Britain Needs a Dream Act. . . and More!!

An article in the New York Times on Sunday, August 21, tells the agonizing story of a young man brought to Britain from Angola as a child by his father who was seeking political asylum. When his father's petition was refused, he hanged himself while in detention, knowing that British law would not allow an orphan to be deported if there were no relatives to receive him in his country of origin. Church people took in the young man and cared for him. But now, at age 19, under changing law, he is about to be deported, rather than receiving citizenship as expected. He has no criminal record and has been doing well in school, preparing to be an engineer. What makes the situation even more tragic is that 7 out of 11 British detention centers are outsourced to private contractors who, in this case, ignored signs of the father's depression and imminent suicide. Read the article: www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/world/europe/21antonio.html?_r=1&hp

Migrants as a Weapon??????

An article in the NYTimes on May 14 explains how Muammar el-Qaddafi is using migrant workers from Africa and Asia as weapons against the European Union. By turning a blind eye to the boatloads of migrants making their way to Italy (even, perhaps, encouraging them to go) he is backing away from an agreement to discourage migration to Europe in order to create dissension among the EU nations -- an onslaught of refugees and closed internal borders in retaliation for NATO support to the rebels in Libya.

This, of course, means using the migrant workers -- twice dislocated -- as fodder for his campaign to hold onto power. These are truly men without a nation, trying to find work and to care for their families at home. Read the article.

Are Migrant Workers from North Africa Threatening the European Union?

As migrant workers from Africa and poor areas of the Middle East throng to leave Libya where they have worked in construction, the oil fields, and the military as paid soldiers, many are seeking to enter Europe where they hope to find security and work. Often their documents have been seized by employers in Libya, they have been robbed by both sides in the current violence, and there is little promise for them "at home."

In addition, many Tunisian refugees fleeing turmoil in their country are hoping to settle in Europe.

Italy is the point of entrance, but many migrants, especially the French speaking, want to continue on to France. The Italian govenment is both trying to limit access to their ports and to argue that this is a European problem, not an Italian problem. France is acting to tighten their borders with Italy.

This is both a humanitarian and a political crisis. How can Europe support protest in Northern Africa and refuse to accept refugees created by the turmoil? How can Europe claim to be a Union and not share the burden of migration? Read on.

The website for the International Organization for Migration (http://www.iom.int/), currently running rescue boats out of Misrata, has constant updates.

The New York Times is staying current as well. On April 13 they published an article -- "Fears about Immigrants Deepen Divisions in Europe" -- recording divisions in the European Union over the flood of immigrants feeling the unrest in North Africa. Read the article.

They followed this with an article on April 15 -- "Libyan Port City Brims with Migrants Desperate to Flee Seige" -- narrating the story of hundreds of migrant workers clustered at the port of Misrata awaiting rescue. Read the article.

An article on April 20 -- "On Journey to New Lives, Young Tunisians Need Only a Final Destination" -- concentrates on Tunisian refugees seeking to settle in France, but being caught in the political struggle over immigration between Italy and France. Read the article.

Who Goes and Who Stays? Two Asylum Cases Grounded in the 1980s

There are two interesting "companion" articles in the NYTimes today (April 18). One reports that the US has finally agreed to deport General Eugenio Vides Casanova, El Salvador's top military officer during the bloody 1980s, who oversaw numerous human rights violations, including the rape and murder of four North American nuns serving the poor in his country. Read the article.

The second article tells the story of Victor Toro, an outspoken critic of the Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet, who was imprisoned and tortured during the 1980s and is presently fighting deportation and hoping for asylum to continue his work as an advocate for the poor and marginalized in New York. Read the article.

International Organization for Migration

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1951 and committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. It is an excellent source for statistics and information on current crises. http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp