U.N. Praises ‘Tireless Efforts’ of Rescuers as 6,000 Saved at Sea
Some 6,000 people were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea over two days in around 40 operations by European and NGO rescue missions.
Around 3,000 people were saved on May 5 after taking makeshift boats from Libya toward Italy. The following day, another 3,000 people were found at sea by the Italian navy, coast guard, the E.U. border agency Frontex and aid ships.
At least 75 people died on the same sea passage between May 3 and May 7, said Filipo Grandi, the head of U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR), praising rescuers for their “tireless efforts,” which he called “truly remarkable.”
“Together, they have saved tens of thousands of lives,” Grandi said, noting that NGOs are carrying out an increasing proportion of rescues, from 26 percent last year, to 33 percent this year to date.
More Than 2 Million Children Displaced by War in South Sudan
The war in South Sudan has displaced more than 2 million children, including 1.14 million who have been internally displaced and another 1.12 million who have fled the country.
Some 62 percent of refugees from South Sudan are children, a statement from UNICEF and UNHCR said.
Among them are 75,000 children who crossed the border alone or separated from their families, the joint statement said.
“No refugee crisis today worries me more than South Sudan,” said UNHCR’s Africa bureau director Valentin Tapsoba. “That refugee children are becoming the defining face of this emergency is incredibly troubling.”
Report: Germany Building Orphanages to House Deported Children in Morocco
Berlin plans to build two orphanages in Morocco that will house unaccompanied minors who are deported from Germany, the newspaper taz reports.
According to leaked documents from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), each home will have 100 places and also will be open to local homeless children. They will be run by “appropriate NGOs” and cost $1,050,000, with support sought from “appropriate E.U. states,” according to the documents. Building is expected to start this year.
In response to Deutsche Welle’s request for comment on the plan, BAMF sent the news outlet a government response to a parliamentary question from March that confirmed the building of the orphanages. The response said the homes are meant to “create prospects for staying and prevent potential illegal migration to Europe.”
The Bavarian Refugee Council’s Stephan Dünnwald said the proposal would “break a taboo.”
“At the moment, minors can only be deported if they’re put into the care of a legal guardian – that is, if the parents are standing at the airport to pick them up. If they’re going to build homes there, it’s legally and morally a very questionable business,” he told Deutsche Welle.
Germany is trying to speed up deportations of rejected asylum seekers. The government tried to classify Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia as “safe countries” in March, but was blocked by Parliament.
Recommended Reads:
- The Independent: The Story of the Kurdish Musician Who Drowned Clutching His Violin After Trying to Reach Europe
- ProPublica: Can Low-Wage Industries Survive Without Immigrants and Refugees?
- Mother Jones: This Is the Horrific Violence Trump Is Forcing Central American Refugees to Return to
- Reuters: Refugee Orchestra Blends Musical Notes From Syria to Tibet
- Public Radio International: The Biggest Group of Current Refugees in the U.S.? Christians From Myanmar