Tag Archives: Statement

Israel Planning Internment Camp For 10,000 African ‘Infiltrators’

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The Media Line Staff

Jerusalem, Israel Arieh O’Sullivan – Israel’s Cabinet is expected to decide to build a massive detention facility to house some of the 10,000 African migrants who have flooded into the country.

The discussion is set for Sunday and the Prime Minister’s office said the facility was part of a multi-pronged effort to end the wave of Africans–some fleeing war, others in search of jobs–infiltrating into the country.

The session comes a week after Israel began construction of a formidable barrier along parts of the 250-kilometer-long (160-mile) border with the Egyptian Sinai and signals a firm attempt by the government to tread where no other Israeli government has done before in addressing the flood of Africans entering the country illegally.

“For the first time, we are working to formulate a comprehensive migration policy that will be anchored in Knesset legislation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

“The phenomenon of infiltrators into Israel endangers the Jewish and democratic character of the state of Israel and burdens its social welfare services, health system, law enforcement authorities and local councils,” Netanyahu said.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s office said the goal was to reduce the economic incentives for infiltrators to come to Israel and thus reduce the flow into the country.

But, with a short term internment followed by a chance to earn enormous wages by African standards, it isn’t clear if the goal is achievable.

Israel’s Interior Minister Eli Yishai, head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, was one of the major proponents of preventing non-Jews from illegally entering the country in order to save Israel from what he called a “natural disaster.”

Reacting to criticism of his fear-mongering policies, Yishai said last week that the reality in some parts of the country has become intolerable.

“I urge those who think I have horns to visit the poor neighborhoods of southern Tel Aviv, neighborhoods that have been swarmed by infiltrators and are collapsing, places where women, children and the elderly are afraid to go out at night … I’d like to send 30 or 40 infiltrators to their neighborhoods and hear what they have to say afterwards,” he said.

“I am more sensitive and more merciful than all those who speak against me,” Yishai added. “If we don’t practice a clear, tough and decisive policy, in 20 or 30 years, the country will be overrun by infiltrators harming the demographic character of the country.”

The exact number of Africa migrants is not known. Estimates put it at about 31,000 with over half coming from Eritrea, 30 percent from Sudan and the remainder from across the continent.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s office said the proposed center would be “open” and will provide inmates with basic needs such as lodging, food, drink and health care.

Once a decision was reached, it was expected be operational within six months. The camp would house those caught attempting to slip into the country and not for the tens of thousand already inside.

Last year, there was a sharp increase in the number of infiltrators, with further increases in recent months. In 2009, an average of approximately 300 infiltrators entered Israel every month. The monthly average for 2010 currently stands at approximately 1,200, with almost 1,300 in November so far, the prime minister’s office said.

But military commanders said they saw even larger numbers. Lt. Col. Nir Harpaz, commander of a battalion patrolling the border, told The Media Line his soldiers on the lookout for armed terrorists were putting themselves in danger when confronting the bands of infiltrators.

“You don’t open fire at these guys. You don’t shoot them. That is forbidden. It’s true that they are violating Israel’s sovereignty and crossing over but you aren’t going to be shooting at someone who is only coming to look for a job,” Harpaz said.

“The problem is that terrorists have tried to hitch a ride on these foreigners. They come in 20-30, two terrorists can be disguised in this group and then try to attack themselves on my soldiers,” Harpaz said. “They understand that if they are caught they will be put in a detention center where it will be crowded but after a month they will get released and then they’ll find a job. The government has to solve this.”

After a short detention, the illegal aliens, most of them fleeing forced conscription in Eritrea, or the war in Sudan, are dumped in the streets of Tel Aviv where they live in shelters or eke out a living doing menial labor. Refugees speak of harrowing journeys on their way to Israel. They pay about $2,000 to Bedouin guides to sneak them over the border.

Israel has already issued instructions to its Population, Immigration and Borders Authority (PIBA) to start cracking down on Israelis who hire the illegal migrants. PIBA officials have reportedly balked at carrying out the orders until a facility providing basic needs to the Africans was available.

According to the proposal, the establishment of the center will facilitate enforcement against those who employ infiltrators without work permits. Israel was also seeking ways to rid the country of the tens of thousands of illegal African workers, including talks with other countries who would agree to take them.

Yohannes Bayu, himself a recognized political refugee from Ethiopia, has set up the African Refugee Development Center to help the refugees. He urged the government to set up a proper procedure to decide who is a political refugee and who was just looking for work. He said the fence would not solve the issue.

“Even if there will be a fence out there and someone’s life is in danger outside of their borders Israel has to protect those people. Those who are asking for asylum are saying ‘save me. I am dying.’ Even if there is a wall there has to be a mechanism to let these people be saved. That is what international law says,” Bayu told The Media Line.

Attorney Anat Ben-Dor, director of the Refugee Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University, said that because of its history, Israel is obligated to extend its hand to help the refugees.

“I think Israel as a Jewish country has a heritage and maybe some sort of a duty, derived straight from Jewish values to provide sanctuary to people who flee persecution. And I would like this country to fulfill its role as a Jewish and as a democratic state and be a safe haven to people who suffer persecution,” Ben-Dor told The Media Line.

The flood of Africans began as a trickle in 2005 and were mainly refugees fleeing the war in Darfur, Sudan. The previous prime minister, Ehud Olmert, agreed after years of indecision to grant political asylum to about 500 refugees. But the government has been stingy ever since with only a few individuals being given asylum status despite over 20,000 requests.

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Exploding Children in Climate Change Video Sparks Outrage

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Lawrence Mijares – AHN News Contributor

London, United Kingdom (AHN) – The video-sharing site, “You Tube”, withdrew a four-minute video campaigning for climate change after several viewers and climate change skeptics were outraged by its graphic depiction of exploding children who refused to listen to a carbon cutting emission project.

Ironically, the video was made by Richard Curtis, film writer and director of such romantic comedy and feel-good films such as “Love Actually”, “Blackadder”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Notting Hill.”

The video entitled: “No Pressure” is part of the “10:10″ climate change campaign and had an intentional comical tone where it had other “disinterested” guest cameos exploding. For example former footballer, David Ginola and former X-Files star, Gillian Anderson exploded.

In explaining that the detonation of the children was for maximum impact in driving home the campaign’s point, 10:10 in a public statement said, “With climate change becoming increasingly threatening, and decreasingly talked about in the media, we wanted to find a way to bring this critical issues back into the headlines whilst makgin people laugh.”

The statement continued to say, “Many people found the resulting film extremely funny, but unfortunately some didn’t and we sincerely apology to anybody we have offended. As a result of these concerns we’ve taken it off our website. We won’t be making any attempt to censor or remove other versions currently in

circulation on the internet.”

Franny Armstrong, 10:10 founder, was more direct and unapologetic in justifying the video’s graphic explosion scene: “We ‘killed’ five people to make No Pressure – a mere blip compared to the 300,000 real people who now die each year from climate change.”

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Staples of Writing an Effective Grant Proposal

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Grant money is available for the people who need it, but who will know that you need it without a well written request?

For anyone who has ever tried acquiring federal or private grant money, the process can be completely overwhelming. Once you weed through all of the government agencies, and public and private foundations, there are the very specific guidelines and requirements for qualification that you have to fit into before you can obtain any funding.

Then there’s the application process. You actually have to write a grant proposal? This is like the essay question that’s worth have of your grade. Take a deep breath! You don’t have to do this alone.

There are companies like USA Grant Team who specialize in organizing all of the different types of grants and, taking your specific situation, like the money cupid and matching you with any and all of the grants that you may qualify for, but then, it gets even better. They will assist you through the application process and pitch your proposal in the most effective way possible.

There are several elements that need to be effectively covered and if you’re not prepared for that, it just might cost you thousand of dollars!

A grant proposal should contain six essential elements:

• Opening Statements

• Explanation of Necessity

• Description

• Budget:

• Affiliate Information:

• Summary

The Opening Statement is brief “pitch” encompassing the who, what, why and how. This should be a short synopsis of what your organization does, who the people are behind the operation, your mission statement, and your plans of implementing your specific purpose. You want to capture your audience’s attention with this opening statement, but it should be concise and lack verbosity.

In your Explanation of Necessity, you can go into a slightly more detail about the project, describing what importance it has and who benefits from it. A background of the endeavor may be helpful here, being careful to not be too extensive, while still highlighting the most significant details.

The Description section of your proposal is the place for details. A portrayal of the project and clarification of procedures to implementation is appropriate here to effectively convince any grantors reviewing your application of its necessity. Here you want a very intricately considered plan to explain your objectives and execution.

A carefully designed Budget will indicate that all money is effectively and efficiently spent with the most economical tactic. This is the defining factor in a lot of cases where so many righteous causes so desperately need the money. With numerous deserving applicants, only one will get the grant so of course the donors want to know that all funds will be wisely spent to accomplish the most advantage possible.

The next section, the Affiliate Information, is a depiction of the organization, management and the experience of the team. This is where the key members are highlighted and their successes and skills can be exhibited for the enhancement of project. What will each member bring to the mission and how will the team compliment each other and the project.

The Summary is just that. A laconic review of the who, what, why, and how that has already been described throughout the proposal. Touching briefly on each key point of the Opening Statement, Explanation of Necessity, Description, Budget, and Affiliate Information will encompass the heart and soul of your entire proposal.

This may seem like a lot, in fact it is quite fastidious, however, professional grant writers have expertise in satisfying these rigorous requirements with articulate verbiage.

If you think obtaining grant money is impossible, talk with a professional consultant. All the research has been done, and grant writers are providing an invaluable service to American citizens.

USA Grant Team offers unique professional grant writing services and research to 501(c)(3) non profit agencies, small business, woman, minority and public entities throughout the world.