Global News Post: Refugees/IDPs

How best to serve Pakistan’s 750,000 IDPs?

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Rebecca
Conway/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Pakistani men displaced by fighting in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Khyber tribal region drink tea outside<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a shop near <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">PESHAWAR</span></span></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - Residents escaping the latest round of fighting in
Khyber Agency in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) say they did not even have time to
bury their dead before leaving their homes in the Tirah valley.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">They are the
latest of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled their homes in the
tribal belt close to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>’s
border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
over the past five years of Pakistani military operations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Conflict is not
the only cause of displacement - natural disasters have also played a role,
creating what humanitarians call a “complex emergency”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But despite the
existence of camps set up for internally displaced persons (IDPs) where the
government and humanitarian organizations provide assistance, most choose to
flee elsewhere - creating a challenge for those wanting to help these
vulnerable communities. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Over 75,000
people live in three established IDP camps (such as Jalozai, a half-hour drive
from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>)
which house families in tents or makeshift structures, and provide food aid,
medical facilities and drinking water. They also serve as a central
registration point for families arriving from areas hit by conflict or natural
disaster. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Large though
these camps are, they only account for 10 percent of the three-quarters of a
million IDPs, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Humanitarian
agencies are increasingly being pushed to take care of those who prefer to live
elsewhere; often in <st1:city w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:city>, the capital of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP), and elsewhere in KP. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NGOs and the UN
working in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
carry out so-called IDP vulnerability assessment and profiling (IVAP) surveys
to gather information on where off-camp IDPs are, and the type of support they
need - from shelter and food to health care and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
(WASH) assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">They also gather
information about what IDPs say they will need on returning to their homes,
generally in FATA - with housing, security and agriculture of particular
concern to families. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IVAP findings
are then passed to humanitarian partners in an effort to ensure that assistance
is targeted where there is the greatest need. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The European
Commission-funded IVAP project recommends that aid agencies prioritize
assistance for off-camp families, 82 percent of whom have to pay rent and live
in difficult, cramped conditions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IDPs outside the camps <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Providing
humanitarian services outside of the camp environment can be challenging. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">IDPs have direct
access to facilities at camps, but tribal customs, perceptions of camp life and
a preference to stay with relatives and friends, mean a large number of IDPs
choose to live outside the camps, making it more difficult for the authorities
and humanitarian organizations to keep track of them and offer assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Those providing
aid, and the IDPs receiving it, would be better served if distribution was
decentralized, said Sobat Khan Afridi, chairman of the Tehreek-e-Mutasireen
Khyber Agency, an NGO set up by different political parties to assist IDPs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It is easier
for larger organizations, especially international NGOs, to operate from the
camp as it is easier to manage for them. The problem is that it is still
difficult for all the families not living at the camp to reach Jalozai and get
aid,” said Afridi. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It would be
better if they set up distribution points across <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city> in the areas where a lot of IDPs
live. That would mean less stress for the authorities at Jalozai, and less
problems for off-camp IDPs too.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Yar Mohammed,
29, arrived in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>
from Tirah in January after walking with his family for five days, much of the
journey through heavy snow. He says going to Jalozai was not an option. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The ones
in the camps are the most vulnerable. They have no other means or resources to
set up something else for themselves."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I spoke to some
people who told me the facilities at Jalozai are not enough. They were going to
give just one tent to us, and that will not do for 10 people.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Instead,
Mohammed stayed with his cousin until he found a three-room mud house in the
Scheme Chowk area of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>.
He pays 4,000 <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
rupees (US$41) a month, and hopes to move his family to a better house soon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The movement of
off-camp families, especially those from Khyber, is very volatile. Sometimes
they are living with relatives. If they can afford it, they rent a house of
their own. We try our best to register all of them, but it is a challenge,”
said Faiz Muhammad, the KP government’s chief coordinator for IDPs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Efforts are made
to keep in touch with families who choose to live among relatives or rent
property. The government uses mobile phone numbers to register families living
off-camp, and officials try to reach families that are not registered in this
way during monthly food distributions at designated points, he added. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Even if they
are not staying at camp, most of them visit the food distribution points and
that allows us to get information from them, give them information and assess
the situation.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Humanitarian
organizations and the government have identified areas in and around <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city> with a high
concentration of IDPs, and some assistance, such as medical care, is also
provided in those areas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Identifying
off-camp families was a challenge because of the reluctance of many IDP
families to register, as well as humanitarian organizations’ own security
concerns. That was overcome to some extent by mapping families initially based
on information from IDPs living in camps, and then expanding the effort to
surveys of off-camp families in host communities,” said an aid worker with Save
the Children in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
who preferred anonymity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Moving on <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Khalid Shah from
Khyber Agency lives in Sufaid Dheri, a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>
neighbourhood that is home to an estimated 250 displaced families. Two years
ago, worried about the safety of his children as fighting escalated in the town
of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bara</st1:place></st1:city>, he
boarded up his small shop and left home. His first stop was Jalozai. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Everyone told
me that going to the camp was the best idea. It was safe and there was food and
shelter. But after a couple of months, I couldn’t take it any more,” Shah, 42,
said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He started
commuting from Jalozai to Sufaid Dheri, where he would earn a daily wage
loading and unloading goods in a market. Today, he lives in a two-room
apartment in the same neighbourhood with his family. He remains registered with
the Jalozai authorities, and often travels to the camp if he requires
assistance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I have managed
to move here, but my brother and his family are still in Jalozai. He works here
with me but stays registered there. You never know,” said Shah. The brothers
also take turns visiting their land and their shop in Bara every month. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">For many
families, pessimistic about the prospects of peace in their villages and towns,
the next step is to plan for a new life away from Khyber. Many have sold their
land to buy property in and around <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peshawar</st1:place></st1:city>.
Those with the money have set up businesses too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The day I am
convinced Bara is peaceful, I am going back,” said Shah. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">However, those
without even modest financial resources are the real challenge for policymakers
in terms of a return strategy. The poorest of the IDPs have no option but to
register and live in camps like Jalozai, where the services provided are far
superior to what they could hope for back home. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The ones in the
camps are the most vulnerable. They have no other means or resources to set up
something else for themselves. They get health, education and food at the
camp,” said Faiz Muhammad of the KP government. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“It’s an obvious
question: why would they go back?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Security fears <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Pakistani
officials say return plans cannot be successful until peace is established in
the affected areas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We can only
begin working on a return programme for IDPs after the government and the
military determine that the affected area is safe,” said Faiz Muhammad. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In a refugee
camp on the outskirts of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>’s
capital <st1:city w:st="on">Islamabad</st1:city>, home to many families displaced
by the conflict on the border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Sher Mohammed, from
the Mohmand Agency in FATA, says the military has cleared his village, but his
family members that visited still fear militant attacks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“My cousins went
back last summer and they had to come back because it was still dangerous
there. I can’t afford to go back unless it is absolutely safe. It costs 50,000
rupees to take my family back. If it’s not safe, I’ll have to spend another
50,000 rupees to come back here,” said the 40-year-old. “I don’t have that kind
of money.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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How best to serve Pakistan’s 750,000 IDPs?

Photo: Rebecca Conway/IRIN Pakistani men displaced by fighting in Khyber tribal region drink tea outside a shop near Peshawar ...

Analysis: How real are Myanmar’s reforms?

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/film" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">IRIN Film</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fighting continues in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">LONDON</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - The visit of <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> President Barack Obama to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region> on 19
November has renewed international interest in the country’s democratic
reforms, but also skepticism about their impact on the lives of ordinary
Burmese.<br />
<br />
Since <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
reform-minded President Thein Sein came to office in March 2011, hundreds of political
prisoners have been released, freedom of assembly has been allowed, media
censorship has eased, and the country’s cabinet has been reshuffled.<br />
<br />
“Ministers regarded as conservative or underperforming were moved aside, and
many new deputy ministers appointed. There are now more technocrats in these positions
and the country has its first female minister,” Jim Della-Giacoma, <st1:place w:st="on">South East Asia</st1:place> project director for the International
Crisis Group (ICG), told IRIN.<br />
<br />
But analysts and observers argue that economic hardship, ongoing ethnic
conflicts and a history of media censorship will prove more serious challenges
to reform in this former pariah state.<br />
<br />
According to an ICG report entitled <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>: Storm Clouds on the
Horizon, much of the government’s attention will need to be focused on
controlling the country’s multiple internal ethnic conflicts - a real threat to
national stability.<br />
<br />
“Containing and resolving the inter-communal conflict that has engulfed <st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>,
and reaching a ceasefire in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename>
 <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>, are the
government’s main immediate problems,” said the 12 November report.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<b>Economic hardship<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
While the headline-grabbing democratic reforms are welcome, resulting in
millions of dollars in international development and humanitarian assistance,
many believe they fail to address the economic hardships of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s 58
million people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
Maung Zarni, founder of the Free Burma Coalition and a fellow at the
London School of Economics, says Thein Sein’s reforms “are largely geared
towards creating a `late developmental state’ along the lines of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Vietnam</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>… Sadly, the West and the rest
alike are choosing to overlook the apparent pitfalls of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>'s reforms, ignoring the cries of the
wretched of a new <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>.”<br />
<br />
Sein Win, managing editor of New Delhi-based Mizzima News, (founded by <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>
exiles), agrees. “Change is happening in the upper levels of government... but
the lives of the people are largely the same as before,” he said.<br />
<br />
And while there are high hopes that the recent easing of international
sanctions will change things, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>
remains one of the poorest countries in <st1:place w:st="on">Southeast Asia</st1:place>.<br />
<br />
Ordinary people see little tangible improvement in their day-to-day lives, and
inflation is having an adverse effect on the lives of many Burmese.<br />
<br />
According to the UN’s most recent Integrated Household Living Conditions
Assessment, the average proportion of total household budget spent on food is
68 percent (74 percent for the poorest 30 percent of the population).<br />
<br />
Almost one third of the country’s population lives below the poverty line, according
to the World Bank, which recently approved a US$245 million development package
to the country.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We
want the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>
and the poor in particular to see the reform can lead to real benefits,” said
Kanthan Shankar, the World Bank’s country manager for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<b>Internal conflict<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
But the path to reform will be difficult given long-standing ethnic conflicts,
many of which date back to independence from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1948, analysts say.<br />
<br />
While the government over the past year has forged a number of tentative
ceasefire agreements with many non-state armed groups which have been fighting
for greater autonomy in the east, fighting in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>’s northern <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>
between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), continues
unabated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
Since the collapse of a 17-year-old ceasefire in June 2011, some 75,000 people
have been displaced and humanitarian needs are growing, reports the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).<br />
<br />
At the same time, more than 100,000 people, nearly all Rohingyas, have
been displaced in western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename>
 <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>, after inter-communal
violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims erupted in June.<br />
<br />
The conflict is a major test for the Thein Sein government, say activists, who
are calling on Obama to make it clear that the attacks on the Rohingya need to
stop if the government wants to avoid renewed international sanctions.<br />
<br />
“This is crunch time because <st1:country-region w:st="on">Burma</st1:country-region>’s
failure to contain sectarian violence in Arakan [Rakhine] State and hold
accountable those responsible calls into question the Burmese government’s
stated goal of becoming a rights-respecting, multi-ethnic state,” said Brad
Adams, <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place> director at Human Rights Watch
(HRW).<br />
<br />
According to HRW, Burmese security forces have restricted the access of
international humanitarian agencies to the area, while aid workers say international
donors are failing to deliver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
<b>Upcoming elections<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
And then there is the future role of the National League for Democracy (NLD)
party and its iconic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who have been on the frontline of
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
fight for democratic reform for decades.<br />
<br />
Political leaders have conflicting views about how power should be shared under
the constitution as well as after the 2015 election; while many believe what is
needed now is moral leadership to calm tension and seek compromises if divisive
confrontation is to be avoided.<br />
<br />
An NLD landslide “may not be in the best interests of the party or the country,
as it would risk marginalizing three important constituencies: the old
political elite, the ethnic political parties and the non-NLD democratic
forces. If the post-2015 legislatures fail to represent the true political and
ethnic diversity of the country, tensions are likely to increase and fuel
instability. The main challenge the NLD faces is not to win the election, but
to promote inclusiveness and reconciliation,” the ICG report says.<br />
<br />
The NLD could support developing a system that would give a greater say in
politics to marginalized minority groups under the current “first past the
post” system, says ICG.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, the government could form an alliance with other parties,
particularly with ethnic parties, and agree not to compete against them in
certain electorates.<br />
<br />
“Finally, the government could support an interim `national unity’ candidate
for the post-2015 presidency. This would reassure the old guard, easing the
transition to an NLD-dominated political system. Critically, this option could
also build support for the constitutional change required to allow Aung San Suu
Kyi to become president,” says ICG.<br />
<br />
<b>“Window dressing”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
Although Thein Sein has spearheaded unprecedented change in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>, some
critics remain cynical about his motives for allowing Aung San Suu Kyi to run
for election.<br />
<br />
“The government is using her image as a democracy icon to promote and protect
their way of reform. Their strategy is one of using your enemy's good name to
reach your own objective,” says Sein Win of Mizzima News.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
impetus behind the government’s democratic reforms, he adds, goes beyond just
promoting foreign trade.<br />
<br />
Some accuse the government of carrying out “window-dressing” reforms to please
Western governments and enable the lifting of sanctions.<br />
<br />
“The dictatorship hurt the nation's pride. But they also want to lead the
change. There will be less electoral fraud in 2015, but at the same time they
will be smarter and will effectively use their political framework to weaken
opposition. Of course, monitoring from the UN and international community is
essential,” Sein Win adds.<br />
<br />
He believes that Western countries can help <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region> by permanently lifting
sanctions, which proved to be extremely harsh on the majority of the
non-political classes.<br />
<br />
Derek Tonkin from the NGO Network <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region> says
that sanctions are potentially a valuable diplomatic weapon, noting,
however, that over the past two decades they damaged <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s economic development and
badly affected the lives of ordinary Burmese.<br />
<br />
<b>New press and social freedoms<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
Meanwhile, Mark Farmener, director of the London-based Burma Campaign <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> describes
the reforms to date as “top down and skin deep”.<br />
<br />
Censorship laws have not been repealed, though how they have been applied has
been changed, he said, adding that while there is currently more freedom for
certain subjects to be reported, others, such as ethnic issues, remain banned.
“Media are still not allowed to criticize the government,” he said.<br />
<br />
Sein Win agrees: “I haven't seen any reports by Burmese journalists exploring
the how and why about what happened in the conflict between Buddhist Rakhine
and Muslim Rohingya communities… Will the government and local authority
tolerate it if someone exposes the truth? Will the concerned communities
tolerate someone's independent reporting on the conflict? I don't think so.”<br />
<br />
According to a recent report entitled Virtuality, Perception and Reality
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Democratic Reform by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP),
self-censorship continues as many journalists are unsure what they can write
about without fear of government reprisal.<br />
<br />
The report says internal factions in the government are delaying reforms:
“There is an internal power struggle [in the government], at minimum between
the government and the military and potentially between the president and his
supporters and potentially with more hardline factions in the government.”<br />
<br />
“The long-term outlook is not positive,” Farmener warns. “There are more civil
liberties in the cities but these are not guaranteed in law, and human rights
abuses have actually increased in the past year. However, the changes so far
have been enough to persuade the international community to rush to relax
pressure and normalize relations.”<br />
<br />
He said 2016 would be a critical year for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>. “That’s when a new
parliament dominated by the NLD will push for genuine constitutional change,
and the military will either agree or block it.”<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<br />
</span></div>

Analysis: How real are Myanmar’s reforms?

Photo: IRIN Film Fighting continues in Kachin State LONDON (IRIN) - The visit of US President Barack Obama to Myanmar on 19...

SRI LANKA: Former IDPs want more than leaking shacks

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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWfaR7FlncC_B3mAd9tdxCfEbhxPpeWVJ7sDVE2QcF-fq5blRJQANCUqmUii77OIQwacswqpKA4TsNoKOsdINltSDLAWFGlrCBU5BzcYrS5X2bcWabwoyw4qGiq1-QByVv921yujzgmI/s1600/201211021248570733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWfaR7FlncC_B3mAd9tdxCfEbhxPpeWVJ7sDVE2QcF-fq5blRJQANCUqmUii77OIQwacswqpKA4TsNoKOsdINltSDLAWFGlrCBU5BzcYrS5X2bcWabwoyw4qGiq1-QByVv921yujzgmI/s1600/201211021248570733.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Photo:
<a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Contributor/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Thangeswary
Karuppaiyah wants to rebuild<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">KILINOCHCHI
(IRIN) - Standing outside her battle-scarred home in northern <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region></st1:place>, Thangeswary Karuppaiyah
dreams of one day rebuilding it. “I hope it’s soon. That’s what we are waiting
for,” said the 55-year-old grandmother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">She
has been living in a “transitional shelter” a few metres from her old home for
the past three years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Made
of tin sheeting, coconut leaves and tarpaulins, it was put up by her family (thanks
to government and international aid) following her return in 2009, and was
designed to last two years - time enough to rebuild her old house, say aid
workers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“People
have been in transitional shelter for a long time, in many cases three years...
With the rainy season starting, things are going to become tough for those people,”
Fontini Rantsiou, head of the northern sub-office of the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told IRIN. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Thousands
of former IDPs are even less fortunate than Thangeswary, have never received
any assistance, and live in makeshift shacks made of plastic sheeting and
anything else they can get hold of. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“This
is probably the most pressing issue of all. Under Sphere standards, transitional
shelter in good condition offers some semblance of protection,” an
international aid worker who asked not to be identified, explained. “Unfortunately,
many people still don’t even have that.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">More
than three years after <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sri
  Lanka</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s decades-long war came to an end and
the return of nearly 470,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to the north, thousands
of people remain in flimsy shelters, say UN sources. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">There
is insufficient data to illustrate the severity of the problem, as the
government has never endorsed a comprehensive needs assessment suggested by aid
organizations in mid-2012, said a report by the International Displacement
Monitoring Centre (IDMC) published on 31 October. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Transitional
shelter assistance <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Across
Sri Lanka's former northern war zone (locally known as the Vanni), only 26
percent of IDP returnee families have received transitional shelter assistance,
the report said, citing inputs from shelter agencies, including the UN Refugee
Agency (UNHCR). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Of
the more than 100,000 families in need of transitional shelter assistance in
four northern districts (Vavuniya, Mullaitvu, Kilinochchi, and Manner), just 26,000
received assistance, leaving an estimated theoretical gap of around 74,000, according
to UNHCR October figures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Moreover,
in at least three of the villages in Mullaitivu District which opened up for
returns between July and September 2012, no commitments have been made to
provide any transitional shelters at all, the IDMC report said, with only half
the requirement for transitional shelters being met in Kilinochchi District. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Many
of those affected have no choice but to live in makeshift shelters they have
constructed themselves - well below internationally accepted Sphere standards. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Meanwhile,
international funding for humanitarian and development activities in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:place></st1:country-region> is drying
up, largely because the World Bank now classifies the island nation as a middle-income
country at peace, though government restrictions on assessments are preventing
an adequate response, the IDMC report said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A
further obstacle is that many agencies and donors are reluctant to fund
additional transitional shelter work given the high expectation of a commitment
by donors to construct more than 75,000 permanent houses in the north - a
project which could take years to complete. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According
to OCHA, donors and the government are currently committed to supporting the
building and repair of more than 35,000 houses (excluding Indian government
plans to build 49,000 houses) against total needs in excess of 100,000. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

SRI LANKA: Former IDPs want more than leaking shacks

Photo: Contributor/IRIN Thangeswary Karuppaiyah wants to rebuild KILINOCHCHI (IRIN) - Standing outside her battle-scarred...

Analysis: Catch-22 for Syrian migrants in Lebanon

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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo.aspx"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Hugh Macleod/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Syrian migrants in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> have been<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">associated with the atrocities committed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">by Syrian troops during their 29-year<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">occupation of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">BEIRUT</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - Syrians in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> are
increasingly coming under attack as lingering anti-Syrian sentiment intensifies
amid the current conflict next door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Syrian imbroglio has polarized various sects and factions in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>. While
Sunni Lebanese in the north have welcomed tens of thousands of Syrian refugees
in the last year and a half, Lebanese of other sects and in other parts of the
county are less welcoming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
the streets of <st1:city w:st="on">Beirut</st1:city>’s Christian neighbourhood
of Geitawi, a stronghold of the Lebanese Christian right, their intolerance of
Syrian migrants, who have worked in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> for years, is palpable: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Syrians
ruled us for 30 years, how can we like them?” protested Kamal Sa’ad, 48. “God
willing, the war will kill them all. They’re an Arab people; we [Lebanese
Christians] are Europeans.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Residents
of the neighbourhood have gathered around 60 signatures demanding the governor
of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> take
“the necessary security and legal measures” against Syrian workers who are perceived
to pose a threat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We
are sending this letter to warn the authorities that if they don’t intervene, we
will organize ourselves and solve the situation through violence,” warned Cesar,
a local butcher who preferred not to divulge his second name. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Drunken
Syrian workers are always around harassing women at night,” said Charbal Issa, 29.
“You know what we will do? [Impose] a 6pm curfew for Syrians, so that they work
and sleep - nothing else.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Military
raids and mob violence <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
estimated 300,000 Syrian seasonal workers in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>
before the Syrian uprising began in March 2011 were often the object of anti-Syrian
sentiment - a legacy of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>’s
29-year occupation of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
starting in the 1970s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Following
the Syrian withdrawal from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>
[in 2005], each bombing blamed on the Syrian regime was followed by the beating
of some Syrian workers,” said Yara Chehayed, a member of the Beirut-based Anti-Racism
Movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But
since the conflict in neighbouring Syria, when Syrians started fleeing to
Lebanon in large numbers, fears that the Syrian opposition will use Lebanon as
a base for its own struggle - the way Palestinians did in the lead-up to the
Lebanese civil war - have intensified pre-existing xenophobia. Military raids
are now increasingly replacing the usual mob violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
7 October, the Lebanese Army raided the apartments of around 70 Syrian, Egyptian
and Sudanese workers living in Geitawi and another Christian neighbourhood in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city>, Mar Mikhael, late
at night. One week earlier, on 1 October, soldiers stormed a construction site
where migrants worked and slept in the adjacent Ashrafieyeh neighbourhood, according
to residents who told Human Rights Watch (HRW) they “heard screams from the
building”. Several `mukhtars’, administrators of the neighbourhood, reportedly
issued a statement encouraging more such raids. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
17 October, in the coastal neighbourhood of Ramlet al-Baydah, a mob of more
than 20 Lebanese men attacked Syrian workers with knives and sticks, injuring 10
people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Targeting
Syrian Sunni dissidents? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
military defended its operation in Geitawi, claiming it was responding to
increased complaints about sexual harassment and crimes committed by foreign
workers. Lebanese residents in the area blame Syrian workers for thefts, sexual
harassment, fights and even murders. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">God
willing, the war will kill them all. They’re an Arab people; we Lebanese
Christians are EuropeansBut according to HRW, the evidence against them is
scarce and the military operation looked more like collective punishment than
proper policing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“No
clear investigation has been carried out. Why didn’t the army look for specific
suspects?” said Beirut-based Nadim Houry, deputy director of the Middle Eastern
division of HRW. “We advocate the rule of law and police enforcement, not this
kind of mob violence.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
army also argued it was checking work permits, but Syrians are allowed to work
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>
without papers, as per a longstanding unwritten agreement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ahmad*,
a Syrian tailor in his thirties, who arrived from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hama</st1:place></st1:city> several years ago, said not a single
Syrian was arrested on specific charges. Instead, he said, soldiers beat the
Syrians, including minors, for nearly five hours, using electric shock batons
until 2am. “They didn’t allow us to talk and started beating us straight away,”
he said. He still bears the scars of the beating, a large haematoma covering
half of his back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sectarian
motives? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Syrians
say they believe they were victims of a factional and sectarian army. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“While
they were beating us, they asked us: ‘Don’t you know these punishments from the
time you served in the Syrian army? Or are you with the [rebel] Free Syrian
Army?’” said Ahmad. “They even checked our names to single out the Sunnis and, judging
from their dialect, we suspect they were Alawis from Jebel Mohsen,” he said, referring
to a neighbourhood in the northern Lebanese city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> inhabited by people of the same sect
as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
Lebanese military [intelligence] leadership is controlled by Christians and
Shias and both sects are worried by the growing presence of the Syrian Sunni
opposition in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>,”
explained Khaled*, a Syrian activist from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hama</st1:place></st1:city>,
who arrived at the building just after the 7 October raid to check on friends. “The
operation was a message to Syrians: ‘Don’t think you’re protected; we know
where you are’.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ahmad
said the army took notes about where the migrants worked and for whom. “The
army came with the intention of recording our names and checking if there was
someone wanted in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>,”
he suggested. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Politics
are always behind these aggressions, even if they tell you it was all about
harassments,” said Chehayed, of the Anti-Racism Movement. She compared it to an
incident last November, when Lebanese Armenians assaulted Syrian Kurds in an
Armenian majority neighbourhood in the suburbs of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> for their role, she said, in the
Armenian genocide under the Ottomans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Others
dispute this version of events, saying the army did indeed round up suspects
and ask Lebanese women to identify those who were guilty of harassment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
army said it detained 11 people, but HRW only witnessed the arrest of African
migrants who presumably did not have legal residency documents. The army has
not confirmed who was arrested or why. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Nevertheless,
observers are more hesitant to confirm a political agenda. “Two months ago we
documented an instance where the army rounded up Syrian workers, looking for
someone who had purchased a satellite device,” admitted HRW’s Houry, “but I
think in Geitawi, it was more of a provocation than a political interrogation: if
it was purely political they wouldn’t have rounded up also Egyptians and
Sudanese.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Syrians, Ahmad and Khaled, disagreed, saying the round-up of other
nationalities was “a cover for the real aim of the operation.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Double-victims
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Some
residents of Geitawi show no prejudice against Syrians and they reject the
fabrication of an easy scapegoat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There
is no problem with Syrians. The scoundrels [responsible for theft and
harassment] come from all sorts of countries: <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>,” said
Rami al-Abyad, a barber in his sixties. “Not all the migrants are bullies.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Even
Ahmad, the Syrian tailor who was beaten, pointed to the good relations he has
always had with his Lebanese landlords: “The house-owners were upset by the
military operation and they even hid some Egyptians in their apartments.”
Others don’t conceal their politically biased racism against Syrians. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
irony is that many of these workers support the Syrian opposition,” said HRW’s
Houry. “They have always been double victims: the regime didn’t offer them job
opportunities and in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>
they were seen as part of the Syrian occupation, even if <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> has been rebuilt on cheap Syrian
labour.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Local
landlords are also profiting from the increased Syrian presence, Lebanese
residents admitted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
untouchable army <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">HRW
is calling for a transparent investigation into the 7 October raid, but the
army said any possible violation would be dealt with internally. The Ministry
of Defence did not respond to IRIN’s request for information. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There
is a [lack of] accountability of all security forces, including the army,” said
Houry. As the only respected security force in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> amid many sectarian militias,
the army is considered something of a sacred, less-easily criticized
institution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Syrian
workers who appeared on TV to comment on the raid say they have been threatened
by the military, but feel they have no recourse, given the links between large
parts of the Lebanese government and their ally in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Damascus</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Since
the revolution started, no one defends us and I cannot go to the Syrian embassy
to complain about what happened,” said Ahmad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">*not
a real name<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

Analysis: Catch-22 for Syrian migrants in Lebanon

Photo: Hugh Macleod/IRIN Syrian migrants in Lebanon have been associated with the atrocities committed by Syrian troops during ...

PAKISTAN: Sectarian Violence Slipping Out of Control in Balochistan

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hbxvFC7akooKaqpmGFbM38aynWwFKGgljRAlNfTQnH6odYd8BLpngHXVvIMXJKBF-yigthyphenhyphen7zAg6avgrfTBjeJRS2MZnZ6QNTnSH_CJ39MMZtWgTtxoBTf3TN-9TX-1kMHgdcej501M/s1600/201111170827050625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hbxvFC7akooKaqpmGFbM38aynWwFKGgljRAlNfTQnH6odYd8BLpngHXVvIMXJKBF-yigthyphenhyphen7zAg6avgrfTBjeJRS2MZnZ6QNTnSH_CJ39MMZtWgTtxoBTf3TN-9TX-1kMHgdcej501M/s1600/201111170827050625.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Kamila Hyat/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Relatives of missing persons stage <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">a protest in Balochistan<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">QUETTA,Pakistan (IRIN) - Ethnic and religious minorities in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan have faced increasing intimidation and violence since 2009, according to a recent</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">fact-finding mission</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">“Settlers” i.e. people who have settled in the province and are not of Baloch ethnicity (a term used by Balochi nationalists even for people whose ancestors came to the region before the Pakistani state was created in 1947) are being targeted.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Heavy locks on two empty houses in a residential suburb of Quetta, the provincial capital, stand as a testimony to what is happening - in this case the occupants chose to vacate their properties quietly in the dead of night.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">“These persons were `settlers’ in Balochistan, from the Punjab. They were good people; we had known them for years, but they had to leave because it is no longer safe for people from other provinces to live in Balochistan,” a neighbour who asked not to be named, told IRIN.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">With violence increasing in 2010, the central government informed the country’s Senate that</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">100,000</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">people had fled Balochistan. According to HRCP, thousands more have fled since then. At least 2,000 “settler” children have been taken out of school by their parents since 2011, the HRCP report says.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">About half of Balochistan’s 7.8 million people are non-Baloch; they live mainly in Quetta and Pakhtoon-dominated areas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">“My family has lived in Quetta since the 1930s. It is the only home I know. But things are getting too dangerous for anyone who is non-Baloch,” said Khawar Jhandro, an ethnic Sindhi.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">The teacher, 40, said he had already moved his family to Karachi, as “I was terrified about the safety of my children who were asked their ethnicity even at school.”</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">The problem, according to Tahir Hussain Khan, a Quetta-based lawyer and human rights activist, is tied to the nationalist struggle by Baloch groups, which began in the 1950s but intensified after the 2006 killing of a key Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Baloch Baloch, a spokesman for the nationalist Baloch Republican Army, an armed militia fighting for autonomy of the region, told IRIN over the telephone: “We believe Balochistan should be mainly for the Baloch people and not be taken over by those who have moved in from outside and settled here… Balochistan’s resources have been taken away by the Punjab, aided by the central government.”</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">HRCP says underdevelopment is one of the factors driving the grievances. According to official statistics, the province is the country’s poorest with the lowest literacy rate (30 percent).</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">According to the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">South Asian Terrorism Portal</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">which bases its data on media reports and is run by the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, 711 persons, including civilians, nationalist militants and personnel from security forces were killed in</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">Balochistan</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">in 2011, and 347 the previous year. HRCP reported the discovery of 57 bodies of people who had gone missing from various parts of the province in 2012 alone.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Sectarian violence has also started to target the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">Hazara, a Shiite minority. Sardar Saadat Ali, chief of the Hazara community in Balochistan, told IRIN: “Our protests are ignored. The extremists targeting us on a sectarian basis just escape, scot-free.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Balochs also targeted<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Even the Balochi nationalists themselves have become a target and many have gone missing. “There are at least 500 or more missing persons in the province,” Baloch Baloch told IRIN. According to the HRCP report, the disappearance of 198 people has been officially recorded since 2000.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">A</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">2010 report</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">by Human Rights Watch said the Frontier Corps (FC), a paramilitary organization commanded by Pakistan’s military, was behind many of the disappearances.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MediumShading2" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: -.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 2.25pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-bspace: 6.0pt; mso-table-left: right; mso-table-lspace: 8.25pt; mso-table-rspace: 8.25pt; mso-table-top: middle; mso-table-tspace: 1.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 220px;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: -1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">   <td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 2.25pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 8.25pt; mso-element-frame-vspace: 1.5pt; mso-element-left: right; mso-element-top: middle; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; mso-yfti-cnfc: 517; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: background1;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">    <v:stroke joinstyle="miter">    <v:formulas>     <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0">     <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0">     <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1">     <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2">     <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth">     <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight">     <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1">     <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2">     <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth">     <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0">     <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight">     <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0">    </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas>    <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f">    <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit">   </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-themecolor: background1;">My family   has lived in Quetta since the 1930s. It is the only home I know. But things   are getting too dangerous for anyone who is non-Baloch<b><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The central government is concerned that it is losing control of the region. The country’s top court,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">hearing a case</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">regarding law and order in Balochistan brought before it by NGOs and families of the missing, has repeatedly ordered the provincial government to take action. So has the prime minister. But these interventions, backed by the military muscle of the FC are seen by some as interfering in local affairs.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">“Basically, the FC has seized all control, follows its own plans and does not allow us to function,” a senior police officer in Quetta, who asked not to be named, told IRIN.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">“The military has intervened too often in the affairs of Balochistan, handicapping civilian rule,” said I.A. Rehman, secretary-general of the HRCP. Balochistan has a long history of military intervention against those fighting for more autonomy, dating back to the 1950s.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Fear</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b> </b></span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">The result of this administrative disarray is fear. Tens of thousands across Balochistan are affected.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">“It is unsafe to go out of the house after 4 or 5pm. I, in fact, try not to let my college-going sons leave the house at any time, except for their studies, because I am afraid they may be `picked up’ as nationalists or get caught up in some terrorist incident,” said Shaista Bibi, a mother of three - and an ethnic Baloch.</span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">An ethnic Pakhtoon mother was just as fearful. “We will have to leave here soon. It is no longer safe for my four young children,” said Ameera Gul, 30, who had moved to Balochistan from Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province 10 years ago. The family is now planning to leave as soon as it can.</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

PAKISTAN: Sectarian Violence Slipping Out of Control in Balochistan

Photo: Kamila Hyat/IRIN Relatives of missing persons stage a protest in Balochistan QUETTA,Pakistan (IRIN) - Ethnic and religious mino...

LEBANON-SYRIA: The Refugee Minefield

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YrRdB1J0V4H62aytsyMFdRxEFv-I-prw0JD5aftA724qSvE-PKnM151VUrnrCyiFgPXJnK97AEQv-bcCfFMgI3_2cytdzE7XXdLZ-GotVlRPalk7bINfyqvQzqpVAhjY97V4Xwj444w/s1600/201209031325160916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YrRdB1J0V4H62aytsyMFdRxEFv-I-prw0JD5aftA724qSvE-PKnM151VUrnrCyiFgPXJnK97AEQv-bcCfFMgI3_2cytdzE7XXdLZ-GotVlRPalk7bINfyqvQzqpVAhjY97V4Xwj444w/s1600/201209031325160916.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/syriafreedom/6903398592/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Courtesy of Freedom House</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Syrian refugees have taken shelter at a makeshift <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">tent camp set up for Syrian seasonal <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">labourers in Al Qaa, Lebanon<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">BEIRUT (IRIN) - Progress in terms of providing more and better aid to the steady influx<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">  <table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableLightShadingAccent3" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; mso-border-top-alt: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent3; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 380px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 22.5pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: -1;">   <td style="border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; height: 22.5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent3; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.5pt;" valign="top" width="10">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 5;"><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">    <v:stroke joinstyle="miter">    <v:formulas>     <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0">     <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0">     <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1">     <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2">     <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth">     <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight">     <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1">     <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2">     <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth">     <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0">     <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight">     <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0">    </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas>    <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f">    <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit">   </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/roundbullet.gif" id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1030" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 6.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="roundbullet" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>   <td style="border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; height: 22.5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent3; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 1;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At least 41,494 Syrian refugees in Lebanon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>  </tr>
<tr style="height: 22.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">   <td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; height: 22.5pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent3; mso-background-themetint: 63; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.5pt;" valign="top" width="10">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 68;"><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><v:shape alt="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/roundbullet.gif" id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1029" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 6.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="roundbullet" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>   <td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; height: 22.5pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent3; mso-background-themetint: 63; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 64;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Numbers hotly disputed<o:p></o:p></span></div></td>  </tr>
<tr style="height: 22.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">   <td style="border: none; height: 22.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.5pt;" valign="top" width="10">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 4;"><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><v:shape alt="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/roundbullet.gif" id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_i1028" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 6.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="roundbullet" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>   <td style="border: none; height: 22.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fears that political situation will destabilize<o:p></o:p></span></div></td>  </tr>
<tr style="height: 22.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">   <td style="background: #E6EED5; border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.5pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent3; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.5pt;" valign="top" width="10">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 68;"><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><v:shape alt="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/roundbullet.gif" id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_i1027" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 6.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="roundbullet" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td>   <td style="background: #E6EED5; border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.5pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent3; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 64;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Political concerns hinder relief<o:p></o:p></span></div></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is being held back by government indecision stemming from fears that the ongoing violence in Syria may destabilize the country’s fragile politics.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Sectarian clashes in the northern city of Tripoli in recent weeks have left at least 15 dead and 120 wounded, and while politicians on all sides have pleaded for calm, many view the refugees as a security threat.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Gen Ibrahim Bachir, secretary-general of the High Relief Commission (HRC), an aid agency in the prime minister’s office (originally set up to coordinate post-war reconstruction in 2006), said his first priority was “keeping this country safe”.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Tension in Lebanon is high: Michel Samaha, a former minister of information with close ties to Damascus, was arrested on 9 August on charges of plotting bomb attacks in the north, including one</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">targeting the Maronite patriach.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, all major parties seem to have an interest in keeping the situation stable. Some analysts are even cautiously optimistic. Rami Khoury of the American University of Beirut told IRIN: “The major spillover from Syria has already happened, I do not expect much more. We have seen these effects from Syria, like the shootings and kidnappings and this will continue, but I do not think that things will get much worse.”</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Syria, which withdrew its army from Lebanon only in 2005, has long treated Lebanon as a client state, and many Lebanese political factions can be characterized as either generally pro- or anti-Syrian government. The March 8th alliance is a coalition of pro-Syrian forces such as the Shiite Hizbullah and Amal and the mainly Christian Free Patriotic Movement led by Michel Aoun. On the other hand, the March 14th alliance, made up of the Sunni Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces and independents, is an anti-Syrian front.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">The government has to steer a fine line when implementing its refugee support operations. “We prefer to deal with this problem smoothly and quietly without any problem that might create [a] new civil war in Lebanon,” Bachir said.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Providing refugees with official registration cards or setting up camps would be detrimental, Bachir told IRIN.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Aid workers who spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity said areas where Syrian refugees are sheltering in the north are being shelled by the Syrian army (in retaliation for rebels firing on them at night). To enter these areas aid organizations need a permit from the Lebanese Armed Forces, indicating that the government’s priority may be to prevent Lebanese infiltration of the area and the arming of the refugees, rather than ensuring their safety.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Lebanon is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, so the country is not bound to recognize refugees, whom the government simply refers to as “visitors”. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirms that the government is undertaking its own relief efforts and that the border remains open to Syrian refugees.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Palestinian syndrome</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">No stranger to refugees, Lebanon already hosts 455,000 Palestinians in 12 camps. The influx of armed Palestinian groups in the 1970s changed the balance of power among sects and led to an arms race between the different militias, culminating into a bloody civil war (1975-1990) and leaving at least 150,000 dead. Even today, Palestinian refugees are deprived of many of their basic rights in Lebanon, and the refugee camps have grown into slums, reliant on basic services provided by the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA). Clashes between extremist groups from the camps and the Lebanese army occur regularly.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: #AABBDC; border: solid #336699 1.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: -.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #336699 .75pt; mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-bspace: 6.0pt; mso-table-left: right; mso-table-lspace: 8.25pt; mso-table-rspace: 8.25pt; mso-table-top: middle; mso-table-tspace: 1.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 220px;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">   <td style="border: none; padding: 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt;">   <div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 8.25pt; mso-element-frame-vspace: 1.5pt; mso-element-left: right; mso-element-top: middle; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_5" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span><b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">We prefer to deal with this problem smoothly and quietly without   any problem that might create [a] new civil war in Lebanon</span></b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_6" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">    <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg">   </v:imagedata></v:shape></span><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td>  </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“The government is afraid that the same might happen with the Syrians, that it will become a lasting thing and people will not go back,” Simon Faddoul, president of Caritas Lebanon, told IRIN.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Many fear that the Palestinian refugee camps could be used as staging posts for the Syrian rebels.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Establishing official refugee camps might put the Lebanese government at odds with the Asad regime in Syria and would be a risk the March 8th government is not willing to take, Faddoul believes. Political interference is affecting relief efforts: until July HRC was not allowed to work in the Beqa’a valley which currently shelters many of the Syrian refugees.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Meanwhile, refugees have started to erect makeshift camps in some locations, but these lack proper sanitary facilities. Aid workers from an international NGO who preferred anonymity told IRIN that the discussion around alternatives to camps, i.e. putting up single non-permanent structures, is continuing - and decisions are needed as winter is approaching.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Wadi Khaled and the Beqa’a Valley, where most of the refugees reside, are among the coldest regions in Lebanon. Fifty-three percent of the refugees in the north have found shelter with Lebanese relatives or in other private houses, according to a recent assessment by the UN Development Programme. But in the Beqa’a, a predominantly Christian and Shiite area, the refugees (mainly Sunnis) do not have the same degree of family ties. While some refugees can afford to rent apartments and rooms in hotels, others live in derelict mosques and schools.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Caritas’s Faddoul told IRIN there could be serious accommodation problems if the refugee influx were to continue. “Numbers are growing very rapidly and space is getting scarce.”</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Numbers game</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">UNHCR Lebanon has registered 41,949 refugees from Syria. However, HRC told IRIN these figures are not accurate, as many refugees came into the country to avoid the worst fighting, but went back, and that many of those registered have been in the country as seasonal workers for a long time. Faddoul also disputes the official numbers, saying many have not registered out of fear their names could be given to the Syrian authorities.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">“We all know we have well over 150,000 refugees. We already had 300,000 Syrian seasonal workers in Lebanon before the war. How many of them come from the areas of Homs, Aleppo and Damascus, and how many have now called their families to come to Lebanon? There are thousands more who have rented hotels and apartments. They are not registered because they have the means to survive on their own. How many thousands have come and are living with their relatives? Whether we like it or not, we have to count these people as refugees,” said Faddoul.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">HRC is trying to find alternative funding sources for its relief operation, as government money is tight and major international donors do not to channel their funds through HRC. There has been a debate as to whether, and how, the Ministry of Social Affairs might take over some aid efforts, but divisions within the government have thwarted any clear decisions so far, international aid officials told IRIN on condition of anonymity.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></span><br />
</div>

LEBANON-SYRIA: The Refugee Minefield

Photo: Courtesy of Freedom House Syrian refugees have taken shelter at a makeshift tent camp set up for Syrian seasonal labourers in Al ...