UN: Western countries not ‘welcoming’ enough
‘refugees’ now residing in Indonesia, by
Ann Corcoran 2/3/18
Let’s be clear right off the
bat. Indonesia is a Muslim country and most of those attempting to pass
through Indonesia (arriving there illegally), with a goal of being resettled in
the US, Australia, Canada, or Europe, are Muslims.
What happened to the supposedly humanitarianism of
Islam and governments ruled by it? Why are these people our problem in
the first place?
The truth is that Indonesia doesn’t
want them either!
For years the UN has been processing
illegal aliens arriving in Indonesia from Somalia etc. in to your US towns via
the US State Department. Frankly it needs to stop and it looks like it is
slowing.
I just checked Wrapsnet for processing through Indonesia to the US and found that we
admitted 18 cases (21 individuals indicating most are single (men?) people,
hmmm) in the first three months of FY18 (beginning Oct. 1, 2017).
Here is Gulf News (NY Times story): (Journalism 101 requires that every
refugee story begins with a sob story!)
JAKARTA: Ebrahim Adam fled armed
conflict in his home region of Darfur, Sudan, in 2011, and ended up seeking
asylum in Indonesia, hoping to be eventually resettled in Australia or another
Western country so he could resume his dream of being an economist. [Usually they want to be doctors, so they
say!—ed]
But after languishing for nearly
seven years in Indonesia — where he cannot legally work, access public services
or obtain citizenship. Ebrahim recently received bad news: His resettlement is
unlikely to ever happen. The UN Refugee Agency’s office in Indonesia has begun
informing the nearly 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia that they
should not expect to be welcomed by another country. Instead, they should
prepare to assimilate into Indonesian society as best they can, or consider
returning to their strife-torn countries.
Analysts said Ebrahim faces
additional obstacles: He is single, Muslim and of military age, which could
make countries worried about terrorism less likely to take him in.
Globally, there are more than 24
million certified refugees and asylum seekers, the highest levels since the
Second World War, according to the United Nations. Historically, the chances of
refugees ever being resettled are only around 1 per cent.
Those refugees residing in Indonesia face the additional obstacle that
the United States and Australia, the two main resettlement destinations for
refugees here, have put in place more stringent immigration policies, further
decreasing their already long odds.
“Mark Getchell, the IOM’s chief of
mission in Indonesia, said the policy changes in Australia and the United
States, combined with a reluctance by Canada, New Zealand and European nations
to take in additional refugees, means the number of resettlements are only
about 400 people a year now in Indonesia.” (IOM is a branch of the UN)
The situation of refugees hoping for resettlement in the West became
more dire after President Donald Trump took office last January. His administration’s travel ban blocks people from
eight countries from entering the US, including Somalia, the country with the
second-highest number of refugees and asylum seekers stuck in Indonesia.
400 too many!
Last year, only about 400 refugees living in Indonesia were resettled
in the United States, according to the United Nations. Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN refugee
convention, which prohibits governments from returning people fleeing
persecution to areas where they face serious threats, but the country has
allowed certified refugees to remain here as they await resettlement in a third
country.
For years, asylum-seekers from the
Middle East and South Asia have used Indonesia as a transit point to reach
Australia, boarding rickety wooden boats run by human smugglers for the
perilous voyage across the Indian Ocean.
In 2013, however, the Australian government adopted strict new measures
to discourage future arrivals by immediately transferring those who made it to
its shores to spartan detention centers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, and
refusing to ever consider them for resettlement.
But, golly gee, now we get the booby
prize! We admit to America those same lawbreakers who attempted to get to
Australia and were detained. And, we pay for it thanks to the Obama “dumb” deal
that Trump agreed to!
It would make enormous
sense if the UN spent more time persuading Indonesia to keep their
coreligionists, and promote a PR campaign through Africa and the Middle
East that there is no ticket to the West through Indonesia!
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