Australia: residents rally against racism

from ABC:

A rally will be held in Newcastle today to counter a racist campaign against Sudanese refugees, who have been resettled in the city.

A group called the Concerned Citizens Collective claims the Sudanese are linked to local crime activity.

A claim police have refuted.

A pro-refugee meeting has been organised to rally against racism.

Organiser Simon Butler says the community needs to stand up and oppose such blatant intolerance.

"I feel disgust, outrage, but I also feel that people need to stand up against this racism, which will only be emboldened if people stay silent," he said.

"I think we need to nip this in the bud with a strong positive public response of anti-racism and really demonstrate that we're not going to tolerate racists."

"Our message for the protest is 'refugees are welcome, racists are not'," Mr Butler added.

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Thailand: Myanmar workers forgotten victims of tsunami

from The Star:

... another group of victims - thousands of legal and illegal migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar - soon became the forgotten victims of the catastrophe.

Myanmar's repressive military government didn't send anyone to Thailand to help the survivors from its country, and Thailand's government didn't offer them any money.

Many illegal migrant workers from Myanmar soon went into hiding in hard-hit areas to avoid being caught by police, according to activists and relief agencies.

Others lost their low-paying jobs at construction sites, on fishing boats or at rubber plantations when the businesses they worked for were destroyed by the tsunami.

And many legal migrant workers who had survived the killer wave lost the Thai government registration cards required to work in Thailand when they lost everything during the Dec. 26 disaster, which killed more than 5,300 people and left more than 3,100 missing and presumed dead.

Some officials believe that as many as 1,000 people from Myanmar may have died in the tsunami, but the large number of undocumented migrants means the exact number may never be known.

Also, many migrants refused to go to official mortuaries to identify their colleagues, fearing that police would arrest them for not having their government registration cards, aid workers said.

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USA: migrant dies in desert

from KOBT.com

An illegal immigrant has collapsed and died in the southern Luna County desert.

The Luna County Sheriff�s Department identifies him as 45-year-old Jesus Audon Saenz of Placer de Guadalupe, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Saenz� body has been sent to the state Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque for an autopsy.

Officers say Saenz' companion told authorities they'd been walking for about an hour and had crossed into the United States when Saenz said he had to rest for a few minutes.

Authorities say the two continued to walk for about 15 minutes, then Saenz fell. His companion walked to New Mexico Highway 9 and flagged down a US Border Patrol unit.

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USA: people smuggler accused of torturing migrants

from AZ Central

Three undocumented immigrants weary from their trip into the United States found extortion, fear and even torture at a Three Points property used by a people-smuggling ring, a Pima County prosecutor said.

The accusations came during the trial of Hector Jesus Soria, 21, who faces two counts of kidnapping and one count of aggravated assault for the September 2003 attack. He faces at least 14 years in prison if convicted.

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UK: Homeless migrant worker loses her legs after suffering hypothermia and frostbite.

from the Belfast Telegraph

One of Antrim Borough Council's representatives on the Northern Ireland Housing Council has demanded a full probe into the harrowing case of the migrant worker who lost her legs after sleeping rough in Coleraine.

SDLP man Donovan McClelland said he was "utterly appalled and deeply saddened" that the 23-year-old Ukranian woman felt she had no alternative but to sleep on the streets.

The woman, who spoke no English, was left to fend for herself after she lost her job in December.

But the bitter winter chill took a terrible toll and when the alarm was finally raised she was found to be suffering from hypothermia and frostbite.

Medics battled to stabilise her condition, but they had no option but to amputate both her legs.
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Brunei: Man caned for immigration offences, woman jailed for sheltering immigrant

from Bruni Direct

A Malaysian woman who gave shelter and food to a 31-year-old immigration offender was sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment and fined $500 or a week's jail in default by the Bandar Magistrate's Court yesterday.

Dayang Umi Kalsum binti Abdullah, 45, pleaded guilty to harbouring Wartono, holder of an Indonesian passport who remained unlawfully in the country after the expiry of his social visit pass on August 25 last year.
...
Meanwhile, the same court yesterday sentenced the 31-year-old man to 3 months' jail and 3 strokes of the cane for remaining unlawfully in this country for 147 days.
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Japan: deports refugees in defiance of U

from The Japan Times Online:

Acting with uncharacteristic speed, the Justice Ministry bundled a Kurdish father and his son, both U.N.-recognized refugees, onto a plane and sent them back to Turkey on Tuesday, a day after they visited the Immigration Bureau to extend their provisional release.

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