We will only emphasize that the review offered to readers, compiled on the basis of publications from world media, does not claim to be a deep analysis, but only shows a factual cross-section of a rather pressing problem of the entire world community.
AUSTRALIA: HOW TO INTIMIDATE AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT
If male penguins arrange a voluntary 'GULAG' for themselves in Antarctica, waiting for weeks and even months for their mates in unbearable conditions, then Australians build 'GULAGs' out of necessity, writes 'Russkaya Germaniya'. True, not for themselves, but for refugees: as a means of intimidation against undesirable immigration.
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock is a very courteous gentleman, but when it comes to immigrants, he forgets all politeness. He calls unwanted guests arriving in the country on boats and rafts, usually from the Middle East or Southeast Asia, with a stop in Indonesia, 'persistent fraudsters' and, as proof of the newcomers' dishonest intentions, readily tells journalists how one cheeky refugee demanded expensive shampoo for hair, and another had his mobile phone confiscated. Well, aren't they scoundrels!
When a report recently came of the death of 163 unfortunate people during a hurricane while trying to reach the shores of Australia on a barge, the minister expressed hope that this example would serve as a convincing deterrent for anyone who might attempt such a try again. The Australian authorities did not want to participate in the search for the victims.
But even more surprised are witnesses from among European intellectuals upon learning about the camps. In these detention centers, surrounded by barbed wire, where refugees while away the time until the final resolution of the visa issue (sometimes over a year), the living conditions indeed resemble the worst 'camp times' in Europe. Tear gas and water cannons are used against detainees; those attempting to go on hunger strike are force-fed, which is strictly prohibited in Australia for all other categories of the population. The camp authorities often send young women 'to work' in nearby brothels.
By order of the minister, many scenes of camp life are filmed on videotape. Also recorded are scenes that capture tragic incidents with sharks off the coast of Australia. All this video material is sent to Australian embassies in neighboring countries for showing to potential refugees wishing to enter the promised land.
CZECH REPUBLIC: WHEN IT COMES TO FLEEING, UKRAINIANS ARE FIRST
In the first ten months of 2000, 6,561 people from 63 countries asked the Czech government for refugee status. This is more than three times the figure of the year before last, when 2,109 people sought asylum in the Czech Republic. However, asking is not the same as receiving. In the same ten months of the past year, only 118 people became holders of refugee status. More than two thousand people were refused, the rest patiently await a decision on their fate.
Most refugees arrive in the Czech Republic from Afghanistan (14%), followed by Ukrainians (12%), people from neighboring Slovakia (10%), as well as residents of India, Moldova, and Vietnam (7% each). Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs note that recently the number of refugees from Southeast Asian countries has somewhat decreased. At the same time, more and more people from the former Soviet Union are seeking asylum, mainly from Moldova, Russia and Armenia. Since the beginning of the year, 545 Russian citizens have asked for asylum in the Czech Republic, including 248 Chechens.
The number of applications from Ukrainians is growing every day. Over the past three months, Ukrainian nationals have 'overtaken' Afghans and become the most numerous refugee population. True, their cases are considered very reluctantly. According to unofficial information, of all the former USSR countries, only Belarus and Turkmenistan are assessed by the Czech authorities as egregious human rights violators, and accordingly, asylum is granted mainly to citizens of these states.
GERMANY: REFUGEES TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY
To some a bagel, to others the hole of the bagel. Some foreigners get citizenship, others a 'green card', others a residence permit, and for the fourth they don't even extend a visa. The 'red-green' coalition in Berlin decided to fix this situation and passed a regulation on new leniencies for foreigners.
Those who have lived in the country for at least 12 months while seeking political asylum will be issued permits for free work. Thus, the ban on temporary work for political immigrants introduced in 1997 is lifted. At the same time, the procedure for reviewing their applications is somewhat accelerated. Refugees will be able to support themselves, freeing local authorities from unnecessary expenses, emphasizes the main goal of the government initiative, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labor Gerd Andres.
A good thing self-sufficiency! You earn money, and wait while they decide what to do with you. You may not even have to pay taxes.
The new rules have a stipulation: labor exchanges must give preference to citizens of European Union countries. Refugees will get jobs only in the absence of other applicants, although in any case we are talking about low-skilled labor. About those jobs that are of no interest to the local population.
Immediate employment is provided for 85,000 foreigners. This contingent is almost half made up of people from Iraq and Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan.
The conservative opposition calls the government's measures ill-considered. As practice shows, only about three percent of newcomers eventually receive refugee status. The rest are rejected. Easier access to the labor market, the Christian Democrats argue, will lead to a sharp increase in the influx of foreigners, which has declined in recent years. The liberals and the Democratic Socialists from the PDS, for their part, demand the abolition of all work restrictions for immigrants. Nevertheless, the new rules came into force on January 1, reports Russkaya Germaniya.
BELGIUM: NEW SYSTEM FOR RECEIVING REFUGEES
At the end of December 2000, a meeting of Belgian government services was held in Brussels regarding the granting of political asylum in connection with the introduction of a new assistance system. The essence of the new system is that, starting from January 3, 2001, potential refugees will not receive money: they will be provided with 'in-kind' support – that is, they will be fed and treated in Centers for Displaced Persons. Then the immigrants will either receive a residence permit or be deported.
Until now, those who applied for asylum received a cash benefit and access to the healthcare system for the entire period of the review, and if the authorities denied asylum, immigrants generally still had the opportunity to stay in the country.
Thousands of foreigners illegally in Belgium wanted to get the necessary documents, start-up money, and disappear from the authorities' sight even before the law came into force. In the first days of the new year, the foreign registration office was besieged: about three thousand people spent days and nights right on the street. The organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the Belgian military authorities set up several dozen tents and brought field kitchens. To prevent this phenomenon, border controls were tightened, resulting in asylum applications being submitted mainly by those already on Belgian territory or those who entered Belgium illegally.
Meanwhile, the Belgian government decided to deport 200 residents of Kazakhstan, to whom travel agencies had promised work and residence permits in Belgium. According to police reports, there are only 2,500 Kazakh immigrants living illegally in Belgium. Not a single Kazakh applicant was able to convince the Belgian authorities that they were being persecuted in their home country due to their ethnicity or political activities, so all migrants from Kazakhstan were denied refugee status. The first group of 32 people with armed guards flew to Kazakhstan, but for reasons as yet unclear, the plane made an emergency landing in Moscow and returned to Brussels.
WHEN THE ISSUE WAS GOING TO PRESS
The editorial office received a statement from the embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Ukraine. It notes that the Belgian authorities decided to reinstate systematic border controls as an exception from December 22, 2000. This decision was made in connection with the enactment of new regulations concerning applications for political asylum in Belgium.
This decision by the Belgian authorities means that any foreign citizen crossing the border of Belgium will be subject to control, even if they have a Schengen visa in their passport. The basis for Belgium's temporary exit from the Schengen area was Article 2.2 of the Schengen Agreement. Border control in Belgium will be reinstated 'for some time,' the statement notes.