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Sources

Back Door To Europe, Syrian Refugees Reroute Via Brazil

Following the plan by the EU and Turkey to turn back refugees, many are looking for alternative ways to reach Europe. A new path to the continent starts on the other side of the Atlantic — in South America — and continues through far-flung French terr

Tiete bus terminal, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Tiete bus terminal, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Mohamad Khair Alhamwi

CAYENNE — As Greece begins shipping migrants back to Turkey, Syrians are finding new alternatives to the increasingly difficult journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. One of these routes takes refugees to Brazil and into French Guiana, a French territory on the northeastern coast of South America, where refugees can more easily establish legal residency in a French territory while applying for asylum in Europe.

"I learned from friends who were living in Europe that many Africans travel to Europe this way," said Mohammed, a 27-year-old from Homs who had fled to Lebanon in 2012 as the war in Syria became increasingly violent. "One month after applying, I received my visa, and they gave me 90 days to enter Brazil."

Several months after arriving in Beirut, he walked into the Brazilian embassy and applied for a tourist visa. "I had never imagined the journey would be so easy," he said.

Brazil is one of the very few countries that does not impose a strict visa regime on Syrians. They can still obtain tourism, work and student visas with relative ease.

After receiving his visa, Mohammed flew to São Paulo, and from there, used buses and a domestic flight to reach French Guiana. He said the relative ease of the journey meant hiring a smuggler was unnecessary.

"Most people cross into French Guiana at a bridge over the Oyapok River, but for illegal crossings, there are daily boats that transport workers and farmers," he said. "I wasn't asked for any documents to get into these boats, and the only cost was the boat fare."

After crossing the border, Mohammed hitched into town and turned himself in at the police station, just as refugees do in Europe. "I waited at the police station for a few hours, and in the morning, I was transported with another 20 migrants to the capital, Cayenne," he said.

Word is spreading

According to Mohammed, more and more Syrians have been making the same journey. In his group alone, he said, there were three other Syrians and two Iraqis.

In the capital, French authorities registered the refugees and told them they would need to wait for about a month for their papers to be processed.

"The French authorities provided accommodation for families, but those of us who were single had to take care of ourselves," said Mohammed. "There were many people like us waiting for their papers. Most of them spent their nights on the beach because they didn't have the money to rent a room."

Mohammed, who was similarly low on cash, had made fast friends with the Syrian and Iraqi men he met on the way to the capital. They were quick to offer him a spot in their rented apartment.

Two months later, and after three visits to French immigration and integration offices, Mohammed received a one-year, temporary residency. This provided him with legal status in French Guiana while he waited for his case to be processed.

"I was allowed to work, so I found a job in a fast food restaurant, but I wasn't allowed to travel to France or to any other European country because I didn't have the travel document that most other refugees receive."

After seven months of waiting, Mohammed finally obtained humanitarian asylum in France, and will soon be moving to the "European part of France," as he calls it.

"Now I know that the territories of France are located in many other places besides Europe. I am legally allowed to go to France, but I have to pay for the trip from my own pocket, which I am currently saving for," he said.

He receives a monthly stipend of 300 euros per month from the French government, in addition to housing and a travel document.

Although it's far longer in time and distance, Mohammed said his alternative route to Europe was much safer than the short boat trip across the Mediterranean. In 2015 alone, more than 2,500 people drowned or went missing on their journey, according to the UN's Refugee Agency.

The cost of a flight to Brazil is nearly the same price as the illegal journey across the Mediterranean. The trip cost him about $3,000, including airfare and travel costs from Brazil to French Guiana.

Mohammed has urged his younger brother, 23, to make the same journey. "I told him to do it as soon as possible. This journey won't be that easy forever," he said. "Soon enough, the numbers taking this journey will increase, and consequently, just as it happened in Europe, the rules will tighten."

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Germany

Khodorkovsky: Don't Count On A Swift End To The War In Ukraine

The West is deceiving itself if it hopes for a quick end to the Ukraine war. Above all, it must consistently implement an energy transition — otherwise, it will remain at Putin's mercy, writes prominent Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in German daily Die Welt.

Image of a worker repairing a gas pipeline damaged by a Ukrainian military strike on the centre of the town of Volnovakha, Russia

January 20, 2023: A worker repairs a gas pipeline damaged by a Ukrainian military strike on the centre of the town of Volnovakha, Russia.

Valentin Sprinchak/TASS/ZUMA
Mikhail Khodorkovsky

-OpEd-

LONDON — In the spring of 2014, I went to Kyiv with a large group of Russians representing the European part of the Russian cultural and social elite to express our solidarity with the Maidan protests in Ukraine, and our disapproval of the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Many of us then flew to Kharkiv and Donetsk to meet with Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine who were concerned about what was happening.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

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In Donetsk, among others, I had a conversation with the leaders of those who stormed the regional administration, including Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin, the current head of the "Donetsk People's Republic." Since then, it has been absurd for me to listen to those who still do not understand that the destabilization of eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea were a "special operation" of the Kremlin from the very beginning.

It is amazing that there are still people who do not understand that Putin is not simply riding the wave of an imperial renaissance in Russia. He is consistently pushing this wave himself, helped by clever propaganda and the direct financing of imperialist-minded national patriots. At the same time, he is suppressing the voices of the sane part of society.

Putin has already used war to solve domestic problems four times (1999 in Chechnya, 2008 in Georgia, 2014 and 2022 in Ukraine) — if you don't count the war in Syria and the de facto annexation of Transnistria, a region in Moldova, which did not "catch on" with public opinion. Putin's main goal is to stay in power, although in recent years there has been a shift toward "legacy." This means a partial restoration of the empire and its influence.

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