The Caribbean Becomes Destination for Asylum Seekers
Asylum seekers have started arriving in increasing numbers in Caribbean nations, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) stated, adding that more than 5,000 people reached the region last year.
Migration increased by 257 percent between mid-2015 and mid-2016, with Belize, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago receiving the highest number of asylum seekers, mostly from Cuba and Haiti, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Syria and Nigeria.
“The fact is the Caribbean region is not an isolated region; it is part of the world as anywhere else. We are seeing that people are coming to the Caribbean and through the Caribbean Sea and they are seeking asylum,” Ruben Barbado, UNHCR protection officer, told journalists last week.
The influx is a challenge for countries with limits on their resources. The UNHCR says the Caribbean should view this as an “opportunity” to tap into refugees’ professional skills.
Nearly 130 Migrants Drown off Libyan Coast
At least 126 migrants are feared dead after their boat sank in the Mediterranean over the weekend, the International Organization for Migration announced on Monday.
Four of the survivors provided testimonies to the organization.
Two Sudanese and two Nigerians who managed to reach Palermo, Sicily, said that their rubber dinghy had set sail from the Libyan coast last Thursday with 130 migrants onboard. Several hours later, Libyan traffickers intercepted them and stole the engine, causing their boat to sink.
Libyan fishermen found the four survivors and transported them to safety.
UNHCR Receives Green Light to Collect Islamic Alms for Refugees
Leading Muslim clerics in the Middle East have agreed to unroll a fundraising plan that will allow Muslims to give their Islamic alms directly to aid programs benefiting refugees in the region.
The UNHCR will implement the program.
Muslims give yearly financial donations or “zakat” to state institutions, which go toward helping vulnerable and poor communities. Zakat payments, usually 2.5 percent of a person’s annual savings, are collected and redistributed to needy citizens.
The UNHCR, which faces a major funding shortage, received approval from Muslim clerics and scholars in Egypt, Morocco, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, in hopes that the additional funds from zakat contributions will allow continuous support for refugees and internally displaced people in the Middle East.
Experts estimate that state institutions distribute between $20 billion and $30 billion in zakat payments in Muslim countries annually.
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