I have been having extensive email conversations about immigration with ProFlandria, one of our Flemish correspondents.
One of the topics concerns the possibility that Vlaams Belang might favor giving priority to Christian refugees from the Third World, to help compensate for the preference shown so far in Europe for Muslim immigrants.
Many Christian refugees are fleeing for their lives from Muslim countries. One of the unfortunate side effects of the Iraq war has been to increase the persecution of the Christian minority by the Muslim majority, now that the inhibiting hand of the tyrant has been removed from the shoulders of religious zealots. Other Islamic countries, such as Lebanon, Pakistan, and India, are undergoing a drastic reduction in their Christian populations.
Why not give Christians who are escaping from Islam a place at the front of the refugee queue?
Christian immigrants, even from such countries as Nigeria or Pakistan, would be much more likely to assimilate fully and pursue gainful employment in the West than their Muslim counterparts. There is a political advantage to be gained here, since anyone who favors giving them preference could not reasonably be termed a “racist” or a “neo-Nazi”.
Western society would benefit from a modest influx of such people, assuming that Muslim immigration could be simultaneously reduced.
ProFlandria sent us an email last night giving his assessment of the situation, and noting the pernicious role that the UN plays in the refugee industry:
This article by Jerry Gordon in The New English Review relates directly to your idea on favoring immigration from persecuted Christian communities:
Since 1976, more than 2.6 million new citizens have entered America as legal humanitarian refugees according to reports of the US State Department.
[…]
The irony is the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) determines which of the world’s huddled masses comes to the US as humanitarian refugees. UNHCR trends for 2006 indicate that worldwide there were more than 32.9 million ‘persons of concern’ with approximately one third defined as ‘refugees’. […]
[T]he untoward consequence of UN control over the humanitarian refugee program in the US is discrimination against groups like the imperiled half million Christians who have fled Iraq.
More concerning is that the UN control of humanitarian refugee processing has introduced Jihadis among the Somalis from the Horn of Africa, who now number in the tens of thousands throughout America. The Somalis have brought with them strict Islamic Sharia values that violate our Constitution and Civil Rights laws and mock our Judeo Christian values. Still worse, they, and some other refugee groups, have brought with them undetected contagious diseases like TB, Hepatitis and HIV that evaded health screening prior to their entry to America.
The Somali immigrants are a significant proportion of those included in the humanitarian refugee program for Africa. For the Federal Fiscal year ended, September 30, 2007, according to information from the ORR, 7, 500 Somalis entered this country out of a total of 17,000 such refugees allotted to Africa. The aggregate total of Somali refugees as of 2005 was close to 70,000. Given figures for both 2006 and 2007, the current aggregate may approximate 90,000. The concern is what proportion of these received proper medical and security screening before entering this country.
This has caused disruptions in both large and small communities through America. Communities like Minneapolis, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Nashville, Emporia, Kansas, Lewiston, Maine and Shelbyville, Tennessee.
These disruptions occurred in American heartland communities as a by-product of conscious refugee policies adopted during the Clinton administration and in a number of instances, local business community interests that took advantage of the change.
– – – – – – – – –
[…]
In late November, a delegation that included former South Carolina Governor Beasley, William Murray of the Religious Freedom Coalition, Dr. Keith Roderick, Washington Representative of Christian Solidarity International (CSI), journalist, author and human rights activist Kenneth Timmerman met with Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey, head of the BPRM and her staff about the Iraqi refugee crisis. They reported on their recent fact-finding mission in Jordan and other Middle East locations. What they got was a polite reception and no support to correct the current UNHCR refugee certification effort in the region that discriminates against Iraqi Christians.
According to Dr. Keith Roderick of Christian CSI, Iraqi Christian refugees, even those who would be classified under our Humanitarian Refugee guidelines as Extremely Vulnerable Persons (EVP), are being directed to UNHCR Offices in Amman, Jordan. They are entrapped in a long bureaucratic process. Many have reported that they are discriminated against, files are lost and stories that substantiate their profound fear of persecution including death threats are dismissed. The US Embassy in Amman is virtually impenetrable with Jordanian guards at the initial point of contact for refugees. They are all directed to UNHCR offices, even when they could take advantage of the Direct Access Program or Immigration P-2 Visas for family reunification.
The UNCHR receives tens of millions in compensation from our government for this processing function.
As Ken Timmerman writes in a NewsMax.com article, “Iraq Christian Refugees Ignored by U.N.” on the plight of Iraqi Christian translators, very few of the 500 translators and US Embassy workers eligible to receive emergency relocation have been certified under a Congressional mandate for those facing death threats. This, despite the fact that they had brought with them letters of appreciation from US commanders and the US Embassy in Baghdad. They were not allowed to present them. Why? Because local UNHCR workers discovered that they were Christians and would not process them.
I asked Dr. Roderick what could be done. He indicated that the clearance procedures for these Iraqi Christians who are considered ‘Extremely Vulnerable Persons’ under our humanitarian refugee rules have a problem with the CIS roving teams. The CIS procedures require these Christian applicants to bring evidence of bank records and property deeds. Having fled death threats from both Iraqi Sunni and Shia insurgent groups, these documents are virtually impossible to obtain.
I asked Dr. Roderick what he would recommend.
He indicated that CIS should waive these onerous requirements in lieu of the US Embassy and US commander letters documenting their valued service to America in Iraq. He suggested that perhaps the solution might be in the form of executive waivers and/or Congressional resolutions and legislative amendments. The other possible solution is to create administrative units or provinces for Iraqi Christian minorities in their ancestral homelands on the Nineveh Plain. These administrative units would provide local policing and security for their villages and economic development.
Apparently UNHCR serves as the clearing house for refugees worldwide, with the authority to determine how many from each specific group go to which destination. I would imagine that these determinations are based at least in part on negotiations with the host countries; if so, then a re-negotiation of the terms of refugee immigration would be the first step. That does not address the lack of proper vetting of refugee status, which is apparently also UNHCR’s purview.
As far as Vlaams Belang’s (and other European conservative/counter-jihad parties’) options are concerned, immigration is nominally still a national competency but that will change as soon as the Lisbon Treaty is ratified. I don’t think there is any credible leverage to be applied when national governments have the option of dumping any proposals in the slow-moving machinery of bureaucracy with the hope that the Treaty will be ratified before action is required.
Given the EU’s anti-American stance, the preference will likely be to continue with lopsided proportions of Muslim immigration to reflect the victimhood status resulting from US intervention. In addition, in the postmodern worldview Christianity has the status of an “oppressor” faith, which is not likely to endear its refugee faithful to the current crop of governing elites.
The most Vlaams Belang could hope for is to have a duly recorded proposal “on file”. However, the problem is that the political reality will preclude concrete action. VB’s opponents can therefore spin such a proposal as a cynical attempt to appear “multicultural” while knowing full well that the chance of the proposal becoming reality are exactly zero.
No more immigrants! For God’s sake, Europe managed just fine for thousands, tens of thousands of years, with CHILDREN! Have CHILDREN. This is not rocket science! It is not hard! It’s even fun! Please, Europe, please choose life!
The UN has, almost from its inception, represented a way for the communists plus various other despots, tyrants and dictators to triangulate against the free world in general and the USA in particular. UN resolutions excoriating Israel are churned out in droves while there is an almost abject refusal to even define what terrorism actually is, much less condemn it. It should come as no surprise that UNHRW should hold such an utterly partisan agenda. Few other organizations could possibly deserve more credit for collaborating in the Eurabia Pact as described by Bat Ye’or.
For those who would like some insight into just how corrupt the UN Human Rights Commission is, I can give you no better commentary than that of Hillel Neuer as he rips them several bright and shiny new ones over their totally lopsided revilement of Israel. I urge you to do a search for Neuer’s other speechs before the UN as well. He is a standard bearer for reason and the common man.
It is long past tea for there to be assembled a League of Democratic Nations. Only those with truly representative governments, legal transparency and a genuine commitment to human rights need apply. These same nations should then go about forming a NATO-style mutual defense pact whereby an attack on any one of them will result in a retaliation by any or all. Democracy and individual liberty is under attack like never before. Neither the communists nor even the Nazis sought to blot so much of mankind’s progress from the historical record as do the Global Transnationalists and Islamists. The UN is so totally complicit in this effort that they deserve to answer in open court for the commission of crimes against humanity.
The outright and regular abuse of station by UN representatives is the stuff of legend. Consider the monumental gall of holding a conference on ending world hunger in poverty stricken Africa at which was served foie gras, lobster and rare vintage wines. Few better examples of the UN’s moral bankruptcy exist than its recent climate change conference in Bali. The profound hypocrisy of holding a meeting at the luxury resort of Nusa Dua in one of the most remote locations on earth transcends all bounds of decency and decorum. Special arrangements had to be made for parking all of the private jets that conference attendees flew in on. Yet, these pompous, sanctimonious bastards couldn’t bring themselves to yield up even a token blush for such an affront to humanity. Given all of this, the UN’s continued efforts at infecting the Western world with Islam’s toxic viral meme should come as no surprise.
Debbie Schlussel has been saying this for some time. The US is allowing Iraqi immigrants, with the overwhelming majority being Shiite.
Why should the Christian Iraqi’s be shunned while we turn Detroit, my old home city into another “Stan”. Dearbon as I knew it is going the way of the Dodo, as well as Hamtramyk, once a vibrant Polish American community is now a desolate third world town…..minus any dogs.
Diamed is clearly against any kind of immigration, that means my moving to Finland is a big sin in his eyes, as well as my three children. How sad for him. What the West needs in its immigration policies, is to seek out suitable potential citizens that already have much in common with the host state and a willingness to intigrate themselves.
Islam at this time and point in history, is still much to dangerous of an ideology to allow its adherents free passage into Europe and elswhere in the west.
Uhm. India is a Hindu country, not an Islamic one. The relationships between Hindus and Muslims have always been strained (to say the least: Muslims have attempted to genocide the Hindus, producing some very impressive mountains of skulls). India’s Christians, however, are not running anywhere – the Muslims might be trying to make problems for them and there are some tensions between Ultra-religious Hindus and Christians, but Christian communities are thriving in India – see Kerala or Goa for states with large Christian populations and Andaman and Nicobar islands for Christian-majority states. India’s Christians are not running away from anything.
Lebanon was a Christian country until not that long ago. It is still not an Islamic state by any stretch – Christians and Druze Lebanese would rather die than let themselves become dhimmis. And Lebanon is still 40% Christian. Lebanon’s Christians (being wealthier are more educated than the Muslims) are indeed emigrating in droves, mostly due to the social and political deterioration of their country – brought about by the civil war, the Syrian occupation and now interference, Iranian Revolutionary Guard stormtroopers (Hizballah) and the massive Muslim immigration from the Arab world (Lebanese Christians do not self-identify as Arabs).
Just pointing out inaccuracies.
Diamed said…No more immigrants! For God’s sake, Europe managed just fine for thousands, tens of thousands of years
Its not a matter of having children. The EU is engaged in destroying any opposition to it by destroying any sense of community, and therefore nationahood within Europe. That sense of community comes from a shared language, culture and religion, and defines of what constitutes a nation. Anything that will destroy this compact will be chosen by the EU elite. It is for this reason that the followers of the most virulent religion, are also the most favoured in immigration.
Additionally, even if we had more children, we could never compete in the “Baby race”, the equivalent of the Arms race, with Muslims. Western women are not to be treated as baby producers – they wouldnt stand for it, and neither would I.
On Dec. 8th I wrote to Ellen Sauerbrey, the Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration regarding the lack of effort to resettle Iraqi Christians. Below is her response.
I am writing in response to your request for information about
resettlement of Iraqi Christian refugees in the United States.
Referrals to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, worldwide, come from
U.S. embassies, non-government organizations, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). UNHCR has the international mandate to provide protection to refugees around the globe. The United States, like other refugee resettlement countries, looks to UNHCR to
identify and refer to our program, the most vulnerable and persecuted cases each year. UNHCR has included religious persecution in its criteria for identifying vulnerable Iraqi cases to refer for resettlement, and has already referred thousands of Iraqi Christians to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Other criteria include persons targeted because of their close association with U.S. forces, torture victims, persons with critical medical needs, and unaccompanied minors among others. Over 50% of the approximately 2,500 Iraqis who have arrived in the United States as refugees during fiscal year 2007 and to date in fiscal year 2008 are Christian, as are 30% of all the Iraqis that have been referred to the U.S. program since January 2007. We cannot predict precisely how many Iraqi Christians will be
referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in the future, nor how many will be resettled in the United States as refugees. However, we expect that Christians will continue to comprise a significant portion of future Iraqi refugee arrivals. I hope that this information is responsive to your request.
Sincerely,
Ellen R. Sauerbrey
Assistant Secretary of State for
Population, Refugees, and Migration
And if you’re eager to join the fight against the resettlement program visit: http://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/
Ann is the name of the blogger over there and I’ve volunteered to help with one of her projects to find all of the targeted resettlement sites in the US. I think she could use more IS volunteers.
I just noticed she gave me a H/T (I’m Eric) regarding a story about Lewiston, ME.
Of course Christian immigrants are preferable to muslim ones, but why have any at all? My community is already overwhelmed by African Christian immigrants, and I can assure you, it’s not working out. If you don’t believe it, visit California and see how well you enjoy sharing your public and private space with hordes of third world refugees. Hint: where they come from, there is no difference between private and public space. They take it all. Is it possible to help deserving, oppressed people without destroying our own neighborhoods and way of life?
Latte – I agree – I don’t think we need to accept any more “refugees” from 3rd world countries.
Taking them in just relieves the domestic pressures for reform that would build if they had no alternative but to stay home. Mexico is a good example, our acceptance of millions of illegals serves as a relief valve for the corrupt Mexican government. Why change when you can send your problems to El Norte?
Why are Islamic clerics so afraid of Christian missionaries?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080105/wl_nm/afghan_religion_dc
Could it be that many would convert if they had the option? This is a point that needs to be driven home, hard. Islam is a prison from which there is little chance of escape and fear is all the “clerics” have to control their flocks.
Charlemagne: Islam is a prison from which there is little chance of escape and fear is all the “clerics” have to control their flocks.
I posted this elsewhere but it has equal pertinence here.
Pause to consider just how barren Islamic culture must be:
No dogs for children to play with and learn about unconditional love and devotion.
Illiterate mothers who cannot read a bedtime story to their children or help teach them how to read a book.
No freedom of speech that permits healthy discussion and critical analysis of current events.
No freedom of religion that is so vital to a pluralistic society.
No graphic depiction of most living forms which curtails artistic creativity.
No public displays of affection that lend a romantic atmosphere to daily life.
No pork or other haram foods that widen the diet and provide variety of sustenance.
No beautiful or shapely women proudly strutting their stuff on the street.
No non-liturgical music to break up the monotony of constant religious worship.
No alcohol to unwind with and enhance convivial gatherings.
No co-ed intermingling that allows young people to refine their social skills.
The Muslim world is nothing short of a mental prison. It is abusive in the extreme and represents nothing less than a spiritual gulag.