AYS Daily Digest 22/1/21: 6.5 Mil. Euros for a fake NGO
By: Are You Syrious
Tags: Syria, Digest, Greece, Refugee, Ngo

SYRIA

According to the UN facts and figures, 12 people have been murdered at the overcrowded al-Hol camp for displaced people in northeastern Syria since the beginning of the year. In the most recent critiques of the situation surrounding the overcrowded camp, the UN also said:

“The recent rise in violence among the camp population not only represents a tragic loss of life, it also jeopardises the ability for the UN and humanitarian partners to continue to safely deliver critical humanitarian assistance and services to residents”. As one of the commeents on the recent IOM report from BiH said — the wellbeing of the professional well-paid staff of the UN is really not everyone’s primary concern. But, we do hope that the rhetoric brings about a change, at least to protect the UN and its partners.

Temperatures in northwest Syria have dropped dramatically in recent weeks. Still I Rise team reports: “On Wednesday, snow forced us to close Ma’an, our school in Al Dana. School buses couldn’t get to the fields, it was too dangerous.

The roads are collapsing. Tents in the camps are flooded. People are dying because of the cold. Families do not have proper heating systems and cannot protect their children from frost. Those who can send their children to relatives who live outside the camps, in better conditions.”

There are growing concerns that many Syrians currently in Germany will face possible deportations back to war-torn Syria. However, even a temporary residence permit is not a cause for concern, ProAsyl explains:

As long as the protection status exists, the residence permit must also be extended, unless serious criminal offenses or similar preclude an extension. Those affected do not have to fear that the immigration authorities will refuse them the extension of their temporary residence permit with reference to the lifted deportation freeze.

Those who fall under the Dublin Regulation or have already received protection status in another EU country, e.g. in Bulgaria or Greece can only be deported to the corresponding EU country, not to Syria. Read more here.

LEBANON

Flooding in the Arsal refugee camp during strict COVID-19 lockdown makes access to humanitarian aid difficult

LIBYA

SEARCH AND RESCUE AT SEA

“This afternoon, an overcrowded rubber boat in distress was spotted from the bridge of the Ocean Viking. The operation almost turned critical when two people went overboard. They were recovered by the rescue team. A total of approx. 104 people were rescued as night set in,” SOS Mediteranee reported.

At the same time, Seawatch Italy reports a pushback of about 80 people by the Libyan coastguard:

SERBIA

Pushbacks are illegal, court confirms

It is reported that Serbia’s top court has confirmed that Serbian security personnel had illegally deported asylum-seekers from Serbia, instead of issuing proper paperwork and accommodating them in a shelter. People were locked up in a police station in Gradina, a village near the Bulgarian border. The rundown cell had neither running water, nor heating, nor a toilet. And the migrants were not able to consult a lawyer.

“Unfortunately, it is an open secret that pushbacks from Serbia are still happening, and so far nobody has been held accountable,” the lawyer who took the case to the court said.

SPAIN

Kept away and threatened in an atmosphere that facilitates animosity

It is reported that people who have arrived on the Canary Islands as refugees are now being threatened and their lives are at risk. The Red Cross has asked them to stay in hotels and to be cautious when leaving. The man who had been arrested for threatening refugees with a machete is now free. The doctor who treats people at the reception facilities denounced the fact that there were even minors living in extremely precarious conditions: scarce food and restricted showers. The head of MdM in the Canary Islands says the current delicate situation is the result of poor reception management: “Turning the Canary Islands into a blockade rather than a transit point, as it has always been and should be, facilitates this pressure”

DENMARK

Country goal: zero people protected

The Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s (Soc Dem) ambition is that exactly zero asylum seekers shall arrive in Denmark.

She stated this on Friday in the Danish Parliament (Folketinget), where the Danish People’s Party’s Pia Kjærsgaard has called her for a debate.

That is our goal. Of course we can not give a promise about it. We can not give a promise about zero asylum seekers, but we can set out the vision, namely that we want a new asylum system, and then do what we can to introduce it, says the Prime Minister.

…The Prime Minister stated once more in the Parliament that the politicians of the past had made a serious mistake by making too few demands on the foreigners arriving in Denmark. For example, that they must support themselves and adopt Danish values.

She explains that the number is of enormous importance for Denmark and that the fabric of society is already under pressure from the number of arrivals.

WORTH READING

how misery drove people into smuggling networks: