| From: | Sommers sommers@*****.umich.edu |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Refugees (Was: Institutional Racism and Cultural Bias) |
| Date: | Sun, 23 May 1999 10:59:51 -0400 |
>According to Sommers, at 8:54 on 21 May 99, the word on
>the street was...
>
>> They were sent to Guantanamo and Guam because they are territories and not
>> actually part of the US. If a person lands on US soil and is a refugge
>> (political, from war, etc) and not for economic reasons, he is
>> automatically granted asylum and put on the track to Residence. Since the
>> whole point is we would like to see them returned to their homes...
>
>That's the bit the media never explain, and in that light it makes more
>sense. Still, IMHO it's ludicrous to fly someone from the Balkans to an
>island in the _Pacific_ just to house them somewhere for a while.
That is true, it does seem like a long way to go. But, take a look at map
at its not really quite as far as it seems. At least as compared to fly
them over to the US. And there also has been a policy that some Albanians
who have relatives in the US and wish to go their have been allowed to fly
directly there and receive refugee status.
>> The reason that they seem tougher is because its so automatic, whereas the
>> European countries tend to be more strenuous about their requirements. This
>> is from what I remember my dad (from the Netherlands) telling me, so if I'm
>> wrong please tell me.
>
>Here, refugees are put into refugee centers where they are processed
>(which can currently take up to three years or so, but everybody involved
>would like to see that reduced). Then, if they are found to be legitimate
>refugees -- not having fled for economic or other such reasons, etc. --
>they are given "refugee status" (I think it's called) which allows them to
>stay, get a job, and other things like that.
Generally, that's the way things are done here. However, it is usually must
faster than 3 years to process them. Once they are in the county, I believe
that they are immediately put on the track of Permanent resident, which can
lead to Naturalization as any other immigrant.
>However, guidelines for what makes a person a refugee to be accepted,
>rather than someone to be sent back to their country of origin have been
>tightened over the past decade or so due to the influx of refugees since
>the early 1990s. For example, in any EU country you have to apply for
>refugee status in the EU country you initially entered -- you can't go to
>Spain, then travel to Germany, and apply for refugee status there.
While the US has tightened them somewhat, it is still not too hard once you
get in. As long as you're frmo a country that is on an approved list of
countries (such as China, Cuba, Yugoslavia, etc.) its hard not to get it.
>> Trying to inject some Shadowrun into this, it points to the problems that
>> could occur if the US split. It went from being one country to about whta,
>> 6 or 7 countries? All of them to various degrees are split on racial
>> points, from the elves of the Tir to the Indians of the NAN, to the French
>> in Quebec. While the SR thoughts on mega-corps may be off (although I still
>> think its possible) there does seems to be a very strong possibility of the
>> country eventually splitting up into a bunch of smaller ethnic countries.
>
>I'd say that depends on a great many factors. As long as a people feels it
>belongs together, I doubt you'd get much splitting-up. For example, if all
>the different tribes in the Pueblo Corporate Council (to grab a random
>country) see themselves as PCC citizens first and tribe members second,
>there is little chance of the PCC going into civil war, etc. OTOH if all
>the tribes in the PCC view themselves as different from all the other
>tribes in the PCC, you have a potential disaster (as can be seen on the
>Balkans). Other factors are also important, like an external enemy can
>help keep people together who would otherwise fight amongst themselves.
Sorry, let me clarify. What I meant was that this was the result of the
Balkinization. The US goes from one big country to a whole bunch of smaller
countries that are focused around race or ethnic background.
Even then, after the breakup of the US occured, there was more
Balkinization. The NAN when it started was a fairly cohesive group of
governments. Shortly after, differences between the Sioux and the Pueblo,
for example, served to lessen the effect of the NAN council. After that the
Tir, Aztlan, and a few others broke off entirely.
Sommers
Insert witty quote here.
