On June 18, the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) made a surprise announcement granting nationals of countries suffering from war and disasters a one-year residence visa. Although an important gesture to relieve suffering and provide temporary shelter, Abu Dhabi is not following through on a much more important and sustainable solution to these problems: the permanent resettlement of Syrian refugees from Lebanon, Jordan or other hosting countries to the UAE.
Read full blog in Muftah Magazine.
In early March 2016, after months of negotiations, the EU’s 28 heads of states reached an agreement with the Turkish government to slow the refugee influx into Europe. The so-called 1:1 plan — for each undocumented migrant Turkey takes back from Greece, the EU would take one refugee from Turkey — went into effect on March 20, 2016. Under the terms of the deal, the EU would give Turkey six billion euros ($6.7 billion) to support hosting refugees and revisit its stalled attempt to join the EU.
Read full blog at Muftah.
After months of negotiations, the 28 European Union leaders and the Turkish government last weekend reached an agreement to slow the refugee influx from Turkey. In exchange for taking back Syrian refugees who crossed to Europe illegally, the EU will accept refugees from Turkey, along with 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) and a renewed prospect for Turkey to join the EU.
Full article published in Dallas Morning News on 23 March 2016.
With winter approaching and no end in sight of the civil war, Syrian refugees in Lebanon are running out of time and money.
Nearly 90 per cent of Lebanon’s over one million Syrian refugees are today trapped in a vicious cycle of debt, according to the findings of a recent assessment by UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP, the World Food Program.
Full article published in the National Post on 21 November 2015.
As the Syrian refugee crisis escalates, some eastern European countries — notably Hungary — are being cast as villains for turning their backs on desperate men, women and children with nowhere else to go.
But the spotlight is also turning to another group of countries that critics accuse of failing to pull their weight.
Full article published in the National Post on 26 October 2015.
Southeast Europe – Zuidoost-Europa correspondent
