Refugees Daily - Internal Global Press Review

BRASILIA (AP) – El Alto Comisionado de la ONU para Refugiados (ACNUR), Antonio Guterres, dijo el miércoles que espera obtener ayuda de Brasil para asentar refugiados afectados por la turbulencia política que sacude el norte de Africa.

"Queremos que Brasil participe del esfuerzo de reasentar a los refugiados que se encuentran en la frontera entre Libia, Egipto y Túnez, sin posibilidades de volver a Libia o a sus países de origen en la medida que persisten guerras y situaciones de persecución política", dijo Guterres en conferencia de prensa.

El diplomático portugués concluyó el miércoles una visita de tres días a Brasil, en los que se reunió con autoridades del gobierno y organizaciones que atienden refugiados, para buscar un mayor papel del país suramericano en el reasentamiento de desplazados.

Brasil acoge actualmente 4.400 refugiados de 77 países, desde Colombia hasta Angola y República Democrática del Congo, y fue el primer país no árabe en recibir refugiados palestinos.

"Nuestro pedido es al papel creciente de Brasil en el reasentamiento de refugiados en el cuadro extrarregional", dijo Guterres, un ex primer ministro de Portugal.

Indicó que ACNUR ha visto dificultado su trabajo este año debido a que el mundo vivió una crisis internacional por mes en el primer semestre que repercutió en el desplazamiento de personas.

En lo que va de 2011, ACNUR debió lidiar con crisis humanitarias de refugiados de la guerra interna de Costa de Marfil, el alzamiento popular de Libia, manifestaciones y represión en Siria, enfrentamientos en Yemen, hambruna en Sudán y Sudán del Sur y el conflicto armado agravado por la sequía en el cuerno de Africa.

"Tenemos crisis nuevas sin que ninguna de las crisis antiguas se resuelvan", lamentó el funcionario.

Manifestó su preocupación por la dificultad de proteger refugiados y darles asilo en algunos países a causa de las tendencias de racismo y odio político como ocurrió en Noruega, donde un tirador mató a 77 personas en una manifestación de rechazo a la diversidad y el multiculturalismo.

"La emergencia del populismo político y la irresponsabilidad de algunos medios de comunicación han llevado a despertar miedos, reacciones de intolerancia, de xenofobia, racismo, que se han transformado en un obstáculo a las políticas de asilo en varias partes del mundo", indicó.

Citó a Brasil como un ejemplo de diversidad y tolerancia "que nos puede ayudar a movilizar energías contra las manifestaciones de intolerancia y xenofobia, que son la principal amenaza a los refugiados".
 

Rio de Janeiro, 03 ago (Lusa) – O Brasil é um dos países que poderá receber vários refugiados da Primavera árabe, afirmou hoje o alto comissário das Nações Unidas para os Refugiados, António Guterres.

No terceiro e último dia da sua visita a Brasília, o ex-primeiro ministro português confirmou que o Brasil está entre os países com os quais o ACNUR está a negociar para vir eventualmente a acolher os deslocados das nações árabes.

"Estamos a desenvolver um plano global de reassentamento, com vários países, inclusive o Brasil", afirmou Guterres, em Brasília.

Para Guterres, a situação da Líbia é a mais urgente no momento. Desde o início das manifestações contra o Governo de Muammar Kadhafi, mais de um milhão de pessoas já deixaram o país. A maioria encontra-se nas fronteiras com a Tunísia e o Egito, onde também já ocorreram conflitos semelhantes.

Em declarações no final da tarde de terça-feira, ao lado do ministro das Relações Exteriores do Brasil, Antonio Patriota, Guterres citou o Brasil como um exemplo de nação que "entendeu que as sociedades tendem a ser cada vez mais multiétnicas, multiculturais e multireligiosas".

O político português também citou a legislação brasileira para o tema como uma das mais avançadas a nível global.

O Brasil abriga atualmente 4.432 refugiados, de 77 nacionalidades, 65 por cento dos quais oriundos do continente africano.
 

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Em um contexto global de intolerância crescente aos imigrantes, no qual se abrem espaços para que novas crises humanitárias surjam sem que as antigas tenham sido sanadas, o alto comissário das Nações Unidas para Refugiados, o português António Guterres, aponta que a resposta para o problema tem de ser política e multilateral. Em entrevista exclusiva ao Jornal do Commercio, durante sua segunda visita oficial ao Brasil (a primeira foi em 2005), Guterres destaca o papel do País na causa dos refugiados, principalmente a iniciativa para o reassentamento de palestinos – pela primeira vez em Estado não árabe – e a acolhida aos haitianos após o terremoto de 2010.

O comissário ressalta ainda as transformações do termo refúgio: "Antigamente, olhava-se só para perseguição política. Hoje, já se reconhece perseguição por razões de natureza cultural e por questões relacionadas à preferência sexual".

Ex-primeiro-ministro de Portugal e ex-presidente do Conselho Europeu, Guterres alerta para práticas de violação dos direitos humanos por vários agentes, inclusive Estados. Ocomissário da ONU manteve encontros oficiais, ontem, com o Comitê Nacional para os Refugiados (Conare) e o Ministério das Relações Exteriores, nos quais voltou a elogiar a atuação brasileira. Na entrevista, indica que a ampliação desse papel será bem-vinda.

'A solução é sempre política'

JORNAL DO COMMERCIO – O senhor destaca o exemplo do Brasil na causa dos refugiados. Algumas pessoas, principalmente as ligadas ao Ministério Público, dizem que ainda é preciso melhorar as condições para receber tanto refugiados, como imigrantes. Apesar de a legislação garantir acesso às políticas de saúde e de educação, com o número de imigração aumentando, começa-se a restringir um pouco. O senhor acha isso natural? Como equilibrar essa questão, não só no Brasil, mas no mundo?

É sempre possível aperfeiçoar uma política. Em primeiro lugar, gostaria de sublinhar que a legislação brasileira é uma das mais avançadas do mundo. Em segundo lugar, o Brasil tem tido sempre uma atitude de grande abertura em relação ao atendimento de refugiados, quer aqueles que solicitam diretamente a proteção das autoridades brasileiras, dentro do Brasil, quer pela política de reassentamento, que teve importância estratégica muito grande no quadro da América Latina. Essa política, inclusive, foi pioneira com relação aos palestinos. Pela primeira vez foi possível obter acordo da Autoridade Palestina e até de elementos ligados ao Hamas (grupo islâmico que controla a Faixa de Gaza), dos governos sírio e jordaniano, para que palestinos fossem reassentados no Brasil. Pensar que palestinos pudessem ser assentados fora do mundo árabe era tabu até então. O aspecto mais difícil nessa questão dos refugiados é sempre sua integração harmoniosa numa sociedade. O Brasil teve, no caso dos haitianos, uma política também de abertura no plano humanitário. Fiz um apelo aos Estados para não enviarem de volta haitianos, na situação difícil que o país ainda se encontra, e o Brasil foi um dos que responderam de forma mais aberta. O Brasil prepara-se para ratificar a convenção dos direitos dos imigrantes e de suas famílias.

No caso dos haitianos, houve confusão sobre se tinham direito ao refúgio. No caso de Césare Battisti, também houve essa discussão se era um refúgio político ou não. Como é possível tornar isso mais claro? O que é considerado refúgio e o que poderia ser enquadrado em outras categorias?

A convenção de 1951 decide as situações em que a pessoa que está sob perseguição pode ser considerada um refugiado e receber proteção, de acordo com a lei internacional. A própria convenção foi evoluindo com o tempo, na forma como é aplicada. Antigamente, olhava-se só para a perseguição política. Hoje, já se reconhece a perseguição por razões de natureza cultural, por questões relacionadas à preferência sexual. A situação de homossexuais em alguns países, especialmente no Oriente Médio, é particularmente dramática.

Há refúgio para esses casos?

Sim, há refúgio concedido por essas razões. Agora, há muitas situações em que as pessoas não se enquadram nos critérios definidos na convenção de 1951, mas há fortes razões humanitárias que justificam a proteção. É o caso do Haiti. As pessoas não estão fugindo de perseguição, mas de total ausência de condições para que possam viver normalmente. Por isso mesmo, o apelo que fiz foi para que os Estados reconhecessem essas pessoas e lhes dessem pelo menos proteção temporária. Foi o que o Brasil fez, inclusive concedendo a eles direitos de residência, de trabalho e outros aspectos essenciais para que possam viver com dignidade na sociedade brasileira.

Como se pode observar no último relatório do Acnur, o Brasil, em comparação a outros países em desenvolvimento, poderia receber mais refugiados. Existe essa expectativa?

O reassentamento é muito importante, visto que temos, infelizmente, um conjunto de problemas no mundo para os quais não há outra solução. Isso tudo causa grande vulnerabilidade e condena as pessoas a viver 10, 15, 20 anos em campos de refugiados, onde não há qualquer condição de realização humana. Nosso apelo é sempre para que os Estados aumentem as cotas de reassentamentos. Mas é importante garantir que haja boas condições de integração. Precisamos que o Brasil vá aperfeiçoando mecanismos de integração e permitindo que o número de refugiados e reassentados aumente, uma vez que o Estado brasileiro tem dimensões importantes, não apenas demográficas, mas também econômicas.

Especificamente com relação à revolta árabe e ao número de refugiados que já criou, o Brasil pode colaborar e receber pessoas do Norte da África e do Oriente Médio?

Temos neste momento um programa de reassentamento de refugiados a partir da fronteira da Tunísia e do Egito com a Líbia. Esse é um problema particularmente importante. São pessoas que não têm para onde ir. Muitas já eram refugiadas na Líbia. Tenho esperança de que seja possível encontrar soluções de reassentamento, já que temos cerca de 4 mil pessoas nas duas fronteiras. É um bom exemplo no qual a cooperação brasileira é extremamente bem-vinda.

Como o senhor vê a decisão de países da Europa de fechar portas?

Com relação aos que têm saído da Líbia pelo Mediterrâneo, todos têm sido recebidos e têm sido dadas oportunidades. É também verdade que se tem manifestado no debate político europeu um conjunto de posições muito restritivas, sobretudo com relação aos movimentos migratórios e ao asilo.
 

BRASILIA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres finished a three-day visit to Brazil Wednesday, during which he asked the country's congress to approve a law recognizing the rights of stateless people.

At a press conference, Guterres said Brazil is a leader in refugee protection and stressed the importance of laws protecting the rights of immigrants and refugees.

"Right now, there is in the Congress a range of issues of great importance relating to the status of foreigners ... I hope to see soon a project from the Ministry of Justice to recognize the rights of stateless people," he said.

Guterres noted in a meeting Tuesday with Antonio Patriota, Brazil's foreign minister, that Brazil has a solidarity resettlement program for people from Ecuador and Colombia, adding Brazil is a global pioneer in authorizing Palestinians to stay.

The UNHCR is negotiating with the Brazilian government the possibility of Brazil's offering shelter to refugees from Muslim countries experiencing political crises, Guterres said.

According to statistics, there are 4,306 refugees from 77 countries living in Brazil, of which 39 percent are Angolans, 14 percent Colombians and 10 percent Congolese.

Brazil contributed 3.5 million U.S. dollars to the UNHCR in 2010, compared with a mere 50,000-dollar donation in 2009.
 

Dominicans of Haitian descent are struggling with government discrimination in the only country they have ever known.

For many Haitians fleeing dictators and poverty at home and looking for work in the cane fields, the Dominican Republic has long been a refuge. However, possibly a million Haitians or people of Haitian ancestry are now being affected by the adoption of a new law concerning citizenship in the Dominican Republic. Many descendants of Haitian workers living in the Dominican Republic could face deportation to Haiti or be forced to live outside the law, with no legal status in the country.

Haitian Noisilus Siri Yan came to the Dominican Republic in the 1970s to work in the sugar industry. He met and married Losita, a Dominican of Haitian descent, whose father worked as a cane cutter. Together they raised four children – all born on Dominican soil.

The family lives in Batey 43, an impoverished village of a few hundred Dominicans of Haitian descent, located 43km from the capital Santo Domingo.

For many years the sugar cane work kept the Siri Yan family afloat, but when the sugar industry went into decline, the family, along with their neighbours, was left struggling to escape the poverty and desperation of Batey 43.

"I would describe this place as a desert. One without an exit or entrance. We see the same thing every day. Here you leave and return as if you were meant to stay here for life. It's like a countryside with no life. There are no jobs here .... Life for someone who grows up in a batey means living with misery, living with hard work, going through difficult days," Altagracia, Noisilus' daughter, says.

Noisilus found a job clearing brush on a nearby farm for very little pay, and soon the four Siri Yan children became the only hope the family had of pulling itself out of poverty. The father emphasised education as a ticket out of a desperate situation. They would go to school – just like all the other Dominican children – obtain a university education, and get a well-paid white collar job. This was the plan to get the family out of poverty. But eventually the plan began to unravel.

Broken dreams

The first child to hit a wall was Felipe. He studied mathematics in school and wanted to major in statistics at university. When he graduated high school with good grades, he was offered a university scholarship. All he needed was a copy of his birth certificate and to prove that he was a Dominican citizen.

He went to the civil office, but instead of providing him with the necessary documents for school, he was told that he was the child of foreigners, and the office could not give documents to a foreigner. Felipe lost the scholarship, and now works in construction, alongside recent Haitian immigrants, in Santo Domingo.

Altagracia Siri Yan is 21 and applied to study at university in 2010. She had a sponsor willing to help pay for her university education – all she needed was to fill out the necessary documents. She went to the local civil affairs office to get a copy of her birth certificate, but they sent her to the main civil affairs archive in the capital Santo Domingo. She went back and forth between the various civil affairs offices 10 times looking for her documents. With the application deadline approaching, Altagracia was losing time and money.

Ultimately the window of opportunity shut on her dream of attending university when government officials told her that they could not provide the necessary documents because her parents were foreigners.

Discrimination and deportation

Sonia Pierre, a Dominican human rights activist, says the changes in Dominican citizenship laws have made hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent, in effect, stateless. She points to a landmark international court decision in 2005 calling on the Dominican government to end its discrimination against this population. But the government did the opposite – it hardened its policies and began retroactively withdrawing citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent.

Claiming that it is only trying to "clean up" its civil registry rolls, the government now systematically refuses to issue identity documents to Dominicans of Haitian descent. Officials often deny these documents because someone has a Haitian-sounding last name or "looks" Haitian.

Sonia Pierre's organisation, the Movement of Dominican-Haitian Women (MUDHA), has documented thousands of cases where the government is systematically denying rights to Dominicans of Haitian ancestry. Those affected come from all walks of life – schoolteachers, lawyers, community organisers, doctors, entertainers, caregivers, students, and military officers. Now these people are in danger of becoming stateless in the country of their birth and residency.

Many are facing deportation to Haiti or a life outside the law. "If I don't have my ID and I'm walking down the street, immigration may grab and deport me like they do with many Haitians," says Daniela Siri Yan, a vivacious 18-year-old who studied computer science at the local high school.

For the Siri Yan children, there is no going to back to Haiti. They consider themselves Dominican. They do not know anything about Haiti. The Haitian government will not take them until they can prove they are Haitian. They are as Felipe says: "Like a horse, tied between two poles."

After witnessing her siblings, Felipe and Altagracia, fail to gain the necessary documents for university, Daniela has dropped out of high school. Why bother, she says, if the same thing will happen to her?

"The big problems are the economic situation, the poverty and the papers they deny us," Daniela says. "I consider myself Dominican because it is said where you are born is where you have your nationality. I know nothing about Haiti. What would I do in Haiti? I don't even know where Haiti is."

Now she and her siblings, like hundreds of thousands of other Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, find themselves stranded in the Dominican Republic without proof of citizenship or a future.
 

MICHEL MARTIN, host: I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News.

Coming up, we will talk to a member of Congress who was arrested outside the White House last week. He was trying to send a message to President Obama about the large number of undocumented immigrants who are being deported on his watch. Our conversation with Representative Luis Gutierrez is in just a few minutes.

But, first, she's hit the fashion runway for fashion powerhouses like Michael Kors, Chanel and Christian Dior. She was named one of People magazine's, quote, "50 Most Beautiful People," unquote. And one of the quote, "50 Most Influential Faces in Fashion." But Alek Wek is not just a supermodel. She is also a refugee. Her family left their home in Sudan when she was 14, fleeing civil war for the chance of a more stable life in London.

Today she shares her journey at the first refugee congress here in Washington, D.C. It's hosted by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. She's one of 60 refugees who have come together, or former refugees, we should say, who've come together to tell their stories on the 60th anniversary of the 1951 United Nations refugee convention. They're sharing their struggles, their triumphs and their proposed solutions to problems that others face when they are forced to leave their homelands.

Here to tell us more about her journey is supermodel Alek Wek, along with Larry Yungk, senior resettlement officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Thank you both so much for joining us.

ALEK WEK: Thank you so much for having me.

LARRY YUNGK: Thank you. Pleasure to be here.

MARTIN: You know, as we are speaking now, we've just talked about this with former Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who's talking about the situation in Somalia and Sudan, as we've just said, people are on the move now fleeing both civil strife and also famine in the Eastern Africa region. So, Alek Wek, for those who've never had this experience, I wanted to ask if you could just describe what it's like to make the decision that you have to leave your home.

WEK: Oh wow, where do I start? I mean, as a young child, having to have gone through the civil war in the south of Sudan and I had to flee with my family, it wasn't a matter of choice, it was literally getting to be forced to leave your own home. And miles and miles of walking, not just my family and I, but thousands of people and literally just taking whatever that you can carry on you.

So it wasn't particularly easy, but also it wasn't safe as well. And not understanding as a child why we are getting forced to leave out of our own home, not by choice. So it's a lot of feeling of being vulnerable, not being heard, not having really much hope. So it's very scary. And it's really wonderful to see the light. To see, you know, different ideals. People such as UNHCR really come forward and speak up for the voices. That was really touching.

MARTIN: Larry Yungk, will you tell us a little bit more about – with all of the people that you've worked with, what is the hardest part of the refugee experience?

YUNGK: Well, I think for every refugee it's the loss that they experience. They lose the connections with their homeland. They lose the connections with their family, with their culture. But when you talk to refugees, often what they're telling you is the feeling that they feel most is alone. I mean even if you're there with a lot of other refugees, you're by yourself. And all the grounding that you've had in your whole life is gone. And you don't know what lies before you. And that continues on sometimes for a very long period if you stay in refugee camps or you're a refugee in the city and without status. So it's kind of the unknown and then that feeling of being alone.

MARTIN: And, also, the welcome, too, and the place that you're going to, and some of the places that you might be headed, they might feel the strain of receiving large numbers of refugees, even if it's an affluent place like London, let alone, you know, a refugee camp or a border community which already perhaps feels itself to be under resourced.

YUNGK: Absolutely. For the refugees, which is a pretty small percentage, though, who get resettled to countries like the U.S. or England or Australia, it's true. You're now adjusting to a new culture and people are trying to help you – sometimes maybe not always in the right way. But they're trying their best. And it boasts the community learning how to adjust to you and you to your new community.

And that's a big adjustment particularly for some of the older people who've, you know, this is a huge change. Kids sometimes adjust a little bit more quickly. But it's quite an adjustment both for refugees and communities.

MARTIN: Alek Wek, you know, many people who've gone through an experience like this would want to put it far behind them. They would not want to be reminded of those difficult days. And now that you are, you know, literally an international celebrity, you've chosen to, you know, revisit that experience. And can you just tell us why, why it is that you've chosen to talk about it?

WEK: Oh, I would say no matter how difficult or hard or very emotional as it is, we always have to face our fear. We always have to revisit them in order for us to move forward. And that's what I did. Like, six, seven years ago I went back with my mother when we were allowed to reenter the country after the peace agreement and I did a documentary and I came back and I couldn't just get on the runways and do all of my shoots.

I said, you know, these memoirs are not just my emotional situation, what I've been through, I really felt it was about the Sudanese people, especially the southern Sudanese people.

MARTIN: If you're just joining us, you're listening to TELL ME MORE from NPR News. We're talking to supermodel and refugee advocate, Alek Wek. We're also speaking with Larry Yungk. He's the senior resettlement officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

So I was just sort of picking up on that point, what is the message that you'd like to impart by participating in the refugee congress? And I'm also curious about how you feel about the term itself refugee?

WEK: I would say it's very simple as this. We must never think or even feel that a refugee term is a stigma because it is not. If anything, it's very strong and it's very, very sensitive because it's like if we put a stigma on it, that tells us something as people, as a society. And if that was happening to us, wouldn't we want somebody else to be sensitive to the fact that, you know, we've been stripped from everything if we don't have families, if we cannot see our family members. That's painful. That's who you are as a human being.

And if we can't do that fundamentally, that really tells us something about us as people not looking out for another human being fellow. So I would say refugee totally is what it is. I have been there and I have felt it. And if I didn't have a community that looked out for me, that have gave me a chance, I wouldn't be Alek Wek in here right now talking to you.

MARTIN: Looking fabulous.

WEK: Thank you.

MARTIN: Just feel I should mention that. Looking fabulous.

So, Larry Yungk, what about that? I'm just sort of picking up on a similar question I'm interested in. What is the intent at this congress? And do you feel that there is perhaps more reluctance to embrace refugees in the current environment, whether because of the 9/11 attacks or for whatever reason?

YUNGK: Well, our hope at the refugee conference, by bringing people together who've been here – some of our oldest members of the congress came here right after World War II, up to refugees who've just arrived in the last three months. And the amazing thing is how much commonality you find on certain issues. I mean obviously the U.S. has resettled during that time three million refugees.

And three million people are all different. They're all individuals. But, still, there's this experience that they've gone through as refugees. So I think one of the things that we're looking for in this 60th anniversary for UNHCR is really to stop for a moment and just talk to the refugees who are here and say what have you as refugees have gone through this experience, whether you went through it 50 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago, what worked and what didn't. How did you succeed?

We have people who are former congressmen. We have people like Alek Wek who have done, you know, fantastic things. But we have people who've just opened businesses and moved ahead with their lives and not everyone has to end up being a superstar. People are looking to move on with their lives. And I think that's the kind of thing we're hoping to learn from the refugees. Like how can we and how can we talk to the U.S. government and others to say let's do this job better.

MARTIN: Larry Yungk is a senior resettlement officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Alek Wek is a supermodel and refugee advocate. They both were kind enough to join us in our studios in Washington, D.C. taking a break from the first refugee congress, which is meeting here in the nation's capital – this nation's capital. Thank you both so much for joining us.

WEK: Thank you so much for having us.

YUNGK: Thank you for having us.

WEK: Thank you.