Some things about that graph bother me. The vertical axis (which represents numbers of people) isn’t linear. The highest value represented (at the far right) is 3.8 million. Half of that is 1.9 million, which is also represented on the graph. This halfway point is well over halfway up the axis.
The steepest part of the graph is at the end of 2013, when the number of refugees jumped from 800,000 to 1.4 million, for an increase of 600,000. This is about 16% of the highest value shown for that axis (3.8 million). When I use Photoshop to measure the graph, the distance between those two points comes to 20%, not 16%.
The last jump on the graph, from 2.5 million to 3.8 million refugees, is an increase of 1.3 million, or about 34%. The distance of the jump on the graph is about 15, or less than half of what it would be if the graph were linear.
Overall, the effect of these distortions is to make it steeper in the middle and less steep near the right end. That is, it makes it look like the greatest rate of increase is already past.
Another thing to note about the graph is that it ends in February, 2015. It’s about six months out of date.
I don’t know why the graph has these flaws. I doubt that MercyCorps is trying to mislead people, but it’s some pretty sloppy graph-making.
If the Syrian passport happens to be legit or at least a good fake, then yes, you are in.
Under normal circumstances, asylum seekers will be interviewed by a government agent with the help of an interpreter. If the interpreter notices that the applicant speaks Arabic with an accent that would suggest that he hails from Morocco, Kuwait or South Dakota, the interpreter will alert the agent to this fact and further questions will be asked. It is not as if all German government officials were born yesterday.
However, given the situation in Syria (and surrounding countries) today, it is likely that applicants will be given the benefit of the doubt. This sort of thing has happened in the past, for instance with (alleged) refugees from Lebanon who were actually Turkish citizens (the Mhallami).
Probably not accurately. But if you look like you just came up from Lagos or Beijing, I’d guess you’ll get some extra questions or at least flagged for the follow up list first.
It’s not uncommon to declare everyone coming from a specific country is going to be considered eligible for asylum, regardless of individual circumstance. The U.S. does that for Cubans. Many do it for South Sudanese. It doesn’t mean that the passport is the only proof needed. It means that you will not need proof that you personally face a specific danger.
Our friend is positing a situation where all a random guy from wherever has to do is flash a fake passport and he’s good forever. That’s a scary idea- good thing it doesn’t work like that.
I started seeing fairly regular stories about it beginning in mid-April when one of the boats capsized and a couple hundred people drowned. By early July it was something you saw stories on every week instead of every other.
By the way, this breaking news just in: The German Minister of the Interior will announce shortly (at 15:30 UTC) the reintroduction of border controls on Germany’s Southern border. All available Federal Police units have been put on high alert.
Oh yes, very much so. On Sept. 7th, Viktor Orbán urged Germany (and Austria) to guard their borders. The reaction was the usual outburst of innuendo, he was compared to Kim Il-sung (by Luxembourg’s Foreign Jean Asselborn) and (implicitly) to Adolf Hitler by Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann (which is ironic in more than one way). On Sept. 13, Germany announced the closing of the border.
The public radio station Deutschlandfunk on Saturday interviewed a young Moroccan man (i. e. a native speaker of Arabic) living in Vienna who volunteers as an interpreter. He says that at least 25 % of all arrivals actually aren’t from Syria, but from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries. He talked to two Egyptian men who told him that this was the chance of a lifetime to get to Europe.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière in his press conference yesterday afternoon also specifically mentioned Iraqis.
It reminds me of the Murdoch/phone hacking story or the death that began the Arab Spring, it rumbled on for years without mainstream public engagement and then one day BOOM! Off the scale.
I remember being horrified this time last year when it became official EU policy to no longer rescue people between North Africa and the Italian maritime border.
Just to re-state, the implicit official EU policy was to let them drown. And, as of a week ago, people are falling over themselves to open up their homes.
I guess it was the photo - a tiny helpless boy, white or close enough, wearing seemingly western toddler clothes, drowned face down on a Greek beach - a beach where a chunk of Europeans could easily go on holiday.