Refugees
“Nobody can live like this”: A young refugee in Hamburg speaks out
By Ute Reissner and Benjamin Hader, 9 October 2105
Around 800 refugees have been living in a tent city since July in an outlying Hamburg suburb of Jenfeld, which is affected by poverty.
EU intensifies anti-refugee military operations in the Mediterranean
By Johannes Stern, 8 October 2015
The second phase of European Union naval operations in the Mediterranean officially began this week.
German political establishment lines up against refugees
By Christoph Dreier, 8 October 2015
The German government is making a systematic effort to deter refugees from entering Europe,encourage xenophobia and seal off continent's borders.
A dirty deal in Brussels: EU to stop refugees with Erdogan’s support
By Johannes Stern, 8 October 2015
Erdogan expects the European powers to abandon all criticism of his regime, and above all support his foreign policy plans.
Bodies of at least 95 refugees found on Libyan shores
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 October 2015
The latest tragedy marks a continuation of the humanitarian crisis caused by imperialist wars in North Africa and the Middle-East, and the repression of asylum-seekers.
Refugee crisis exposes Scottish National Party’s human rights hypocrisy
By Stephen Alexander, 5 October 2015
Underlying the SNP’s cheap anti-Tory populism and fawning before the European Union are definite material interests.
German academic Jörg Baberowski stirs up hatred against refugees
By Christoph Dreier, 3 October 2015
In a manner typical of the radical right, Baberowski attempts to incite the poorest layers of society against immigrants.
German parliament prepares crackdown on refugees
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 2 October 2015
The draconian proposals would slash social assistance to migrants and expedite deportations.
German president stirs up public opinion against refugees
By Johannes Stern, 30 September 2015
President Joachim Gauck regards the refugee crisis, brought about by Western war policy, as an opportunity to continue Germany’s imperialist course.
German ruling party lauds Hungarian Premier Orban
By Markus Salzmann, 30 September 2015
The repulsive policy of the CSU stands in stark contrast to the wave of sympathy for refugees among the population.
German federal and state governments agree on hardline approach to refugees
By Martin Kreikenbaum, 28 September 2015
At a refugee conference in Berlin, additional countries were declared to be safe countries of origin, and welfare benefits were sharply reduced for refugees.
Agonising suicide in Australian refugee detention centre
By Max Newman, 28 September 2015
All the circumstances surrounding Ali Jaffari’s death point to the impact of the harsh measures being taken by Australian governments to repel asylum seekers.
Hungary deploys army against refugees
By Markus Salzmann, 26 September 2015
The mobilization of the military at the border, while targeting refugees, is aimed at annulling fundamental democratic rights for the entire population.
EU summit reinforces Fortress Europe
By Peter Schwarz, 25 September 2015
The adopted measures are aimed at keeping refugees out, corralling them in camps near the borders and restricting their freedom of movement within Europe.
EU adopts plan to keep out refugees
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 24 September 2015
The purpose of the new refugee quota system is to staunch the influx of migrants, expedite their deportation and seal off the EU’s external borders.
German interior minister plans abolition of right to asylum
By Dietmar Henning, 22 September 2015
Germany’s interior minister and the EU heads of government intend to adopt new measures against refugees this week.
German government adopts drastic measures to deter refugees
By Peter Schwarz, 19 September 2015
Refugees are to be scared away through hunger and homelessness, and transported back like cattle to countries where unspeakable conditions prevail.
The resurrection of borders in Europe
By Peter Schwarz, 18 September 2015
It is only a matter of time before the soldiers of different countries, who are presently warding off refugees at the various borders, start shooting at each other.
France to close borders, Germany to cut benefits as refugee crisis escalates
By Alex Lantier, 18 September 2015
The major European powers are intensifying their attacks on hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing from war-torn countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans.
Hungarian border police fire tear gas and water cannon at refugees
By Chris Marsden, 17 September 2015
Whatever official criticisms are levelled against Hungary, all of the major European powers are responding in a similarly brutal fashion.
Hungary closes its border with Serbia
By Markus Salzmann, 16 September 2015
Hungary detained over 150 migrants Tuesday after closing its last remaining border crossing, leaving hundreds of refugees on the Serbian side of a razor wire fence.
Refugee crisis reveals human cost of French NPA’s “humanitarian” wars
By Anthony Torres, 16 September 2015
Imperialist wars in Libya and Syria, promoted by the New Anti-capitalist Party, have destroyed entire societies and forced millions of people to flee
Germany closes its borders to refugees
By Peter Schwarz, 15 September 2015
The closure of the German border has triggered an international chain reaction, with refugees being pushed from one border to another, detained and mistreated.
Rallies in Europe and Australia in defence of refugees
By our reporters, 14 September 2015
Hundreds of thousands rallied over the weekend to support the democratic rights of refugees and to protest right-wing policies of governments throughout the world.
Refugees in Europe confront catastrophic conditions
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 12 September 2015
The generosity of broad layers of the population towards refugees stands in complete contrast to the reaction of the European governments and security agencies.
German newspaper close to the Left Party slanders refugees
By Christoph Dreier, 12 September 2015
The newspaper Junge Welt has called solidarity with the refugees a “marketing tool” of German business.
European powers prepare to sink refugee vessels in Mediterranean
By Alex Lantier, 11 September 2015
As they prepare to launch a new escalation of the war in Syria, the European powers are trying to prevent refugees fleeing the carnage from arriving in Europe.
EU prepares plan to turn away masses of refugees from Europe
By Alex Lantier, 10 September 2015
The European Union intends to spend much less than far poorer Middle Eastern countries on the refugee crisis caused by NATO wars in Libya and Syria.
Deported Kosovo refugees left with nothing
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 10 September 2015
More refugees came to Germany from Kosovo in the first half of 2015 than from any other European country, and to no other country are so many now being deported.
Hundreds arrested in California anti-immigrant sweep
By Jake Dean, 10 September 2015
The Obama administration continues its frontal assault on the democratic rights of immigrant workers.
Refugee crisis in Europe: Popular support for migrants confronts official inhumanity
By Ulrich Rippert, 9 September 2015
The outpouring of support for the refugees has exposed the chasm separating state policy from the sentiments of broad masses of people.
Desperate refugees storm registration office in Berlin
By Stefan Steinberg, 9 September 2015
“They force me to wait over a month to register my claim to asylum. It is no way to treat a fellow human being.”
New Zealand political leaders feign sympathy for refugees
By the Socialist Equality Group (New Zealand), 9 September 2015
The political establishment has sought to whip up hostility toward foreigners, while supporting the US-led wars that have produced the refugee crisis.
German government tightens measures against refugees
By Peter Schwarz, 8 September 2015
The grand coalition has made it clear that the admission of 20,000 refugees from Hungary was a one-time exception.
Refugees greeted in Germany with a wave of solidarity
By Marianne Arens, 8 September 2015
WSWS reporters spoke with refugees from Syria and Germans offering assistance in Neu-Isenburg in southern Hesse.
Australia: Thousands rally in defense of refugees at nationwide vigils
By Oscar Grenfell, 8 September 2015
The attendance at the vigils highlights the widespread sympathy for refugees among workers, young people, students and others.
Exploiting refugee crisis, NY Times’ Kristof calls for escalation of war in Syria
By Barry Grey, 8 September 2015
Media propagandists like Kristof shed crocodile tears for refugees in order to argue for an escalation of the criminal policies that produced the catastrophe.
Austria plans to close border as migrants surge across Europe
By Alex Lantier, 7 September 2015
The refugee crisis, the largest since World War II, is rooted in imperialist wars in Syria, Iraq and Ukraine, waged by the United States and its allies in Europe.
NATO powers move to exploit refugee crisis to intensify bombing of Syria
By Alex Lantier, 7 September 2015
Washington and its European allies plan to exploit the refugee crisis to escalate their bloody war for regime change in Syria, which would create countless more refugees.
Australian government refuses to lift refugee intake
By Mike Head, 7 September 2015
As Abbott feigned compassion for the asylum seekers in Europe, he was preparing to extend Australia’s current bombing campaign from Iraq into Syria.
Australian senate inquiry masks responsibility for Nauru refugee camp abuses
By Max Newman, 7 September 2015
Further evidence reveals inhumane conditions and treatment of refugees in Australia’s illegal offshore processing facilities.
European governments treat refugees as a hostile invasion force
By Peter Schwarz, 5 September 2015
European governments are treating the stream of refugees as a hostile invasion force, constructing border fences, using tear gas and deploying the army against migrants.
Death of Syrian infant exposes Canadian complicity in refugee crisis
By Keith Jones, 5 September 2015
The Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper rebuffed efforts by a woman living in Vancouver to rescue her Syrian relatives, including three-year-old Alan Kurdi.
Who is responsible for the refugee crisis in Europe?
By Bill Van Auken, 4 September 2015
The US media’s coverage of the refugee crisis is deliberately silent on Washington’s central role in creating this unfolding tragedy on Europe’s borders.
EU powers treat refugees as pawns
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 4 September 2015
In a sordid competition, almost all EU countries have tightened their asylum laws and repressive measures against refugees seeking escape from war-ravaged countries.
Thousands of refugees held at Budapest train station
By Markus Salzmann, 3 September 2015
Record numbers of refugees are fleeing Syria and other countries devastated by the intervention of the Western powers.
German chancellor feigns sympathy for refugees
By Peter Schwarz, 3 September 2015
The policy of the German government is characterised by a disregard for refugees fleeing for their lives from the war zones in the Middle East and Africa.
Refugee crisis deepens across central Europe
By Patrick Martin, 2 September 2015
While the EU governments are intensifying repressive measures, many ordinary people have shown a healthy sympathy for the refugees fleeing war and repression.
UK government pursuing vicious anti-immigrant response to migrant crisis
By Tom Pearse, 2 September 2015
Official policy of the Conservative government is focused on whipping up nationalist anti-immigrant sentiment and echoes that long associated with far right-wing forces.
German Left Party leader proposes separating refugees according to ethnicity
By our correspondent, 2 September 2015
By declaring conflicts to be the result of ethnic differences, the Left Party diverts attention from the intolerable conditions in refugee camps and encourages xenophobia.
German defence minister exploits refugee crisis to strengthen military
By Wolfgang Weber, 1 September 2015
Constraints on the domestic use of the German military, in place since the end of Nazi rule, are being wiped away.
German interior minister plans further attacks on refugees
By Marianne Arens, 31 August 2015
A day before German leaders shed crocodile tears over the ongoing refugee crisis, interior minister de Maizière proposed legislative measures to reduce immigration into the country.
Casualties of “Fortress Europe”: Refugees dead on land and sea
By Marianne Arens and Patrick Martin, 29 August 2015
On the same day, 71 refugees were found asphyxiated in a truck in Austria, while another 250 died off the Libyan coast when two ships capsized.
The refugee crisis and the inhuman face of European capitalism
By Peter Schwarz, 28 August 2015
The horrors facing refugees are compounded by the day. On Thursday, two boats capsized near Libya, with hundreds feared dead. This follows the death of up to 50 Syrian refugees in a truck in Austria.
Fifty refugees die in ship’s hold in new Mediterranean migrant tragedy
By Robert Stevens, 27 August 2015
Around 50 refugees and asylum seekers were found dead in the hold of a boat off the coast of Libya Wednesday morning.
Attacks on refugee camp encouraged by German government’s right-wing policies
By Christoph Dreier, 26 August 2015
Officials shedding crocodile tears over right-wing violence cannot disguise the fact that the right-wing policies of the German government have contributed to the attacks.
German and French leaders meet in Berlin summit on refugee crisis
By Alex Lantier, 25 August 2015
Amidst the greatest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, the French and German governments are planning a drastic clampdown on immigrants.
Macedonian government cracks down on refugees
By Markus Salzmann, 25 August 2015
The brutality of the right-wing regime in Skopje is a sharp expression of the inhumane policies carried out by all European governments against refugees.
Troops fire on refugees trying to enter Macedonia
By Bill Van Auken, 22 August 2015
The vicious assault unfolded amid a crisis over how to deal with the growing numbers fleeing to Europe to escape war and poverty.
Capitalism and the global refugee crisis
By Robert Stevens, 21 August 2015
Millions have been made homeless and thrown into grinding poverty as a result of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya.
Demand grows for closure of UK’s Yarl’s Wood detention centre
By Margot Miller and Robert Stevens, 19 August 2015
The women at Yarl’s Wood are amongst the most vulnerable in society, fleeing from war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Scores of refugees die brutally in the Mediterranean
By Robert Stevens, 18 August 2015
At least 49 migrants died in the hold of an overcrowded fishing boat off the coast of Libya Saturday, thought to have asphyxiated after inhaling fumes from fuel.
Refugees confront appalling conditions in the Balkans
By Martin Kreikenbaum, 18 August 2015
Refugees traveling the 4,000 kilometres between Syria and Germany, France and Sweden must endure a treacherous journey through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary.
Austrian government intensifies crackdown on refugees
By Markus Salzmann, 17 August 2015
Hundreds of refugees, many from the Middle East, have been camped out in searing heat in front of the main refugee centre near Vienna.
UK Conservative government escalates attacks on asylum seekers
By Jean Shaoul, 14 August 2015
A new Immigration Bill will slash the already miserly level of support given to families seeking asylum.
German companies profit from the new “refugee industry”
By Sven Heymann, 14 August 2015
Thousands of people who seek refuge in Germany from poverty, war and dictatorship find catastrophic conditions upon their arrival.
Syriza government steps up repression of refugees
By Robert Stevens, 13 August 2015
Since Syriza came to office in January, its entire policy of dealing with refugees and asylum seekers has been based on repression.
Hundreds dead as refugee boat sinks in Mediterranean
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 7 August 2015
The US and European powers bear responsibility for the mass deaths of refugees trying to escape the terrible conditions in their home countries.
Calls for deployment of German army to deal with refugees
By Martin Kreikenbaum, 4 August 2015
A leading Social Democrat has called for the army to operate German refugee reception centres.
UK government whips up anti-immigrant hysteria over Eurotunnel security at Calais
By Chris Marsden, 30 July 2015
The desperate efforts of migrants to enter Britain led to the death Tuesday night of a Sudanese man who was hit by a truck leaving a cross Channel ferry.
German politicians agitate against immigrants
By Martin Kreikenbaum, 23 July 2015
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière has called for further restrictions on refugees and demanded that already meager benefits be cut.
Police attacks on migrants intensify as Calais ferry strike enters fourth week
By Dorota Niemitz, 22 July 2015
The MyFerryLink strike is intensifying the migrant crisis in the nearby refugee camp, as well as escalating tensions between France and the UK.
UN report: Syria faces worst refugee crisis in recent history
By Thomas Gaist, 10 July 2015
One-sixth of the total Syrian population has fled the country and some 230,000 have been killed as a result of the civil war that erupted in 2011, according to the UN estimates.
German government further restricts right to asylum
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 7 July 2015
The German parliament passed a law July 2 that further criminalizes refugees.
World medical body denounces Australia’s refugee detention censorship law
By Will Morrow, 4 July 2015
The new law makes it a crime, punishable with two years in jail, to publicly reveal information about the conditions in Australia’s refugee detention camps.
Detention centre staff defy Australian government’s refugee censorship laws
By Will Morrow, 2 July 2015
Medical professionals and former staff in Australia’s refugee detention network have challenged the new “Border Force Act.”
Australian Labor leader pledges loyalty to government’s assault on democratic rights
By Mike Head, 27 June 2015
Labor helped ram through an anti-refugee bill amid an escalating terrorist fear campaign by the government and the corporate media.
EU summit strengthens brutal refugee policy
By Martin Kreikenbaum, 27 June 2015
Deportations are to be more effectively organized and special camps created in which asylum proceedings will be fast-tracked under the supervision of EU authorities.
EU begins military intervention in Mediterranean
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 25 June 2015
The military operation will use military force against refugee boats, particularly in Libya, and involves a massive expansion of intelligence and police powers.
5,000 protest in Berlin against EU refugee policy
By Stefan Steinberg, 24 June 2015
Protesters demonstrating against the EU’s brutal immigration policy were attacked in the German press for engaging in “political pornography.”
Eritrea faces societal collapse
By Jean Shaoul, 22 June 2015
Eritreans are the victims of brutal wars stoked by US imperialism and its European allies to control the region’s energy resources.
Worldwide displaced population reaches record 59.5 million in 2014
By Evan Blake, 20 June 2015
The annual UNHCR report documents the plight of refugees and internally displaced persons globally and traces some of the conflicts that have created this humanitarian disaster.
New Zealand government complicit in Australia’s persecution of refugees
By Tom Peters, 19 June 2015
Prime Minister Key defended Australian officials for intercepting 65 asylum seekers bound for New Zealand and sending them on a life-threatening voyage back to Indonesia.
EU dispute over refugees intensifies
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 18 June 2015
European governments are at loggerheads on accepting refugees, but all agree on measures to deter and repatriate them.
US deported 260,000 for drug offenses over five-year period
By Tom Hall, 18 June 2015
Even legal immigrants spend months or years in prison without bail awaiting deportation for minor drug offenses, according to a report issued this week by Human Rights Watch.
The callous and criminal treatment of refugees
By James Cogan, 17 June 2015
The brutal measures used against refugees are a warning to workers of the anti-democratic methods being prepared against the working class as a whole.
Global refugee crisis worst since World War II
By Joseph Kishore, 16 June 2015
An Amnesty International report released Monday provides a sense of the disaster produced by global capitalism and the operations of imperialism throughout the world.
Australian government tacitly admits payments to “people smugglers”
By James Cogan, 15 June 2015
Indonesian police are investigating the allegations, which legal experts believe could be violations of Australian, Indonesian and international law.
European Union squabbles over refugee quotas
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 30 May 2015
While military intervention on the coast of Libya to destroy refugee boats is welcomed by all member states, the question of accepting refugees has unleashed a fierce dispute.
Rohingya refugees abused and killed in camps in Malaysia/Thailand
By John Roberts, 29 May 2015
The special meeting on Indian Ocean refugees today in Bangkok will do nothing to ease the plight of thousands of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis fleeing persecution.
Life inside a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh
By our correspondent, 29 May 2015
Over 200,000 Burmese Rohingya live in scores of refugee settlements in Bangladesh.
Hundreds dead in refugee graves in Malaysia
By John Roberts, 25 May 2015
Large-scale operations transporting refugees could not have occurred without the involvement of state officials in Thailand and Malaysia.
EU approves military operation against Mediterranean refugees
By Johannes Stern, 21 May 2015
On Monday, EU foreign and defence ministers agreed to plans for a military intervention against refugees in the Mediterranean and North Africa.
German police officer accused of torturing refugees
By Verena Nees, 21 May 2015
A federal police officer in Hannover has been accused of assaulting and dragging a shackled detainee and forcing another to eat rancid pork while he was held down on the floor.
Online video exposes French police violence against migrants in Calais
By Kanda Gabriel, 21 May 2015
French police were filmed beating migrants and spraying them with pepper spray at a roadside, as they sought to hide in trucks bound for Britain.
Australia sets precedent for worldwide assault on refugees
By Mike Head, 20 May 2015
Governments in Europe and Asia are emulating Australia’s draconian “border protection” regime aimed at blocking asylum seekers.
Conditions worsen for refugees trapped on boats in South East Asia
By John Roberts and Peter Symonds, 19 May 2015
Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have closed their borders to thousands of asylum seekers adrift at sea in atrocious conditions.
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