Refugees Daily - Internal Global Press Review

AMMAN, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) – The first wave of Syrian refugees in Jordan left on Sunday en route to Canada, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The 200 refugees are the first batch of some 10,000 who will have left Jordan for Canada by the end of February 2016, Mohammad Hawari, a senior associate at the UNHCR told Xinhua, adding that more refugees are flying to Canada in the next few weeks.

On Sunday, Jordanian Interior Minister Salameh Hammad met with Canada's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum to discuss support to Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Hammad referred to the burden and pressure on Jordan due to hosting a large number of Syrian refugees, while McCallum voiced appreciation of Jordan's efforts.

Canada plans to receive some 25,000 refugees from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. McCallum said earlier in December that Canada is speeding up process Syrian refugees.

On Dec. 10, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the first 160 refugees who arrived in the country.
 

Neil Jones is 6-foot-1 and has a bad back, one that requires stretching, especially after he has been standing around in a Toronto airport terminal for several hours, waiting. Others were waiting, too, on Dec. 10, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a great mob of reporters eager for a glimpse of the Syrian refugees on the first official government flight to arrive in Canada.

Jones, with his back, was doing some contortions when a reporter asked if he was there for the refugees.

"There were tons of reporters," says Joy Vaz, Jones's wife. "This guy comes up to Neil and says, 'Are you waiting for the refugees?' Neil says, 'Yes,' but then he says, 'We're waiting for Africans, not Syrians.'

"The reporter just walked away. He was not interested. Isn't that interesting?" Canadians are bending over backward to donate money, clothes, furniture, time, apartments and more to ensure the 25,000 Syrian refugees headed this way in the coming months understand that we – as a nation – care. And it is a great thing, all this caring about Syrians. It shows the very best of what Canada can be.

But there are refugees from places other than Syria – 26,000 or so who arrive annually, without fanfare or an official welcome from the prime minister. Just as that first planeload of Syrians was beginning their Canadian lives, a brother and sister, from Ivory Coast, were walking out into Terminal 1, scanning the crowd for a tall man with a back issue.

Fiacre Kouablan is 27 years old. Diana, his sister, is 23. They have spent much of the past five years with their parents in a refugee camp in Ghana. There are about four million refugees in similar camps around Africa. The Dadaab camps in northern Kenya, for example, are home to about 500,000 Somalis, some of whom have lived there for 25 years.

But nobody talks about them.

Joy Vaz has a theory as to why not. She and her husband and a group from her Catholic church in Markham are in charge of resettling the Kouablans. (The siblings are Catholic; their first language is French.)

"Africans are poorer and less-educated, generally," Vaz says. "And they are non-white. Besides, the Africans aren't pounding on Germany's door."

By foot, by leaky boat and by the sheer force of their national tragedy, the Syrians pounded their way across Europe. Then came that photograph of poor little Alan Kurdi, lying dead on a beach. Suddenly a peripheral issue for most Canadians catalyzed an election that produced a Liberal majority and, on Dec. 10 at Pearson International, a winning photo-op for the new prime minister.

"With Alan Kurdi people saw a child – recognized that child was like their child – and it activated empathy," says Michaela Hynie, with the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University. "One reason that we are seeing this sudden outpouring for the Syrians is that people are experiencing distress – but they can actually do something about it."

Humans are "hardwired for empathy," the professor adds. We want to do good because it makes us feel good. Helping the Syrians is doing good. But bad things happen all over – in Burundi, Darfur, Congo, Ivory Coast, to name a few.

Spend time listening to talk radio and what you will hear from Joe Public about refugees are two competing narratives. One is: they are an added drag on already overburdened social services; we have enough problems already, why create more? And the other: investing in refugees (and immigrants) is an investment in Canada's future.

Between 1979 and 1981 Canada welcomed 60,000 "boat people" from Southeast Asia. Morton Beiser, an academic and renowned immigration expert, tracked 1,300 of them over the next decade and found the average Canadian was more likely to rely on social services than the average refugee.

The Kouablans are from Grand-Bassam, a coastal town. Their father, Blan, was a high school biology teacher.

Their mother, Rosalie, primarily a homemaker. Fiacre was studying computer science at university and Diana was finishing high school when their lives fell apart. Rosalie belonged to a women's group. The group campaigned for President Laurent Gbagbo's party during the 2010 elections.

Gbagbo lost the election, but refused to give up power.

Violence ensued, and in a swirl of extra-judicial killings and gang rapes that would claim 3,000 lives, Rosalie was targeted for her political activities.

"One morning they wrote 'You will die in hell' across the front gates of our home," Fiacre says. Another time a crowd of men with machetes appeared, demanding the family leave. The Kouablans moved. But the threats followed. Rosalie received an anonymous phone call. The voice said they were coming for her.

"We left for Ghana on February 23rd, 2011," says Fiacre. "I shared a small suitcase with Diana. We thought we would be gone a month."

Fiacre, an aspiring engineer, worked as a mason's assistant to supplement the family's UN camp rations. He made sure he was always home before dark. Diana stayed close to their parents.

"There were lots of murders in this area," Fiacre says.

Their big break came when Dr. Martin Mark, the director of the Toronto Catholic Archdiocese's Office for Refugees, visited the camp. He met Diana and Fiacre. Two years later, the siblings were on a flight to Canada.

"I was sad because I had to leave my family, and I started to remember all the hard things I had been through," Fiacre says.

"But then I thought, 'I am going to Canada to build my life and maybe help my parents to come here, to have a better life' – and I was comforted by this.

"Arriving in Canada was like a honeymoon. I am so happy here."

Fiacre wants to return to school, eventually, to study computers. Meantime, his sponsors have found him a job at a grocery store. Diana hopes to be hired there in the new year. Her dream is to be a nurse.

The siblings had been in Canada for six days when we met at Vaz's spacious suburban home. Every morning her African guests rush to the windows, eager to see snow. (There hasn't been any yet.) Diana's suitcase is filled with traditional African clothes, all reds and yellows and royal blues.

"These clothes will be better for summer, I think," her brother says, chuckling. Tucked amid their belongings is some cassava grain, bound in tinfoil and packing tape: a taste of home.

Fiacre sleeps on a pullout couch in a games room that would be the envy of most Canadian teenagers. There is a pool table, a Pink Floyd poster on one wall and a snarling image of Muhammad Ali on another. The caption beneath the champ reads: "Impossible is Nothing."

And nothing is impossible, not in looking at Fiacre and Diana and knowing what they have been through to get to where they are. Canada wasn't their Plan A. It wasn't the plan at all. Now here they were, at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon in December, waiting for the snow, practising their English by reading from a children's book.

"This is Canada's flag," Fiacre read, as Diana followed along, repeating the words. "It's red and white."
 

After his village in Syria came under repeated rocket attacks earlier this year, the 32-year-old Christian barber knew he had to save his wife and two boys, ages 5 and 2.

He had once applied to immigrate to the United States, hoping to join his parents and sister, who live in California. But that process could take years, so in May he traded $50,000-worth of land to a smuggler who had the family fly first to Lebanon, then Turkey and Brazil, where they spent several months.

From there, the land journey north began, up through Latin and Central America and, finally, Mexico, where they took a taxi to the border crossing in Nuevo Laredo last month. There they turned themselves over to U.S. authorities in the hope of receiving asylum.

"The whole time the family was together, the kids were well and I was watching over them," he said of the journey to Texas. "It was worth it. Then I arrived here and I was shocked by the treatment. I never imagined we would be put in prison, separated, and I would not be able to contact them at all, to watch over my kids."

The barber is among a handful of Syrian Christians who showed up at a Texas border crossing in November amid the national debate about screening Syrian refugees. In his first remarks to a reporter, the man spoke through an Arabic interpreter in a phone interview from a immigration detention center in south Texas. The call was facilitated by RAICES, a San Antonio-based legal aid group for immigrants.

The barber and another Syrian family of four who arrived at the Laredo border crossing on Nov. 17 insist they are fleeing religious persecution. He asked not to be identified because he fears family members back in Syria could face retaliation.

Arriving at the southern border, he said, "I expected that we would be interviewed and investigated for some time, but then we would be released."

Syrians who arrive at the border are subject to the same asylum and screening process used for other immigrants, and it's been stepped up in recent years in response to a surge of migrants from Central America. Some immigrants are detained, while others are released with an ankle bracelet.

The two Syrian families, as well as a third Christian family who arrived Nov. 20, are still detained and fear they will not be released or reunited in time for Christmas. The women and children are being held at one Texas detention center, the men at another.

Immigration officials did not immediately respond to questions about why the barber's family was still detained.

The Department of Homeland Security has released statements saying that "officers took the group into custody and as a standard procedure, checked their identities against numerous law enforcement and national security related databases.

"Records checks revealed no derogatory information about the individuals."

Homeland Security officials said at the time that no further information would be released due to "privacy issues."

Texas is among more than two dozen states where governors have said they do not want Syrian refugees settled after the Paris attacks of Nov. 13, calling them a potential security risk. Texas officials filed suit in Dallas federal court to block the refugees. The case is pending.

The barber has been able to talk to his wife and sons only once by phone since they were detained, on Wednesday.

"We talked about our suffering. We did not expect to be treated like this, like criminals," he said. "She was crying most of the time."

She said their sons are not doing well. They don't like the detention center food, and often cry.

"They want their dad," he said, especially after what happened last week, which had raised their hopes of a holiday family reunion. Last week, immigration officials told the barber's sister that his family would be released on Thursday, and to buy plane tickets, he said. They did. Then they were told the release would be postponed to Friday, then Monday, then indefinitely.

"Why can't they let the children be released to their grandparents for Christmas?" he said, noting that his parents hold green cards.

He was unaware that politicians have voiced suspicions about Syrian refugees and called for added security checks and screenings.

"We are not coming here to cause any damage.... We are not going to cause harm to America," he said.

Immigration officials know he is Christian, he said. He has showed them videos of his sons' baptisms (both have Christian first names).

He said he also showed the officials tattoos on his shoulder depicting a cross and Jesus. They took photos of the tattoos, he said, adding, "Isn't that enough?"

It's not clear how many Syrians in recent months have arrived at the border seeking asylum, as opposed to those brought to the U.S. legally as refugees.

There were 104 asylum cases filed by Syrians this year as of June, almost twice as many as in 2010, according to immigration court records. Last year, Syrians were among the top 25 groups granted asylum in the U.S. for the first time in recent years.

Those who work with Syrian migrants said they are increasingly seeking to flee Europe to join family in the U.S. via Mexico and Central America, especially after the Paris attacks.

In detention, the barber has no one to talk to, since he is being held apart from the other Syrian men, among immigrants who all speak Spanish.

He spends his days thinking about what will become of his family.

"I'm thinking, thinking, thinking like my head is going to explode," he said.

In Syria, he would spend three days this week celebrating Christmas: decorating the tree, watching Santa deliver gifts to the children, going to church and parties.

"I was hoping to spend it with my sister and parents in California," he said, his voice urgent. "After four years of civil war in Syria, I did not think my children would be in detention on Christmas. Not just that, we are separated from each other and we don't know when we will be released."
 

Ronald Ntibarikure's family went out to sleep in the forest on a cold September night in 1998 because it was too dangerous to stay home in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Families often fell victim to warring militia factions that would beat, loot and kill at night. But on this night, the father worried one of the children, a sick toddler, wouldn't make it if they stayed out in the cold. So they went back home.

"When we slept, the militia came and broke down the door. When they came, they started beating me," Ntibarikure said in Swahili through an interpreter. "They took me with them. They took me and we left my wife and children in the home."

As Ntibarikure was dragged away, he heard gunshots and feared the worst.

After he was released, Ntibarikure found his village empty except for dead bodies. He walked about a day through the bush and forest to Uganda, where he found his wife and children alive in a small Ugandan church on Sept. 18, 1998.

By December 1998, the family lived in a Ugandan refugee camp. They stayed there until November, when the family of 10 arrived in Texas.

'Extension of our faith'

While national arguments rage over Syrian refugees and their resettlement in Texas is questioned by Gov. Greg Abbott, a Fort Worth church is quietly welcoming families, including Ntibarikure's, who have endured much in their homelands and in camps.

"People of faith believe that this is an extension of our faith – to make room for those who are without," said Rector Carlye Hughes of Fort Worth's

They came to their decision when the Syrian refugee crisis became a global issue. In September, when a photograph of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian child made news, hearts were touched at Trinity Episcopal.

"The terrible gift of that photo – of a young boy's death – was that it reminded us that none of us are helpless and all of us can do something. If all of us all do one thing, it can make a difference," Hughes said.

Last June, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that worldwide displacement of people hit an all-time high at an estimated 59.5 million.

The church's approach to helping refugees was threefold – raise money for the Syrian crisis, write lawmakers and help a family.

"There was an absolute belief that there are people who are in trouble, there are people who look like outsiders or outcasts and part of our following Jesus is that we model his behavior – which was always one that was loving to those who were outsiders, who were cast out, who didn't have a place," Hughes said.

The congregation of about 300 prepped for the arrival of Ntibarikure's family with purpose and anticipation.

A collective gasp filled the church the Sunday Hughes informed worshipers the family was on its way. Hughes said the family was loved by the congregation even before they met.

"We have a family," Hughes told her congregation. "We are going to pray for Ronald's family."

The church volunteers, or "Welcome Team," gathered beds, bunk beds, chairs, dressers, clothes and groceries. They met on a Saturday to set up two apartments for the family. Several volunteers also waited at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in November for the family's arrival.

Ntibarikure's family is also receiving resettlement help from Refugee Services of Texas.

Life in a refugee camp

The family includes eight siblings ages five to 25 who speak Kinyabwisha and Swahili. The older siblings knew the danger of war as youngsters, while the younger children have only known the hard life of a refugee camp.

"Life at the camp was no good," Ntibarikure said. He said they lived on 11 pounds of maize each month.

The in Central Africa was formerly known as Zaire. More than 423,000 Congolese refugees are in neighboring countries, displaced by violence in their homeland, according to the UNHCR.

Texas, which received the most refugees in the nation in recent years, resettled 102 Congolese refugees in October and November, according to data from the U.S. Department of State. Congolese were the third most common refugees arriving in Texas in that time period, after Burmese fleeing Myanmar, and Iraqi refugees.

Laila Amara, area director for , said her agency resettled 32 Congolese last fiscal year. In Tarrant County, they join an established Congolese community, which creates "an extremely supportive environment for them," she said.

Trinity Episcopal's Welcome Team will host a dinner for the family and tutor them in English. They want to help the family apply for jobs so they feel "secure in their own income," said Kimberly Cooper, a children's minister at the church who is coordinating the Welcome Team.

Cooper said the family will always find a community of friends in the congregation. Once Ntibarikure's family's is more self sufficient, the church hopes to help more refugees.

"These are families who have their own dignity. It is our goal to help them find what they want to be doing here," Cooper said.

'Being in America'

Ntibarikure family stepped on airplanes for the first time to get to Texas. They never had a television or a refrigerator. Texas' highways and fast cars are new, too.

In the first month in Fort Worth, Ntibarikure's children had to apply for Social Security cards, get immunized and gear up for English As A Second Language classes.

"Being in America, I can see it is good," Ntibarikure said. "We are limited because we cannot communicate in English very well."

As they sat in the new comfort of a southeast Fort Worth apartment, a smile broke over his face.

"I will not have money, but I will have the best Christmas because I will be free with my family," he said.
 

Photographs depciting what remains of a Syrian family, only the father, daughter and son, after a rocket hit their house and killed seven of their family members has gone viral on Facebook, gaining the attention of presidents and movie stars and thousands of comments.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the father — whose name was not identified — is a scientist who lost seven members of his family, including his wife, in a blast two years ago. The story of the family was published on the Humans of New York blog, which contributed to efforts of collecting over half a million dollars for the father, his daughter and son before they moved to the United States.

According to the UNHCR, there are over 4 million Syrian refugees scattered around the globe, and the number continues to increase as the protracted conflict looks to be without end.

US President Barack Obama announced his support for the family in a poignant message, and American actor Edward Norton has collected more than US$425,000 dollars for the father after he read about the family's tragic story.

Obama's official Facebook page commented on the Syrian family's story, saying: "As a husband and a father, I cannot even begin to imagine the loss you've endured. You and your family are an inspiration. I know that the great people of Michigan will embrace you with the compassion and support you deserve. Yes, you can still make a difference in the world, and we're proud that you'll pursue your dreams here. Welcome to your new home. You're part of what makes America great."

The Guardian reported that Obama has pledged to receive 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year, but many Americans criticized the move for fear that Islamist extremists might be hiding among the refugees. Such fears were further ignited following a call by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump to ban the entry of Muslims into the United States, a comment that has also been the subject of criticism.

Norton was touched by the Syrian family's story so he decided to raise funds for them on his Crowdrise website.

I saw this story on one of my favorite sites, Humans of New York, and it moved me to tears," Norton said.

"My father was a farmer and my mother was a housewife," said the Syrian scientist in his story on the Humans of New York page. "I graduated from high school with the third highest scores in all of Syria. I worked in construction in the evenings to pay for my school...I was given a scholarship to pursue my PhD. I suffered for my dream."

"My ultimate goal was to become a great scientist and make a lasting contribution to humanity," he continued.

He started a family with his wife and together they faced hard times but were able to raise their children to be successful and well-educated.

"My daughter was studying to be a doctor. My son was the smartest in his school...We had no affiliation with any party or regime. Everyone loved us, honestly."

The Syrian man said he saved his money and built a compound that he designed for his family by himself, but government missiles destroyed his house and killed his wife, daughter, his brother and the family of his brother.

"The first missile tore through the yellow house and exploded inside the pink house...The pink house belonged to my brother and his entire family was torn to pieces," said the Syrian man, adding that a total of 16 people died in the attack, seven of whom were his family members.

"Nobody was around to help, so my son had to carry the pieces of his mother and sister out of the house. He was fourteen at the time. He was so smart. He was the top of his class. He's not the same. Right after it happened, he'd write 'mom' in his notebook over and over. He'd cry all night long."

The man said his son has suffered psychologically after the disaster and his daughter still has shrapnel in her neck from the attack.

The Syrian scientist and his remaining family moved to Turkey aftere the attack, where he said he led a very difficult life and was not able to afford rent or fees for his children's schooling. He could not get a job because he had no residence permit.

"There is a university here that is teaching with a book I wrote, but it still won't give me a job," he said.

The Syrian man said he discovered tumors in his stomach shortly after he moved to Turkey. "I had no problems before the bombing. I think the cancer came from my sadness and my stress."

He went to five hospitals, none of which could offer him help, especially because he had no insurance or benefits.

"I still think I have a chance to make a difference in the world. I have several inventions that I'm hoping to patent once I get to America."

He noted that one of his inventions was being used on the Istanbul metro to generate electricity from the movement of the train.

"I have sketches for a plane that can fly for 48 hours without fuel. I've been thinking about a device that can predict earthquakes weeks before they happen. I just want a place to do my research," he said.

The three family members recently moved to Troy City, Michigan in the United States.
 

David Inserra The Heritage Foundation Inserra specializes in cyber and homeland security policy as a policy analyst in The Heritage Foundation's Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies.

Commentary

With several high-profile terrorist attacks around the world, including Paris and San Bernardino, California, many have raised serious concerns about how thoroughly individuals entering the U.S. are screened.

In particular, a lot of focus has been paid to the refugee process. Americans are understandably worried that terrorists might use any and all opportunities to enter the United States.

So what does the refugee vetting process look like?

First, most applicants apply for refuge through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR. The office then forwards some applications to the U.S. State Department, which prepares these applications for adjudication by Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Once an applicant is referred to the State Department, biometric and biographic checks are done against various U.S. security databases at multiple points throughout the process.

Multiple agencies systems and databases are incorporated in this process, including:

The State Department

Consular Lookout and Support System

Consular Consolidated Database

Department of Homeland Security

TECS (a DHS security system)

DHS Automated Biometric Identification System

National Counterterrorism Center/FBI's Terrorist Screening Center

Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment

Terrorist Screening Database

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Extracts of the National Crime Information Center's Wanted Persons File, Immigration Violator File, Foreign Fugitive File, Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File (and the Interstate Identification Index)

Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System/Next Generation Identification

Interpol

Drug Enforcement Administration

Department of Defense

Automated Biometric Identification System

In addition, the refugee process requires a security advisory opinion to be completed by the FBI and the intelligence community on many refugee applicants who are considered higher risk. Similarly, interagency checks are constantly being done in connection with a wide range of U.S. agencies.

In additional to these background checks, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services conducts a refugee interview. These interviews cover everything from refugee and immigration matters to security and country specific questions.

For example, Syrian refugee officers must undergo a one-week training course on Syria-specific issues, including classified information. Additional scrutiny is already being applied to Syrians through the enhanced review for Syrian applicants process that puts additional security and intelligence resources at the disposal of adjudicators.

Only at this point can an application be approved. For those that are approved, health screenings and orientations begin. The State Department and Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services work with voluntary resettlement agencies to arrange for resettlement services and assistance.

After an average of 12 to 18 months, this process ends with entry into the U.S. According to the Department of Homeland Security, of the approximately 23,000 Syrian referrals made by the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees to the U.S., only about 2,000 have been accepted. The U.S. refugee system can be, should be and is being picky at who we allow to enter the U.S. as a refugee.

The U.S. has made constant improvements to the program, learning from mistakes such as when, in 2009, two Iraqi terrorists were caught in the U.S. after slipping through the vetting process. It is worth noting that these are the only two individuals who slipped through the screening process

Is it enough? Is our government doing adequate due diligence? These are the key questions.

That's why the best recommendation for Congress right now is to demand detailed information from the administration on how risks are being mitigated. The administration should remain selective in the refugees it accepts, focusing on those applicants about whom the U.S. has an acceptable amount of intelligence.

While this process is even more rigorous than most other visa programs, after the attack in San Bernardino, the American people deserve and Congress should request details about how all forms of vetting can be and should be constantly improved. The government owes it to its citizens to use all lawful tools at its disposal to prevent terrorist travel.

Americans deserve a responsible program so they can continue to support refugees while also addressing real security concerns.