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Why Don’t Gulf Arab ‘Friends of Syria’ Take in Any Refugees?

Sputnik – 05.09.2015

As refugees from Syria stream into Europe, the Gulf Arab financial and diplomatic sponsors of Syria’s rebel groups have taken in zero refugees from the conflict.

Friends of Syria was a group of countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which united to provide diplomatic and often financial support to facilitate “regime change” in Syria in 2012.

The group’s Arab country members have since then rejected refugees leaving the country as a result of its civil war and resulting massive humanitarian crisis. The same countries have also sponsored rebel organizations in Syria, often supporting them with financial and logistical aid.

At the same time, the Gulf Arab states largely rely on migrant labor for everyday work, something that could provide Syrian refugees with the opportunity to provide for themselves in a temporary new home.

Refugees Not Welcome

According to the BBC, in addition to having complex visa rules and not participating in conventions on refugees, the countries rely largely on migrant workers from Southeast Asia.

To make matters worse, Saudi Arabia has been deporting migrant workers, particularly those from neighboring Arab countries such as Yemen. According Human Rights Watch, the country deported an average of 2,000 migrants per day between November 2014 and March 2015.

In addition, Saudi Arabia’s kafala system only allows migrants to enter the country with sponsorship from their employment.

Planned Catastrophe

The Gulf countries also foresaw the refugee crisis after Syria’s conflict began in 2011, according to Alexander Sotnichenko, dean of the international relations department at Saint Petersburg State University.

“The Gulf countries foresaw the humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the civil war in Syria and in 2011 financed the construction and maintenance of large camps in Turkey and Jordan,” Sotnichenko wrote.

According to Sotnichenko, most refugees from Syria went to Turkey because of the country’s announcement that it is prepared to accept refugees. This allowed the Gulf countries to largely deflect the stream of refugees from Syria’s conflict, which they had taken part in sponsoring.

“From Turkey it is even more difficult to get to Gulf countries [than from Syria], while Europe is much closer,” Sotnichenko added.

As a result, refugees are able to get to Europe illegally from Turkey, while entering Gulf countries is much more difficult, according to Sotnichenko. In addition, Syrian refugees in Saudi Arabia’s neighbor Jordan are detained and sent to refugee camps.

September 5, 2015 - Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , ,

10 Comments »

  1. Could the same be said about Russia?

    Like

    FlutePlayer's avatar Comment by FlutePlayer | September 6, 2015 | Reply

    • Unlike the EU, US, and the emirs, Russia never armed or financed the terrorists.

      Like

      aletho's avatar Comment by aletho | September 6, 2015 | Reply

      • So only trouble makers are responsible for dealing with the refugees’ issue?

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        FlutePlayer's avatar Comment by FlutePlayer | September 6, 2015 | Reply

        • Yes, displacing populations onto other nations has always been considered as a crime against humanity.

          Should Japan be allowed to drive Koreans from the Korean peninsula and demand that Russia resettle them? I think that embracing such a paradigm would be harmful to humanity.

          Like

          aletho's avatar Comment by aletho | September 6, 2015 | Reply

          • Has Sweden been a trouble maker in the Syrian tale?

            Like

            FlutePlayer's avatar Comment by FlutePlayer | September 6, 2015 | Reply

            • Sweden, certainly to a lesser extent.

              The point being that the Gulf Arabs are responsible for having directly armed and financed terrorism in Syria, Libya and Iraq. The US, UK, France, NATO et al are guilty, perhaps as peoples more so, because of the supposed fact that they are governed by “representation.”

              Sweden’s approach to NATO over the same period would reflect a level of support. Even Iceland contributed to the aggression on Iraq as a “coalition partner.”

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              aletho's avatar Comment by aletho | September 6, 2015 | Reply

              • So why would Sweden welcome Syrians?

                Like

                FlutePlayer's avatar Comment by FlutePlayer | September 6, 2015 | Reply

                • My guess is that the employer class, as well as those with similar aspirations or identification, are the ones being “welcoming.”

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                  aletho's avatar Comment by aletho | September 6, 2015 | Reply

                  • Then Syrians should be seeking refuge in countries that caused their misery in the first place?

                    Like

                    FlutePlayer's avatar Comment by FlutePlayer | September 6, 2015 | Reply

                • If you are looking to identify a relatively innocent European country try Ireland, they only facilitated torture flights as far as I’m aware.

                  Like

                  aletho's avatar Comment by aletho | September 6, 2015 | Reply


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