Spain, a Long Way from Meeting EU Refugee Quota
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FREE COPY THE NEWSPAPER FOR “For as long as SOUTHERN SPAIN our music is Official market leader Audited by PGD/OJD enjoyed, we June 23rd to 29th 2017 www.surinenglish.com will perform” The Beach Boys bring News 2 Health & Beauty 44 Comment 24 My Home 49 their good vibrations Lifestyle 26 Sport 56 What To Do 38 Classified 62 to Fuengirola this in English Food & Drink 43 Pastimes 70 Saturday P26&27 Spain, a long way from meeting EU refugee quota Two years after the world reacted in shock to the images of the Syrian exodus, the outcry has been reduced to a few voices LA FONTANILLA BEFORE The celebration of World Refugee Day was set at 16,231; now, three months this week has provided the opportu- from the deadline, the country has nity to look back at the world’s re- taken in just 1,304. Of them, 150 are BEACHES BACK TO sponse to the Syrian crisis. In 2015 now living in the province of Malaga. the EU countries each agreed to ac- Meanwhile, an increasing number of THEIR SUMMER BEST cept a number of Syrian refugees be- migrant boats are rescued off the fore September 2017. Spain’s “quota” shores of southern Spain. P2,3,4&32 LA FONTANILLA AFTER Detailed plans revealed for new leisure and shopping centre in Torremolinos P14 The government has signed off the repair works to the weather-damaged Marbella coastline P15 Junta’s decision to close Iván Fandiño is the Dogs to be allowed on two the Museo de Málaga second matador to die in Marbella beaches. The in the afternoons the ring in a year. His Junta has approved throughout the summer death reignites the stretches on El Pinillo and causes outrage P9 bullfighting debate P22 Ventura del Mar P6 Paula Ruiz at the Inacua centre on Monday. :: ÁLVARO CABRERA Malaga’s latest swimming star sets sights on the Olympics Paula Ruiz came within a whisker of legend Mireia Belmonte in the recent Spanish Open Water Championships P56&57 22222222 June 23rd to 29th 2017 NEWS SUR IN ENGLISH Refugees: from public MILESTONES IN THE REFUGEE CRISIS Malaga becomes a “city of refuge” outcry to oblivion In September 2015 all the po- litical groups on the council agreed that Malaga should join the network of “cities of ref- uge”’. In the image, the mayor, Nearly two years after the great wave of solidarity of 2015, councillors and representa- society has grown silent and EU quotas are not being met tives of the refugee aid organi- sations sign the agreement. Malaga province has taken help: of the 16,231 Syrian refugees cities that witnessed mass demon- in, a year later than that this country promised to take in strations from institutions and the planned, 150 refugees as between September 2015 and Sep- general public, eager to do something tember 2017, the government has to avoid waking up to more images part of the EU quota only received 1,304 people: 886 re- like the one of Aylan. Now though, system; they are living in located from other EU countries such nearly two years later, the public out- Malaga city and Antequera as Greece or Italy, and 418 from third cry has been reduced to a handful of The death of little Aylan, countries such as Lebanon. In other voices, while the institutions have the start of everything words, only eight per cent of the been in no hurry to respond to that :: ANA PÉREZ-BRYAN promised quota of refugees have been demand for immediate action. So far, The heartbreaking image of the MALAGA. It was that small, lifeless relocated to Spain, with just three the province of Malaga has received Syrian three-year-old Aylan body, stranded on a beach in Turkey, months to go to the deadline. 150 refugees of Spain’s quota, fami- Kurdi dead on a beach in Turkey that struck the conscience of a com- In a report in May, the European lies who are now living in Antequera after trying to reach the shore More beds thanks to fortable Europe on 2 September 2015. Commission reminded all countries and Malaga. with his mother and brother Cáritas apartments Three-year-old Aylan Kurdi had tried that they have to keep their agree- To understand what’s happening went round the world, pushed to escape the horror of war in Syria ment and Spain, in particular, was we need to look at several factors. The Europe to take a step forward The charity Cáritas offered 13 of with his mother and brother, but in- told to increase its intake. There are, distribution of asylum-seekers in and marked a turning point in its apartments to take in refu- stead he became the dramatic sym- however, countries that have not Spain is the jurisdiction of central collective conscience. gees. This came as a lifeline for bol of an exodus that had started sev- taken in a single refugee through the government, and so the the city. In the image, the sign- eral months earlier. That small boy in quota system, such as Hungary, Po- speed at which places are ing of the agreement between denim shorts and a red T-shirt put a land and Austria. awarded depends on the Cáritas and CEAR. name and a face to a global tragedy bureaucratic complexity that so far this year has taken 1,808 The situationtion in MalMalaga of relocating the refugees, lives like Aylan’s. The tragic death toll, Backack in Spain, Malaga is among the the majority of them plus the thousands of refugees wait- Syria or Eritrea. Mean- ing for a chance to come to Europe,pe, while the organisations leaves several unanswered questionsstions qualifiedqu to deal with on the table: What happened to that meetingmeet these commit- wave of solidarity that emergederged mentsment in each of Spain’s on this side of the frontier afterafter provinprovinces are three: the that tragedy? What havee the Red Cross,C Cear (the authorities done aboutut it? SpanishSpan commission What has happened to thosehose for refugeere aid) and thousands who have reachedched Accem,Acce which, as the shores in the last twotwo well as directing years? And, most impor-mpor- the integrationin of refugees from tantly: Are we doing as much the EuropeanE quota, are work- aren’t from the European quota come while the organisations used their re- as we can in this humanitar-nitar- ing flat-outf dealing with hun- from the CETI (migrant temporary sources to deal with asylum seekers ian drama? dredsdred of other asylum seekers stay centre) in Melilla. from other countries. In fact the need Tuesday 20 June was World from countries other than Syria In fact, after that first wave of soli- to protect people fleeing their home Refugee Day, which makeses it a or EriEritrea - Ukraine, China, Iran, El darity in September 2015 helped pro- countries has always been there; the good time to stop and look backack at SalvadorSalva and Afghanistan, among vide these three organisations with difference is that the Syrian drama the figures. The first shows thehe ex- A recent circle of silence manyma others. In the case of Malaga, resources, it took nearly a year for the has served at least to make this global tent to which Spain is doing its bitit to in Malaga. :: PAULA HÉRVELE a significant part of the arrivals that first “EU” refugees to arrive. Mean- problem more visible. June 23rd to 29th 2017 3 SUR IN ENGLISH NEWS The complicated red refugees. tape and the difficulty The Malaga provincial government in “identifying the peo- (Diputación) decided to take on a role “Now we are safe, but this ple who have to come of “intermediary” between the dif- from specific coun- ferent associations working with im- isn’t what I expected” tries” are responsible migrants, and held several meetings for the situation, along until the end of 2015. It also offered with the limited places beds for refugees in its own facilities Marwan Abdulhamid for refugees (some such as la Noria, La Térmica and other arrived in Malaga in April 5,000 in Spain and 303 residences. However, according to the in Malaga province). provincial councillor in charge of the with his wife and six However, Cansino is project, Ana Carmen Mata, the cen- children, two of them hopeful that from July, tral government focused on Accem, with serious disabilities Public outcry with the renewal of CEAR and Red Cross and “the rest of government funding, the facilities the association didn’t approach us to Southern Spain formed part of should increase considerably. ask for help”. In fact Mata confirmed :: A. PÉREZ-BRYAN the wave of solidarity caused However, CEAR and the Red Cross that so far the Diputación has no spe- MALAGA. Before “all that” hap- by the plight of the refugees. have come across another situation cific budget for refugee aid. pened, Marwan Abdulhamid had Rallies and marches like the that occurs once the refugees have Finally the Junta de Andalucía com- all he needed to lead a comfortable one above were held in towns been assigned to a particular prov- mits aid to agencies devoted to help- life in his native Aleppo. His small and cities around the region to ince. David Ortiz, the head of the Red ing refugees, no matter what coun- electrical appliance business brought demand measures from the Cross in Malaga, said: “One thing is try they come from. In December the in enough to keep his wife, Emine authorities. Today, little of assigning them to us, but them want- regional government signed a two- and their five children, despite the that public outcry is left.