Sunday, December 29, 2013

UKIP leader Nigel Farage urges UK to accept Syrian refugees. Amnesty Int. notes 'miserable failing' of European countries to accept Syrian refugees-BBC

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US has offered no visas to current Syrian refugees, has offered extensions to some already living here. "“There’s no process. It’s just not available. I believe it’s a policy choice and a priority choice,” (Syrian-American immigration lawyer) Aljijakli said. “This is not a priority.”"

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12/28/13, "Nigel Farage calls for Syrian refugees to be allowed into UK," BBC

"The UK should take in some refugees from Syria's civil war, UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has said....

Mr Farage, who has led opposition to allowing open immigration from Romania and Bulgaria in the new year, said refugees were "a very different thing". The UK government is refusing to accept Syrian refugees, saying it is better to offer financial help....

In a report released earlier this month, Amnesty International accused European Union leaders of "miserably failing" to provide a safe haven to Syrians.

Only 10 member states had offered to take in refugees and even then only 12,000, it complained.
Italy - like the UK - had offered no places at all, the organisation said."....

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Following from the end of Washington Post article, US is offering no visas to Syrian refugees. 1300 Syrians already living or working in the US as of June 2013 who applied for visa extensions  received them:

12/27/13, "U.S. says it hopes to offer asylum to 35,000, might include up to 2,000 Syrians," Washington Post, Anne Gearan

"“If the United States wanted to allow Syrians to come in through an open process, they could do that,said Nadeen Aljijakli, a Syrian American immigration lawyer in Cleveland. That process could be temporary relocation, as in Germany, or a further expansion of coverage for Syrians allowed to stay in the United States while the conflict continues, Aljijakli said. Or it could be a significant expansion of the permanent resettlement program, she said.There’s no process. It’s just not available. I believe it’s a policy choice and a priority choice,” Aljijakli said. “This is not a priority.”...

The United States does offer a form of short-term asylum, however. Syrians who were already in the country on work, student or other temporary visas as of last June are eligible to remain at least into 2015. In 2013, more than 1,300 Syrians applied for and received that extension."...

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12/26/13, "Christian Syrian Refugees Denied Visas to West," cbn.com

"Christian Syrian refugees have found temporary shelter in Jordan, but their immigration requests have been rejected by Western countries.

Some of them have spoken to the Associated Press, but want to remain anonymous for safety reasons. One Syrian refugee said, “Everyone sold whatever they owned in Syria in order to get here, so that we could apply for visas at an embassy. We were all surprised to be rejected on the basis that there was no reason for us to go to Europe. Their reasons were all false – nothing correct in them.”

Another man said that western countries “were supposed to support us, and they were supposed to facilitate our immigration process as Christians, and I’m very sad that they haven’t.”"...


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Comment: UKIP (UK Independence Party) is comparable in its views to the US Tea Party but unlike the Tea Party is an actual political party.



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