Hungarian PM: We don't want more Muslims

[sister herb]

04 Sep 2015

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that his country does not want to take in large numbers of Muslims, in defence of Hungary's response to the surge in refugees trying to enter the country.
"I think we have a right to decide that we do not want a large number of Muslim people in our country," Orban told journalists outside the EU headquarters at Brussels.
"We do not like the consequences," he said, referring to the country's 150-year history of Ottoman rule during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Orban said those fleeing conflict in countries such as Syria should not try to cross into Hungary, as he defended the country's decision to erect a fence along its border.
"Please don't come... It's risky to come. We can't guarantee that you will be accepted," Orban said in Brussels, adding that it would not be humane or morally right to "falsify" people's dreams.


"We Hungarians are full of fear, people in Europe are full of fear because they see that the European leaders, among them the prime ministers, are not able to control the situation," Orban said.
His comments came as refugees who boarded a train bound for the Austrian border clashed with Hungarian police as they were forcefully unloaded and taken to a refugee camp.

Thousands of refugees had been sleeping rough outside the Budapest train station as police blocked them from entering for two days.

After they were eventually let in on Thursday morning, a packed train departed bound for Sopron, a town near the Austrian border.
But Hungarian police stopped the train before its destination, with police forcing refugees off and directing them onto buses to take them to a refugee camp, state news agency MTI reported.
Some families clung to railway tracks after trying to run away from police.
About 50 riot police were lined up as a replacement train allowed non-refugee passengers to continue their journey, Reuters reported.
Orban's chief of staff said police would stick to the EU's Schengen rules and make all checks needed on refugees travelling on domestic trains towards the country's western border.
Hungary has been widely criticised for its way of handling the flow of refugees to Europe.
A fence on the border with Serbia is one of several measures under way to make it more difficult for refugees to enter and stay in Hungary. The government is also tightening asylum laws, introducing penalties for illegal border-crossing, and planning to close permanent refugee camps.


EU President Donald Tusk, meanwhile, warned that divisions between western member states and their newer eastern partners were complicating efforts to solve the deepening refugee crisis.
"There is a divide ... between the east and the west of the EU. Some member states are thinking about containing the wave of migration, symbolised by the Hungarian (border) fence," Tusk said.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/0...064140564.html

----------------------------------------

Hungarian PM says that Europeans are full of fear. Meanwhile in Finland:

World | Sat Sep 5, 2015 4:47am EDT

Finland's PM Sipila offers his home to refugees

HELSINKI

Finland's Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on Saturday he would offer his home to refugees.
As EU leaders struggle to agree policies to cope with a huge influx of migrants, many fleeing war in Syria, Sipila said his home in Kempele, northern Finland, was little used at the moment and would house asylum seekers from the start of next year.
"We should all take a look in the mirror and ask how we can help," Sipila told national broadcaster YLE.
He said an EU plan to distribute 120,000 refugees arriving in Greece, Italy and Hungary to countries around the European Union should be voluntary and hoped Finland could show an example.
Finland's government yesterday doubled its estimate for the number of asylum seekers in the country this year to up to 30,000.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0R507E20150905

[Perspective]

The top countries giving aid and shelter to the refugees are EUROPEAN countries. Also, these helpless refugess in dire needs, are looking for refuge in European countries.

GULF countries on the other hand, HAVE SO FAR REFUSED TO TAKE ANY REFUGEES. Even though geographically they're much closer:super-wealthy Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have refused to offer sanctuary to a single Syrian refugee. It is a disgrace.

So what do you say about that?

[sister herb]

In this case the European countries are not taken any refugees but refugees are coming to the Europe, some forcibly as they just walk over the borders. If European countries could decide by themselves, they wouldn´t take any refugees at all but would send them to the third world countries as usually. There are the majority of the world´s refugees already - in the endless refugee camps on the deserts. (When they are there, you can easily forget their existance and their needs. You can just turn off your TV news.) The more reliable question would be to ask why they are coming just to Europe. So, why not also to Europe?

While you are asking kind of questions, don´t forget that they are people in need, your suffering fellowmen in humanity. Why do you ask others (other countries outside of your Europe) help them while you could help them too?

[Perspective]

I understand that they are humans and suffering and in need of help. And ofcourse, there are european countries who have taken the refugees, sent aids etc to the refugees. I am questioning why gulf countries who are geographically closer, not taking any refugees, you still have not replied to this question

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

[Perspective]

I am not in Europe, you are assuming!

[sister herb]

I am not in Europe, you are assuming!

Sorry when I wrote "you" I didn´t mean just you personal but Europeans, their public opinions and European countries in general.

What comes to the Gulf countries, I don´t know how they are thinking and I am not going to post only speculations.

[Perspective]

According to the same source ( reuters ) that you posted, here is article on Gulf countries:

Gulf countries’ failure to take Syrian refugees 'shameful'

ONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Wealthy Gulf states have failed to resettle a single refugee from the Syrian conflict - a "particularly shameful" omission by countries that should be at the forefront of those offering shelter, Amnesty International said on Friday.
Syria's supporters in the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia, have also failed to resettle any refugees since the crisis began more than three years ago, Amnesty said in a report ahead of a U.N. pledging conference for Syria in Geneva next week.
More than 3 million Syrians are being hosted in just five neighboring countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, placing an enormous strain on resources. The rest of the world has offered to take just 63,170 refugees.
"The shortfall in the number of resettlement places for refugees offered by the international community is truly shocking," Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty's head of refugee rights, said in a statement.
"The complete absence of resettlement pledges from the Gulf is particularly shameful. Linguistic and religious ties should place the Gulf states at the forefront of those offering safe shelter to refugees fleeing persecution and war crimes in Syria."
Nearly 380,000 people have been identified as in need of resettlement by the U.N. refugee agency. They include torture survivors, unaccompanied children and people requiring medical treatment.
Within the European Union, Germany has pledged to resettle 30,000 refugees, Amnesty said. The next five largest EU countries have offered just 2,000 places between them.
"If a tiny country with a weak economy and huge debt like Lebanon can accommodate an increase of a quarter of its population, others can certainly be doing more to help," said Elsayed-Ali.
The lack of international support has left the main host countries struggling to cope and refugees are facing increasing hostility as a result.
Attacks against Syrians have surged in Lebanon, while in Jordan locals are complaining about competition for jobs. Both countries, along with Turkey, have tightened their borders in recent months.
Amnesty wants at least 5 percent of Syria's refugees to be resettled by the end of 2015.
It said that despite generous financial pledges for U.N. aid efforts from rich countries like Britain, United States and Kuwait, money alone was not enough.
"Countries cannot ease their consciences with cash pay-outs, then simply wash their hands of the matter," said Elsayed-Ali.

[Perspective]

"The complete absence of resettlement pledges from the Gulf is particularly shameful. Linguistic and religious ties should place the Gulf states at the forefront of those offering safe shelter to refugees fleeing persecution and war crimes in Syria."

[Perspective]

This was last year. This year another report

[Perspective]

And from Al ZAZEERA Source

More than 4 million Syrian refugees have fled their war-torn country, but the six wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have officially resettled none of them.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have instead allowed the refugee burden to fall mainly on Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan and, to a lesser degree, on Iraq and Egypt.
UN says number of Syrian refugees exceeds 4 million 2:34
Al Jazeera America News | July 9, 2015


Share Link Embed in Website

The GCC states have, of course, been making donations to Syria, with Kuwait among the top international check writers. Kuwait has hosted international pledging conferences for Syria, which have raised billions of dollars. And Qatar has given some $1.6 billion and regularly sends aid to Syrian refugees.

While the Gulf’s financial contributions have been generous, the alliance's humanitarian admission for Syrians has been much less so.

Millions of migrant workers, including many from refugee-producing countries, live in GCC countries. Among them are hundreds of thousands of Syrians, with some unofficial estimates of 300,000 in Saudi Arabia, 150,000 in the UAE and 120,000 in Kuwait. Among them are professionals, low-skilled workers, family members and students.

At the start of the Syrian conflict, the Gulf states took in what Qatari-owned newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi referred to as "five star" refugees — businessmen and highly skilled professionals.

Others got through different means. Many who entered the GCC countries from Syria with a work permit or a tourist visa — but whose legal rights to stay in the Gulf have expired — have been allowed to stay on, according to Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati political scientist.

Exactly how many is unclear. He said, "Everyone should be doing more," including the UAE and the Gulf states. "It is a humanitarian crisis."

Kuwait has granted Syrians there "special residences" or "long-time visas," according to GulfNews.com. In 2013, Qatar took in a few dozen Syrians, designating them "special guests of the emir."

In addition to Syrians, others who have fled wars or were uprooted — such as Palestinians, Lebanese, Kuwaitis and Yemenis — have made their home in the region, as Emirati commentator Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi noted in The International Business Times. "These individuals were displaced following conflicts in their own countries but were never referred to as refugees. Many of these settlers are now naturalized citizens and have become successful entrepreneurs," he wrote.

In the Arabian Peninsula, only Yemen is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol, which defines who is a refugee, their rights and the minimum standards for their treatment.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it is pushing for more states, including those in the Gulf, to sign on and develop legal systems to process refugees, which may skirt U.N. recommendations.

The debate over what the Gulf countries can and should be doing has been a fierce one in the region — especially given the global focus on Europe’s struggles with an influx of hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees.

Resettling in the Gulf, as opposed to parts of Europe, might be easier for Syrians in the short term, given the common language and cultural similarities. However, few displaced Syrians — if any — will ever receive the benefits afforded to Gulf citizens. Migration of non–Gulf nationals is highly stratified and politicized in the region.

For the Gulf states, migration is temporary, though in many cases the situations of migrants and refugees become protracted, said Philippe Fargues, the founding director of Migration Policy Centre. "You remain forever a foreigner" if you’re not born a Gulf citizen.

The GCC states for now seem to want to avoid the insecurity of allowing in refugees — in part for political reasons, he said. "They spend the money [on Syrians], but they don't want the people." They take in economic migrants, but they don't want refugees because "with refugees, you never know when they will go home."
Where would 11.7 million displaced Syrians fit?
Where would 11.7 million displaced Syrians fit? Click the image for answers.

Instead the Gulf countries make statements that the Syrians are guests, which means they are protected but do not have rights, Fargues said.

With the war in Syria driving the greatest displacement of people in the world, many in the Gulf have taken to social media to call on Arabs and Muslims to do more for refugees.

Sheikh Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarn, a Saudi Islamic scholar and activist, tweeted about recent photographs of a drowned Syrian refugee child who washed up on a Turkish beach. "The drowning of this Syrian toddler, trying to flee death, is the death certificate of the disgraceful world conscience," he posted.

And a saying that roughly translates to "Hosting Syrian refugees is every Gulf nation's duty" was trending on Twitter.

Meanwhile Arabic-language social media recently circulated memes falsely quoting German Chancellor Angela Merkel as saying versions of "One day, we will tell our children that Syrian refugees fled their land to ours on death boats, although Mecca was closer to them."

The meme — which appears to say Germany is doing more for displaced Syrians than their fellow Arabs are — revealed an already exposed truth, Al-Quds Al-Arabi said.

The newspaper said the Arabs are to blame for Syrian suffering. "The picture of the drowned Syrian child is an Arab scandal," it added. "By turning his back and rubber shoes and tiny body to the world, he is holding the powerful Arabs before the Europeans responsible for what he has endured."

Despite the unique implications for the Gulf, the Syrian refugee crisis remains a global problem. Syrians have applied for asylum in 109 countries and territories — "underscoring this population's global dimension," the UNHCR stated.

Nor is the Gulf alone in its failure to officially resettle a single one. Other wealthy countries, including Japan and Singapore, have not done so.

But the GCC's rising influence and financial clout sets it apart. Saudi Arabia, a rich and large state, with its Islamic symbolism, perhaps has the greatest obligation, activists and columnist have said.
The GCC because of its "great power" has a "great responsibility," said Qassemi, who has called on the Gulf nations to change their policies and accept refugees from Syria. "Syrian refugees don't want to live their lives in converted tent cities for generation after generation, no more than Palestinians who have done so for 67 years. If the Gulf states were mired in a bloody conflict, would we want tents to be built for us in the desert, or would we want to lead normal lives in cities and towns?"

[Perspective]

The above is the recent article on AL Zazeer dated Sept 4,2015

[sister herb]

We have seen this same also before when it came to the situation of the Palestinian refugees and I think its universal way to behave: the rich people love their money more than their fellowman, while poor is always willing to help other poor.

Maybe this parable fails a little as the Europe might not be this "poor" but I meant in general.

[M.I.A.]

The top countries giving aid and shelter to the refugees are EUROPEAN countries. Also, these helpless refugess in dire needs, are looking for refuge in European countries.

GULF countries on the other hand, HAVE SO FAR REFUSED TO TAKE ANY REFUGEES. Even though geographically they're much closer:super-wealthy Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have refused to offer sanctuary to a single Syrian refugee. It is a disgrace.

So what do you say about that?

This kills the thread. Well done.

Also,

Many thousands of UK citizens have called for the government to provide more help for Syrian refugees..


It is implied by media that it's over 12k Muslims asking.. Although it may not be the case. I have no idea?