I truly sympathize with the plight of these refugees, really, I do. But WHAT, pray tell, makes them any worse off than the millions of refugees displaced in Darfur or the Sudanese Civil War?? Why isn't the UNHRC working to relocate them??
And Assistant Secretrary of State Sauerbry - when was the last time you went to Darfur?
The UNHCR actually is working to try and resettle the refugees from the genocide in Darfur and other Sudanese conflicts. The problem they are running into actually begins in the US. Our overzealous immigration legislation has led to policies that exclude those we are supposed to be helping. Check out issues of 'material support'.
The Burmese have finally been cleared for resettlement after being waitlisted for years.
There have been thousands of Sudanese resettled in the past few years, and more are in the pipeline.
The Burmese have been split between those who were able to make it into a refugee camp and those who were not. The problem they have been facing is that the camps for the Burmese are located in areas predominantly populated by those who were oppressing them. This makes for a terrible living situation on top of the bad conditions of the camp. Those who were not even lucky enough to make it into a refugee camp are having to survive however they can and live among their oppressors.
I know this is a long response, but if you are concerned about the refugees from Sudan you should funnel that motivation to action. The UNHCR, the US Dept of Homeland Security, and the US Office of Refugee Resettlement should hear from you.
Every year the US sets a number of refugees we say we'll admit to the country for resettlement. That number is usually something like 55,000. Yet the gov. only actually lets in a fraction of that number.
If you want to do something, write a letter to those depts. or your representatives to let them know that it's ridiculous to set a high number and then admit only half of those refugees.
Not trying to come off as preachy or anything- I just think it's important to know that all of the refugees in the world right now, all 13 million of them, deserve to be resettled. Some groups get more of a voice so we actually hear about them, but all refugees have suffered greatly and lost everything.
The UNHCR actually is working to try and resettle the refugees from the genocide in Darfur and other Sudanese conflicts. The problem they are running into actually begins in the US. Our overzealous immigration legislation has led to policies that exclude those we are supposed to be helping. Check out issues of 'material support'.
The Burmese have finally been cleared for resettlement after being waitlisted for years.
There have been thousands of Sudanese resettled in the past few years, and more are in the pipeline.
The Burmese have been split between those who were able to make it into a refugee camp and those who were not. The problem they have been facing is that the camps for the Burmese are located in areas predominantly populated by those who were oppressing them. This makes for a terrible living situation on top of the bad conditions of the camp. Those who were not even lucky enough to make it into a refugee camp are having to survive however they can and live among their oppressors.
I know this is a long response, but if you are concerned about the refugees from Sudan you should funnel that motivation to action. The UNHCR, the US Dept of Homeland Security, and the US Office of Refugee Resettlement should hear from you.
Every year the US sets a number of refugees we say we'll admit to the country for resettlement. That number is usually something like 55,000. Yet the gov. only actually lets in a fraction of that number.
If you want to do something, write a letter to those depts. or your representatives to let them know that it's ridiculous to set a high number and then admit only half of those refugees.
Not trying to come off as preachy or anything- I just think it's important to know that all of the refugees in the world right now, all 13 million of them, deserve to be resettled. Some groups get more of a voice so we actually hear about them, but all refugees have suffered greatly and lost everything.
For more information you can look at these sites.
www.unhcr.org
www.lirs.org
www.theirc.org
www.rcusa.org