Greece urged to address severe overcrowding at island reception centres

The Refugee Brief, 31 August

By Kristy Siegfried @klsiegfried  | 31 August, 2018 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW UNHCR urges Greece to address severe overcrowding at island reception centres. UNHCR today called on the Greek government to rapidly accelerate procedures for transferring eligible asylum-seekers from the Aegean islands to the mainland and to quickly improve “squalid, inadequate and rapidly deteriorating conditions” at reception centres. The agency said the situation was reaching “boiling point” at the Moria reception centre on the island of Lesvos, where more than 7,000 asylum-seekers and migrants are crammed into shelters built to accommodate just 2,000 people. Centres on Samos, Chios and Kos are also seeing high levels of overcrowding. A BBC report from Moria earlier this week found children suffering the physical and psychological effects of poor conditions in the centre. Staff from Médecins Sans Frontières told the BBC that they had had to deal with children as young as 10 attempting suicide. Detained refugees and migrants moved away from fighting in Libya. Some 300 refugees and migrants held in Ain Zara detention centre in Tripoli were evacuated on Tuesday as clashes between armed groups came so close to the centre that their guards reportedly fled, leaving them without food for several days. In a joint effort by UNHCR, IOM, Médecins Sans Frontières, UNOCHA and the Libyan Department for Combatting Illegal Migration, the mainly Eritrean, Ethiopian and Somali nationals were moved to another government-run detention centre in a safer area. In a statement on Thursday night, UNHCR said it was providing the detainees with life-saving assistance while advocating for their release. Dozens of Libyan families were also displaced by the fighting in areas south of Tripoli and are now sheltering in a school and in urgent need of aid, said UNHCR. WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR Italy demands other states open ports to EU rescue mission. Italy used a meeting of EU defence ministers in Vienna on Thursday to call on other EU states to offer up their ports for the disembarkation of refugees and migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by the EU’s Operation Sophia mission. Currently, all those rescued by the naval mission are brought to Italy, although Italy’s Foreign Minister, Enzo Moavero, has insisted this would only be allowed to continue on a temporary basis until the EU came up with an alternative. No country offered its ports, but EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she expected talks to continue. Citing the “criminalization” of NGOs in the Central Mediterranean, Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms announced on Thursday that it will halt its operations near Libya and instead join rescue efforts by the Spanish coastguard in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Sea of Alboran.al’ about claims that it is safe to return home. UN Syria envoy calls for humanitarian corridors out of Idlib. Speaking to journalists in Geneva on Thursday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura offered to travel to the country’s last opposition stronghold in the north of the country to negotiate a ceasefire while humanitarian corridors are set up to evacuate civilians to safer areas under government control. He warned of a “ perfect storm” in Idlib if the government goes ahead with its threatened offensive. De Mistrua offered to go to Idlib personally to help set up the humanitarian corridor. While visiting Syria on Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi also voiced his concern about the situation in Idlib and expressed his hope that any military offensive there “is conducted in a manner that respects human lives, spares civilians and doesn’t create new refugees.” Picture books tell children the stories of refugees. The New York Times reviews some of the recent spate of picture books designed to help children engage with stories of migration and forced displacement. With their striking imagery and heart-wrenching moments, the reviewer points out that the books are bound to provoke questions in young readers that adults will need to be ready to answer. GET INSPIRED An online platform called NaTakallam (“we speak” in Arabic) is connecting refugees with language learners who want to practice their Arabic. For Shadi, a Syrian refugee in Beirut who has weekly conversations with Megan in London, it’s an opportunity, not only to earn some money, but also to feel productive and less isolated. DID YOU KNOW? An average of 114 people arrived on the Greek islands each day in August. More than 70 per cent are families from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Follow UNHCR DONATE Produced by the Communications and Public Information Service.  Managing Editors: Melissa Fleming, Christopher Reardon and Sybella Wilkes Contributing Editor: Kate Bond Subscribe to The Refugee Brief or view recent issues HQP100 P.O. Box 2500 CH-1211 Geneva 2 Tel +41 22 739 85 02   |   Fax: +41 22 739 73 14 Views expressed in reports highlighted in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR. Unsubscribe   |   Update Profile   |   Privacy Policy   |   View this email in your browser

Summer's not over, and dogs are suffering

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	Dear Aaaaaaa, For Robo, a sweet "outside dog" from North Carolina, home was nothing more than a battered set of dresser drawers in a backyard strewn with debris. There was little he could do to escape the blazing summer sun or the drenching downpours that left him miserable and covered with mud. Right now, dogs just like him are still living in utter misery, languishing alone outside without any shelter from extreme weather. If we don't help them, no one will. Summer's not over—dogs need you now. Sponsor a doghouse today and help provide pups like Robo with the relief that they need. No dog should have to suffer the way Robo did. Through the support of caring sponsors, we were able to move him to a grassy area free from the trash and waste that had surrounded him and give him a sturdy doghouse that protects him from the elements—possibly the first real shelter that he's ever had. Powered by kind donors, PETA's fieldworkers are changing the lives of such "backyard dogs." We do all that we can to make their days and nights less miserable, providing them with a toy, deworming medication, flystrike prevention, and other necessities that some families simply can't afford. We also frequently arrange for free or low-cost spay/neuter surgeries at one of PETA's mobile clinics. Robo was lucky that we found him—but right now, many more dogs are still waiting for someone to give them some relief from the scorching sun and pounding rain. By making a special sponsorship gift today, you'll be helping to ensure that one more dog survives the hottest summer days and the most bone-chilling winter nights to come. Please, help a neglected dog right now by becoming a doghouse sponsor—you'll truly make a difference. While we always encourage people to allow their dogs to live indoors with them, we can't force them to do so—especially when local laws are inadequate or unenforced. Our fieldworkers will always do everything that they can to change dogs' lives for the better and inform guardians about proper, humane care—but that's only possible through the generosity of supporters like you. Thank you for your help in making this critical work possible and bringing some happiness and relief to a neglected dog this summer. Kind regards, Ingrid E. Newkirk President
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Spain sees spike in Venezuelans seeking asylum

The Refugee Brief, 30 August

By Kate Bond @katebonduk   | 30 August, 2018 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Spain sees spike in Venezuelans seeking asylum. In Spain, Venezuelan asylum-seekers now outnumber applicants from anywhere else, as more people leave the South American country amid ongoing political, human rights, socio-economic and public order challenges. UNHCR estimates that a total of 2.3 million Venezuelans currently live abroad and that 1.6 million have left the country since 2015. "For three years now, most of those seeking safety in Spain have been Venezuelan nationals," confirmed UNHCR’s Maria Jesus Vega. The sudden increase, she added, "is a clear signal how much conditions have deteriorated in the South American country.” Syrian man beaten as Germany braces for protests. A 20-year-old Syrian refugee has been badly beaten in an attack in northern Germany, amid two violent demonstrations against foreigners in the eastern city of Chemnitz that followed the killing of a 35-year-old man. The protests, which saw far-right and left demonstrators clash on Sunday and Monday, have been condemned by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said "hate in the streets" had no place in the country. Another right-wing demonstration is planned for today, while a large concert slated in solidarity with refugees and foreigners is slated for Monday. WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR Syria's refugees fear for their future after war. In this new series from the Guardian documenting some of the people caught up in the 21st century’s most devastating conflict, refugees from the seven-year Syrian war say they are ‘sceptical’ about claims that it is safe to return home. To change the world, let refugee women lead. Liberian peace activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee highlights the contrast between the strength of refugee women and their portrayal as helpless victims, arguing that they are in fact “strong and courageous leaders” who are often the first to respond to the needs of their community. EU should follow UN guidelines on LGBT asylum-seekers. Human Rights Watch argues that individuals who seek asylum based on self-declared sexual orientation can sometimes find themselves subject to “intrusive and inappropriate investigations”. UNHCR guidelines, they add, provide parameters that immigration officers in EU countries must respect. GET INSPIRED A restaurant in New York is offering an eight-week training course to refugees, teaching the basics of cooking and serving up dishes made by its students. DID YOU KNOW? More than 1.6 million people have left Venezuela since 2015, 90 per cent of them to countries within South America.

Follow UNHCR DONATE Produced by the Communications and Public Information Service.  Managing Editors: Melissa Fleming, Christopher Reardon and Sybella Wilkes Contributing Editor: Kate Bond Subscribe to The Refugee Brief or view recent issues HQP100 P.O. Box 2500 CH-1211 Geneva 2 Tel +41 22 739 85 02   |   Fax: +41 22 739 73 14 Views expressed in reports highlighted in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR. Unsubscribe   |   Update Profile   |   Privacy Policy   |   View this email in your browser