Related: Occupation Iraq: Refugees Regrets
"Afghan boys seeking opportunity in Europe strain youth services" by Caroline Brothers, International Herald Tribune | August 30, 2009
PARIS - Hundreds of lone Afghan boys are making their way across Europe.
You sure they aren't suiciders?
Although a few are as young as 12, most are teenagers seeking an education and the future that has not materialized in their own country, which is still struggling with poverty and violence eight years after the end of Taliban rule. Their unauthorized arrival is adding a new dimension to the issue of clandestine migration, while challenging the protection systems of the nations they cross - which, under national and international law, have an obligation to provide for them.
You can thank us later, Europe.
“Afghanistan is hemorrhaging its youth into Europe,’’ said Pierre Henry, director of France Terre d’Asile, an organization that works with the European Union, the UN refugee agency, and the French government on asylum affairs....
This is so weird because I just saw "District 9" and the allegories to so many people and places on earth where overwhelming.
Overall, the Separated Children in Europe Program estimates that there are 100,000 unaccompanied children from non-EU countries within the European Union, with many requesting no protection in any form. The program is run jointly by the International Save the Children Alliance and UNHCR.
This year, for the first time, Afghans have overtaken sub-Saharan Africans as the biggest group of isolated foreign minors to request admission to child protection services in Paris, said Charlotte Aveline, an adviser on child protection at Paris City Hall....
Five youths interviewed for this article told of being exploited as underage labor, of dodging police violence in European ports, or of risking death under wheels of trucks when they hitched rides under the chassis.....
--more--"
"Karzai lead grows in Afghan voting; But rival sees fraud as results are trickling in" by Jason Straziuso and Robert H. Reid, Associated Press | August 30, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - .... Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain paid a surprise visit yesterday to British troops in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, hoping to counter critics who accuse his government of failing to support Britain’s mission here.
Some things are more important than Kennedy's funeral.
A British Marine was killed by a bomb in Helmand on the day of the prime minister’s visit, the Ministry of Defense said in London.....
During his visit with British forces, Brown promised to provide more equipment to help his soldiers cope with Taliban roadside bombs, the major threat to NATO forces. More than 200 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001, more than Britain lost in the Iraq conflict....
Fraud allegations from Abdullah Abdullah, President Hamid Karzai’s top challenger, and other presidential candidates, as well as low turnout in the violent south, could strip the election of legitimacy, not only with Afghans, but also with the United States and its international partners who have staked their Afghan policies on support for a credible government.
A widely accepted Afghan government is one of the pillars of President Obama’s strategy to turn the tide of the Taliban insurgency. The election controversy has boiled over as US and NATO casualties are rising, undermining support for the war in the United States, Britain, and other countries with troops here....
Good. That is the QUICKEST WAY to END IT!!!!
Btw, I'm no longer interested in rigged elections, readers.
Senior officials from 27 countries, including special US envoy Richard Holbrooke, are to meet in Paris on Wednesday to discuss Afghanistan, and the disputed election is likely to dominate the agenda....
So says the media; I'll bet they will be talking about Pakistan (and Iran) instead.
--more--"
