warrants were in connection with human trafficking activities. – Bernama, May 31, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

State Department not accepting some Burmese applications

The U.S. State Department has stopped accepting resettlement applications from Burmese refugees living in nine camps in Thailand.

The leader of the local Burmese Advocacy Center fears the decision could put at risk ongoing efforts to reunite refugees with their families living in Fort Wayne, which is home to more than 4,000 Burmese.

"I wish that there is still a hope for ongoing family reunification process," Minn Myint Nan Tin said Thursday in an email.

She said two people recently asked the center for help in bringing family members to the United States from Thai refugee camps. In one case, a city woman said three of her sons have been in a refugee camp for the past six years.

A State Department spokeswoman said resettlements will not stop just because applications have been halted.

"The resettlement program will continue until we have completed the processing of every application received by the deadline for each camp, and we expect that to happen over the next two years," Christine Getzler Vaughan, public affairs officer for State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, said in an email.

The Jan..24 end to the applications came as no surprise. A year ago, the State Department began issuing deadlines for refugees to decide whether they wanted to leave the Thai camps for the United States as part of a resettlement program that began in 2005.

Vaughan said the State Department also will consider resettling Burmese "with specific protection needs" who are referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Burmese had for decades been fleeing oppressive military rule in Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma. Democratic reforms there in recent years have sparked expectations that many expatriates might return eventually.

Catholic Charities of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese has been resettling Burmese refugees to northern Indiana for the past 20.years. Vaughan said the State Department has approved relocating as many as 170 refugees to the Fort Wayne area during fiscal 2014, the same number as in fiscal 2013. Most are expected to be Burmese, she said, with as many as 35 African refugees coming here.

"With our robust resettlement program, the number of eligible Burmese refugees has been reduced significantly, and not all Burmese who are eligible for resettlement consideration are interested in permanent resettlement to the United States," Vaughan said.

The U.N. estimates that 120,000 Burmese refugees remain in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. The U.N. reported this week that nearly 6,500 expressed interest in the past year in resettling to the U.S.

bfrancisco@jg.net

Let bosses hire foreign workers directly

By Alyaa Alhadjri

KUALA LUMPUR: Eradicating middlemen companies involved in the recruitment of labour would result in a "win-win situation" for both prospective employers and their workers, labour activist Charles Hector said.

Hector told theantdaily that amendments made to the Employment Act 1955 have effectively changed the relationship between workers and their principal employers by recognising the role of outsourcing recruitment agencies as "contractor for labour". 

A Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers in its meeting on July 5, 2005 had, according to a joint statement signed by 90 trade unions and labour associations last year, agreed to the recruitment of foreign workers through outsourcing companies (now known as 'Contractor for Labour' in the amended Act).

Hector said this move effectively recognised such third-party companies to be legal employers for the workers, despite the fact that they are actually working for another principal “employer” in various sectors. 

He was commenting on the government's decision to do away with "corruption by proxy" as announced by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Low on Sept 23.

"There is nothing wrong with having commission agents who provide a genuine service that adds value to a transaction but middlemen who do not add value to a transaction will only add unnecessary costs to doing business," Low reportedly said. 

The joint statement, which was submitted to the government in protest of amendments to the Act, also stated that these outsourcing companies recruited local and migrant workers on fixed-term contracts under terms and conditions usually less favourable than that of workers directly employed by principal companies.

Hector feels that reverting to the original system of direct employment of workers by the principal company will be beneficial to both parties. 

"Employers will have direct control on the recruitment of workers who meet the needs of their companies.

"Workers will also have the assurance of knowing who their prospective employers are before leaving for work in another country," said Hector who cited the process of recruiting foreign workers as an example.

He added that such a move will also help to reduce various costs involved in the recruitment process, a larger sum of which is paid to the third-party companies for their services. 

Labour lawyer A Sivanesan, meanwhile, said resistance against middlemen companies in the labour recruitment process was centred on the fact that workers are often shortchanged of their rights to benefits offered by the principal company. 

This, he said, includes the right to be a member of trade unions and assurance of compensation in the event of any workplace accidents. 

"It is not a legal offence [for third-party companies] to charge for services which they can offer," he said, adding that the government must also have policies in place to absorb the impact of changes made as a result of cutting out middlemen from the operational chain.

Sivanesan, who is Sungkai state assemblyman, cited the plight of farmers in his constituency who were initially awarded with a Temporary Occupational Licence (TOL) for their lands.

"They have been farming on the land for the past 50 years before the TOL was reviewed and awarded to a state-controlled body. 

"This development body subsequently leased the land to another third party who then went on to negotiate with the farmers who had no choice but to agree with stipulated terms," he said.

Sivanesan pointed out that such cases can be resolved by improving the functions of government agencies involved in developing land for farming and helping the farmers market their produce, instead of relying on a third party. 

While the government's decision to cut out "irrelevant" middlemen from the various sectors is laudable, implementation of such a move will require commitment and political will to withstand resistance from parties who may suddenly find their pockets running dry. - The Ant Daily, 29/9/2013, Let bosses hire foreign workers directly

Posted by Charles Hector at 12:55 AM

As donors focus on Myanmar, clinic for Burmese in Thailand faces funding pressures

In a 2010 file photo, a boy from Myanmar sits near slippers outside the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, in northwest Thailand. The clinic offers free medical care for people from Myanmar after the country's longstanding political crisis forced millions across the border in search of a better and safer life. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

By Thin Lei Win

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Like many organisations working with Burmese in Thailand, Mae Tao Clinicknew that the changing political situation in Myanmar would impact their donors’ decisions. Then came the first blow in July.

The Australian government - whose A$500,000 ($443,000) in annual assistance covers about 85 percent of the Mae Tao’s maternal health services, as well as its outpatient care and eye clinic - decided to stop funding beyond 2013.

Mae Tao asked Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to reconsider, but last month, heard back that the answer was still no.

After evaluating its programmes, DFAT decided that future support would “focus on preparing refugees to return home when conditions permit”, a DFAT spokesperson told Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.

The funding proposal by Mae Tao “did not align with the objectives of the new program and its services do not reach as many refugees as those of successful applicants”, the DFAT email said.

Australia’s decision highlights the predicament Burmese groups and organisations on the Thai side of the border are facing - as impoverished Myanmar opens up after half a century of brutal military rule and donors shift support to projects within the country or those that assist the 130,000 refugees along the border to return to Myanmar.

Mae Tao - which is located in Mae Sot in northwestern Thailand along the border with Myanmar and provides free healthcare to tens of thousands of Burmese every year - counters that it is too early for repatriation and the needs in the border areas are still too high. 

“The ceasefires and monitoring of the peace process have not been enforced. There is ongoing displacement and land confiscation. It’s not easy for people to go back home and rebuild their communities,” said Dr Cynthia Maung, founder of Mae Tao and winner of the 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

NEEDS REMAIN IN THAILAND

Mae Tao was established in 1989 after Maung, an ethnic Karen, fled Myanmar following the military’s bloody crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

Starting with only four beds, it has grown into a full-fledged clinic with inpatient services, surgery and trauma care, dental care, vaccinations and HIV prevention. It also supports four small clinics inside Myanmar and is constructing new buildings in another new location. 

Last year, the main clinic in Mae Sot saw 73,000 patients - both Burmese migrant workers living in Thailand and people crossing from Myanmar, where the health infrastructure is poor. The clinic delivered an average of seven to 10 babies a day in 2012, on par with the Thai government-run Mae Sot hospital and twice as many as the Myanmar government hospital across the border.

Yet despite the recent changes in Myanmar, the clinic’s annual caseload has not decreased, said Maung.

Meanwhile, DFAT - which took over the functions of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) in October - said the Australian government will provide $8 million over two years for aid agencies to provide food, shelter, healthcare, education and vocational training for refugees, but Mae Tao is not one of them.

The clinic is feeling similar pressures from other big donors, who mistakenly believe that Myanmar will be able to offer for its citizens the services that organisations like Mae Tao provide here in Thailand, says Yasmin Ahammad, fundraising and grants manager at Mae Tao.

“I think somehow there’s a lack of understanding of the role that Mae Tao clinic plays on the border, not just for Burmese migrant workers but for people inside Burma who still don’t have access to government health services,” she told Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.

“And there is a lack of understanding that health services won’t be ready to take on that caseload any time soon.”

Donors are looking at 2015 as a big year, with possible general elections in Myanmar, the beginning of regional integration efforts under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc and the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, Ahammad said.

“Coincidentally that is when our main grants are expiring from our other government donors, so we’re a bit concerned about what our funds would be from 2015 onwards.”

MIGRANTS NEED SUPPORT

The border town of Mae Sot, where the clinic is located, is home to thousands of Burmese refugees who fled conflict and violence as well as to tens of thousands more migrant workers, many of whom are engaged in low-skilled, backbreaking jobs.

Some donors have made it clear that they are funding Mae Tao to support patients who come from Myanmar but not migrant workers, who are seen as economic migrants, even though it is difficult to know why exactly they left, Ahammad said.

“Mae Sot is becoming a special economic zone. It’s going to attract more migrant workers, and these people remain marginalised, so they won’t necessarily be earning proper salaries. They are vulnerable to exploitation, so we feel that we have to be here and that the Thai system won’t necessarily be able to absorb them,” she added.

In addition, the much-lauded reforms in Myanmar have yet to trickle down to ethnic areas, Maung said. 

“Government expenditure in health and education is still very low, compared to neighboring countries. Without addressing these issues and continuing monitoring of the reform process and displacement, there will be ongoing problems for our patients,” she said.

Fortunately for the clinic, three weeks ago a new donor - a private foundation - has stepped in to fill the substantial gap left by the Australian government.

A Chin Refugee and WKU Student talked on SNAP

Hello,

Thank you for replying. 

If it's alright with you I'd like to ask you a few more questions about your experience with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) formerly known as Food Stamps. 

First, I want to make sure I'm spelling your name correctly. It is Bernar Dine, correct? 

When I spoke with you briefly you said that you receive $668 in SNAP benefits? How often do you receive this amount? Is it every month?

How does the Supplemental Nutrition Program help your family? Can you give an example of how the recent cuts are impacting your family?

Also, you mentioned that you're expecting another $200 decrease now that you are working. What do you do at the International Center? Do you have any other jobs? Does your wife also work?

Can you tell me more about your past as a refugee? How long have you been living in America?

I want to understand more about how these cuts are a problem for your family. If there is anything you would like to add please do.

I'd like to thank you for answering my questions.

Sincerely,

Western Kentucky University Student

Reply from Cho Chin Refugee to WKU Student

Hi , 

I got your voice message on my office phone when I got back to and thank you for your email again. 

My name is Bernardine from Burma, and I belong to Cho Chin tribes. You might need to learn more about Burmese Ethnic groups if I introduce you myself as Cho Ethnic.

I had been living in Malaysia for 6 years as a refugee with my family till I come to Bowling Green. My family and I were resettled here on 25th May,2013, 6 months ago with the help of International Centre where I am now working with. 

After two weeks of our arrival, we received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) formerly known as Food Stamps, in total $ 668. We got the benefits till the Government shut down and it was cut off $ 30 out of $ 668. We are still fine. 

This month, I got a letter from Cabinet office to update family incomes, then so , I have to show up all my monthly incomes from International Centre. A few weeks later, I got another letter from SNAP, and it is reported that we will receive $ 316 starting from Jan,14 till June, 14. I believed that they are going to cut off about $ 200 but now more than $ 300. Anyhow, I really appreciate the US government for the supports to Burmese Refugees and I still have something to go.

To be honest, I am really afraid of having a hard time for another six months because it was just fine with what we had before $ 668. The rest of our small incomes, I can spend on domestic material needs. As newcomers, we need almost everything. This is just a start for my family, we left everything behind in Burma and in Malaysia. What I mean is that we, of course, had to depend on SNAP and now I have to spend $ 300 for food out of my monthly incomes and I am very sure I find difficulty to adjust expenses. It was really helpful to my family's sufficiency. 

What do you do at the International Center?

I am working for International Centre as a case manager starting from a month ago and I earn hourly $ 10 and I am not allowed to work more than 8 hours a day. Mostly, I can work only 25- 30 hours per week out of 40 hours. I pay $525 for rent, Gas $ 30, Utility $ 150- 200 and water $40-50. Internet bill $ 60, phone bill $ 50, Car Insurance monthly $ 160, and we have to pay back IOM loans every month $ 115 to USCRI, for air tickets. These are our monthly bills. 

I earn about $ 1100 every month after tax from International Centre. Now we are using Heating and I am not very sure that Utility will increase. 

Do you have any other jobs?

I don't have any other jobs except International Centre but I would be happy if i can find working from home to make extra some incomes to cover the needs of my family. Do let me know if Western Kentucky University has any opportunity to provide working from home or Part-time for refugees. I appreciate it. 

Does your wife also work?

No, She is not working because we having children under age, they go to School. There should be somebody who will pick up the chidren when they are back from school under US law. And also my wife is expecting. 

Can you tell me more about your past as a refugee? How long have you been living in America?

I have already mention above about my experiences as a refugee in Malaysia and I have been here in Bowling Green for 7 months from our arrival. 

To tell a story of my experiences as a refugee in the past would be a very long story but I have a dream to write some of my experiences on my own website but not yet, may be one day. My Refugee Life in Malaysia was something that I say " bad dream or nightmare". We are resettled here is something like, it is ,for us, dawn coming through the midnight.

I run a non-government organization in Malaysia to help my fellow refugees and you may find some informations at www.kchocatholiccommunity.20fr.com. I could not update community webpages and our services but you can still find some information what we were and who we were! 

To add more about refugee in Bowling Green, 

Newly resettled refugee has supports from International Centre till 3 to 6 months, it is a good support but I will say it is not enough for the family. In deed, the family needs support about one year because there are lots of Medical appointments and follow up. We are really in need of transportation assistance, and interpreter services. 

They need more free language providers somewhere refugees can travel or working distance or the best is churches. I personally found that some of refugees lost their hope with what they have come through. 

They need a lot of supports such as community orientation such as US cultures, Living Style, and most important is US Laws. For example, one of Burmese refugees got a fight with his co-worker, that makes him difficult to find another job on his background check. One reported that I didn't understand the US laws and it happened to me. What a pity story! Most refugees are very stressful now and in the past they have come through. Though most people those who are working for refugees, they cannot understand them because they cannot see what was their experiences. I am questioned for many times " What is refugee ? and Where is Burma?

Please feel free to contact me if my answer doesn't meet your points. I would be happy if you have any suggestion or points of views for me. Thank you. 

With best regards,

Bernardine Cho Lam Naing

Myanmar Refugee International