Archinect - News

China reportedly building refugee camps on North Korean border

2017-12-14T17:29:00-05:00

A Chinese county along the border with North Korea is constructing refugee camps intended to house thousands of migrants fleeing a possible crisis on the Korean Peninsula, according to an internal document that appears to have been leaked from China’s main state-owned telecommunications company.

The Times reports that one of China’s most prominent experts on North Korea called building the refugee camps “absolutely reasonable.”

Tensions build at Athen's port of Piraeus, the first stop for many refugees seeking asylum in Europe

2016-04-26T12:52:00-04:00

Squalid, chaotic, overwhelmed: Piraeus is the first port of call for the thousands now trapped in the capital, on the frontline of Europe’s refugee crisis. Since the closure of Greece’s northern border and with it the Balkan migrant trail – a move that has resulted in more than 46,000 stranded on the Greek mainland – it has been emblematic of the country’s inability to cope with a situation few had envisaged.

"In passenger terminals never built to deal with a humanitarian crisis, facilities have been rudimentary, tensions high, and resources vastly overstretched."

The article notes that the growing refugee population is putting pressure on Athenian society, which was already tense as the country continues to struggles under crippling austerity measures imposed by the European Union. Far-right movements, like the Golden Dawn, are gaining popularity.

Meanwhile, a plan sponsored by the UN Refugee Agency proposes to house up to 20,000 refugees in private apartments around the capital.

For more on the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East, check out these links:

Sweden plans mass expulsion of up to 80,000 refugees

2016-01-28T13:04:00-05:00

Sweden intends to expel as many as 80,000 refugees and migrants who arrived in 2015 and whose applications for asylum have been rejected. [...] Sweden, which is home to 9.8 million people, is one of the European Union countries that has taken in the largest number of refugees in relation to its population. Sweden received more than 160,000 asylum seekers last year, and about 55 of those are expected to be given asylum.

"The planned mass expulsion was announced as Europe struggles to deal with a crisis that has seen tens-of-thousands of refugees arrive on Greek beaches with the passengers - mostly fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan - undeterred by cold, wintry conditions and deadly seas."

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Humanitarian Crisis Emerges in Ukraine

2014-08-06T13:17:00-04:00

A senior U.N. official warned the Security Council at an emergency meeting Tuesday that the humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine is steadily worsening as power and water supplies are scarce, homes are destroyed and health workers flee. John Ging, director of U.N. humanitarian operations, said that violence, especially in urban areas, will put more people at risk and lead to "an increase in the numbers killed" if a political solution can't be reached.