Thread: Fewer Become Refugees but Many Who Do Find Trouble

Jun 17, 11:15 AM EDT

Fewer become refugees but many who do find trouble
By WILLIAM C. MANN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fewer people sought refuge outside their homelands last year than in 2007, but the world remained an unwelcoming place for many who fled.

An annual survey of the world's refugees being published Wednesday by the Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported horrors from Turkey's jails to Egypt's desert, as well as in Kenya, South Africa, Malaysia and Gaza:

- Egyptian border guards shot and killed more than 30 African migrants trying to cross Egypt's mountainous Sinai peninsula to reach Israel. One victim was an Eritrean woman traveling with her daughters, 8 and 10 years old. The Egyptian government has not investigated the shootings.

- Malaysian border officials sold people being deported to criminal gangs. The men often ended up on fishing boats, the women in brothels.

- Turkey incarcerates and deports refugees. It tried to deport into Iraq 42 Iraqis and 18 Syrians and Iranians. The Iraq authorities accepted only their countrymen, and when Turkish officials forced the others to try to swim to Iraq, four drowned.

- The Thai navy intercepted boats reportedly carrying 992 ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar. Sailors beat and kicked the weak and hungry refugees, forced them back into their rickety boats, towed them to sea, then cut them loose without engines and little food and water. Indonesian authorities saved 450 off the coast of Aceh. The other 542 still are missing.

- In South Africa, raging mobs of poor South Africans swarmed into refugee camps in May and beat and set on fire the occupants. Mobs killed at least 62, injured 670 and drove away 80,000.

- Kenyan authorities have tried since late 2007 to keep refugees from Kenya's lawless neighbor, Somalia, out of their country. They have pushed back hundreds but beat and then demanded bribes of Somalis caught trying to reach a major refugee camp complex in the area.

- Israel responded to Hamas rockets from the Gaza Strip with "Operation Cast Lead," which "ultimately killed more than 1,400 Palestinians and drove 90,000 from their homes." Hamas continued its rocket attacks, eventually killing three Israelis and wounding 200.

The survey's list of "Best and Worst Places for Refugees" found that Brazil, Costa Rica and Ecuador ranked among the best because they have streamlined their laws and made exceptions to make the lives of refugees more like those of their citizens.

In all, the world had a 3 percent drop in the number of new refugees in 2008, from 14 million to 13.6 million. That was due largely to a steep reduction in the number of Iraqis leaving their country as the U.S.-led war tapered off. In 2007 half a million Iraqis fled

On the Net:

Committee for Refugees and Immigrants: http://www.refugees.org/

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... SECTION=US

The survey's list of "Best and Worst Places for Refugees" found that Brazil, Costa Rica and Ecuador ranked among the best because they have streamlined their laws and made exceptions to make the lives of refugees more like those of their citizens.

Right in our back door!! Why aren't all the Latino illegal aliens going there and claiming asylum?