Crises

Syria

Lasting scars of Syria's assault on Baba Amr< (BBC, 13 February 2103)

One year ago this month, the Syrian army launched one of the most intense assaults of the conflict, with the bombardment of the Baba Amr district of Homs. The operation was meant to crush the rebel Free Syrian Army there, but thousands of civilians bore the brunt of the attack which lasted for more than three weeks.

Homs' displaced residents begin to return after year of sustained bombing< (The Guardian, 10 February 2013)

A year after this city captured the world's attention as the victim of the worst shelling that Syria's civil war had yet seen, Homs has become a – relatively – safe haven. Hundreds of families who fled to other Syrian cities in fear last February have loaded their belongings and returned. Civilians from Aleppo and Deir el-Zour – where fighting is still intense – are moving to Homs because they have heard it is more livable.

Breaking Down the Numbers of the Syrian Refugee Crisis< (U.S Department of State Official Blog, 10 February 2013)

Roughly 763,000 people have fled Syria -- 240,000 to Jordan -- and an estimated 2.5 million are displaced internally. Before that night, those numbers seemed horrific, but had little real meaning to me. They are round statistics, indicators of an escalating war. But after hearing a woman recall her husband's death and a family describe their village being leveled by barrels of explosives, I better understood the scale and frequency of atrocities.

Palestinians from Syria languish in overcrowded Beirut refugee camp <(United Nations Relief and Works Agency, 10 February 2013)

Palestine refugees in the camps of Lebanon deal with poor living conditions and overcrowding. With the advent of over 20,000 new entrants in the camps from Syria, the situation has become critical. In some cases, several families share a single room, without water or electricity.

No end in sight< (The Economist, 8 February 2013)

VIDEO: AS SYRIANS continue to flee the country's civil war in their thousands, NGOs and refugee camps in neighbouring countries are struggling to cope

South Sudan

S. Sudan launches compulsory civil registration at childbirth <(Sudan Tribune, 13 February 2013)

“This event marks an important milestone since it is the first of its kind. Without civil registration, we cannot have meaningful data and this is a major concern because we cannot plan effectively for our citizens,” said the deputy chairperson of South Sudan’s National Bureau of Statistics, John Maciek Acuoth.

Mali

Desperate Conditions in Camps Causing Disease Among Malian Refugees <(Medecins San Frontieres, 13 February 2013)

Conflict in northern Mali is still forcing large numbers of people to flee their homeland and seek sanctuary elsewhere in the countries of the Sahel region, but the conditions in the camps where they are living are themselves leading to disease and suffering.

“Utter destitution” for north Mali displaced: ICRC< (IRIN, 11 February 2013)

Some 6,500 Malians forced to flee to a remote area near the border with Algeria following the French-led military intervention against Islamist fighters are surviving under trees and in wrecked vehicles without sufficient food, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

Central African Republic

Healthcare still disrupted in the Central African Republic <(IRIN)

Healthcare remains difficult to access in parts of the Central African Republic (CAR) that are under the control of the Séléka rebel alliance, despite relative calm following an 11 January peace agreement, say humanitarian agencies. A scarcity of health workers and a lack of medical supplies are among the problems.

Immigration

Germany's Tough Stance on Refugees <(NYT, 14 February 2013)

There’s a refugee camp in the center of the German capital filled with people who have fled conflicts around the world. They sleep in tents and eat donated food. Almost all of them are breaking German law just by being here. Without any legal status, the refugees aren’t treated much better than criminals. For more than four months, about 50 asylum seekers and their supporters have been braving the elements on a square in Berlin’s bohemian Kreuzberg neighborhood.

Multiculturalism: a toxic term for Tories <(The Guardian, 11 February 2013)

What did you think of David Cameron's Munich speech on the state and multiculturalism, a senior Tory asked me the other day? Pretty unhelpful, I said. I think he wants an end to the threat – perhaps the occasional reality – of community separatism. And in his mind, that threat was best defined by the term multiculturalism. But there are so many definitions of multiculturalism that his condemnation meant different things to different people. Some took it as a plea for greater integration; some as an attack on the desirability and integrity of the various cultures themselves. Relying on a fuzzy term to make a policy-defining speech seems to me a little unwise, not to mention counterproductive, I said. Surprisingly, the top Tory agreed.

Planning minister 'nervous' about impact of east European immigration< (The Guardian, 12 February 2013)

Planning minister Nick Boles has said he is "nervous" about the impact of immigration from Romania and Bulgaria on housing and public services, risking re-fuelling what is becoming a diplomatic row with the two countries.

Romania rejects British 'scrounger' stereotype< (BBC, 12 February 2013)

Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean is not happy with the tone of the debate surrounding Romanian and Bulgarian immigration to the UK, he has told the BBC.

Transitional controls on freedom of movement, imposed when the two countries joined the EU in 2007, expire at the end of the year - and there is pressure on the government to prevent a significant wave of migrants arriving.

U.S. trains for mass migration in Caribbean security drill (<Reuters, 10 February 2013)

A simulated wave of Caribbean migrants sailed to the Guantanamo naval base this week for a training drill designed to prepare U.S. troops and security agencies who might someday have to handle the real thing.

Protest artist’s cardboard cutouts draw attention to immigration issue <(The Washington Post, 14 February 2013)

As senators opened the immigration reform debate with a hearing Wednesday morning, spectral sentinels last seen in the Hollywood Hills and on Rodeo Drive began appearing on Capitol Hill.

On immigration, agreement that reforms are needed but divides on how to proceed <(The Washington Post, 13 February 2013)

But despite the bipartisan call for broad action, partisan divides on how the complex topic should be tackled were on display Wednesday as the Senate held its first substantive hearing on the path forward.

More foreigners and fewer naturalisations< (SwissInfo, 8 February 2013)

The number of non-Swiss living in Switzerland rose slightly in 2012 to 1.825 million, a three per cent increase over 2011, the Federal Migration Office reported on Friday. Foreigners continue to make up roughly 20 per cent of the population.

Asylum Seeker

Asylum seeker alleges excessive force by escort guards – video <(The Guardian, 8 February 2013)

Marius Betondi says he was repeatedly punched by private security guards before passing out as he was forced into a potentially lethal position during a failed deportation. Details of the allegations come just days before the high court is due to hear a judicial review of the techniques used to restrain detainees during deportation

Photocredit © UNHCR/ F.Noy / November 2012