Wealthy Gulf nations face questions over Syria refugees

Yahoo – AFP, 7 Sep 2015

A soldier patrols along Saudi Arabia's northern border in February 2015 (AFP

Photo/Fayez Nureldine)

Amman (AFP) - As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees languish in camps or risk their lives to reach Europe, questions are being asked about why wealthy Gulf states have accepted so few.

By the end of August, more than four million Syrians had fled their country but very few if any refugees have been officially accepted by the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have donated billions to help refugees, but are facing increasing scrutiny for their apparent unwillingness to accept migrants.

Refugees fleeing the war in Syria arrive

 at the Kokkinotrimithia refugee camp, 

West of Nicosia in Cyprus, on 

September 6, 2015 (AFP Photo/

Iakovos Hatzistavrou)

Why, ask many, as one of the greatest migration crises of modern times unfolds, are fellow Arab countries, with similar cultural and religious values and a relative proximity compared to Europe, doing little to help resettle people?

And, crucially, that criticism is being voiced not just in the West, but within the region itself.

In recent days, social media users in the Gulf have employed various hashtags including "#Welcoming_Syria's_refugees_is_a_Gulf_duty" to voice their disgust with the perceived inaction of GCC states.

"The Gulf countries have to be ashamed when they see Europe's doors open to Syrian refugees, while they close before us," Abu Mohammed, a 30-year-old Syrian refugee now living in Jordan, told AFP.

An influx of Syrian refugees has swamped Europe this summer, with Germany alone expecting 800,000 new asylum applications this year and efforts under way to organise the relocations of tens of thousands more.

But in the oil-rich Gulf, GCC states have been absent from talk of helping with the refugee crisis.

Deeply involved in Syria

"Tragically, the cash-rich Gulf countries have not yet issued a statement on the crisis –- much less come up with a strategy to help the migrants, who are overwhelmingly Muslim," Qatar's Gulf Times newspaper wrote in a recent editorial.

Sultan Al Qassemi, a prominent Emirati blogger, wrote that the time had come for Gulf countries to take the "moral, ethical and responsible step" of changing their policy towards accepting refugees.

Even the distraught father of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed ashore in Turkey, said at the funeral of his wife and two children: "I want Arab governments not European countries to see what happened to my children and, because of them, help people."

Still, analysts say the outpouring of criticism is unlikely to bring about any quick changes in GCC countries, none of which has signed the UN Convention on Refugees setting standards for the treatment and rights of those fleeing to a new country.

"I don't see anybody doing a David Cameron, who U-turned in 36 hours," Michael Stephens, a Middle East research fellow at RUSI, told AFP, referring to reports the British premier is set to admit 15,000 refugees from Syria.

"The vast majority of Gulf citizens believe what their governments have done in Syria is the right thing."

The Gulf nations have hardly stood on the sidelines during Syria's conflict, providing significant financial assistance to refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

At the same time they have been among the most ardent opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, backing the mainly Sunni rebels who have risen up against his regime, which is supported by their Shiite regional rival Iran.

GCC states have also provided funds and weapons for rebel groups fighting Assad -- leading to some accusations that they are backing shadowy extremists.

But when it comes to allowing in refugees, domestic concerns seem preeminent, even though many of the refugees are Sunni Muslims like the majority of people in the Gulf.

West's 'short-sighted' policies

Smaller Gulf countries like the UAE and Qatar, where millions of foreign workers already vastly outnumber local citizens, fear being overwhelmed by refugees.

Security concerns are also paramount for countries like Saudi Arabia that have been targeted in attacks by the jihadist Islamic State group operating in Syria and Iraq.

And an influx of large numbers of refugees could upset stability in countries with little grassroots political activity.

"The countries of the Gulf are involved in the politics of Syria and they would probably worry who would come into their countries and what they would be involved in once they are," said Sultan Barakat, a senior fellow at the Brookings Doha Center.

He said one move that could help those fleeing and appease critics alike would be to offer entry to family members of Syrians already in the Gulf.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians live among the millions of foreigners lured by work opportunities to the Gulf states -- prompting some to argue that they are already helping those fleeing the conflict.

As one anonymous Syrian wrote recently on Facebook: "Saudi has no refugees but it hosts a million Syrians on visitor visas, in addition to the Syrian residents, (and) they get their health care and schools, and in some cases their rents from charities."

For some in the Gulf, the criticism should be directed instead at Western governments, saying it is their failure to fully back and arm those fighting Assad that is behind the refugee crisis.

"European and American officials facing their short-sighted policies must welcome more Syrian refugees," a former Qatari diplomat, Nasser Al-Khalifa, wrote on Twitter.

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Palestinians in Gaza City put flowers on a sand sculpture of Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, a symbol of the migrant crisis pic.twitter.com/a8XBTW4eLW

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) 8 september 2015

"Revelations of Darkness" - Oct 1, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ .. Do Not Despair

There's too much information to give you in one channelling, in one sitting, so I refer to past messages for you to better understand and reference the information in order to get the bigger picture. So I wish to remind you of something I also told you in a recent channelling called Do Not Despair. You're winning! It's because you're winning that the dark consciousness on this planet is feeling it, and the humanity that represents darkness is pulling out everything it has to survive.

It Has Always Been There

Let's look at it, because it's all over the news. Are you shocked at the sudden existence of the organization that will remain unnamed [for this channelling]? Where did it come from? How could it be so organized? How could it be so well funded? This organization could have its own country soon! They might as well name it, “The Old Energy Dark Country”, for that's what it will represent.

The barbaric past of humanity comes forward to show its face. It has always been there, hiding under the rocks and between the cracks of civilized humanity. It couldn't show itself until now, but now it has to. It's ugly and it's not for the faint at heart, is it, dear ones? Seeing evil personified in Human action is abhorrent. It is so ugly and so dark that you cannot look upon it with a gentle heart. God is not a part of it and this is obvious.

You're winning! Light is winning! The uprising of dark consciousness would not have shown itself with this strength, or this quickly, if this were not so. This is exactly what I told you to look for, and it is proof that those representing this dark consciousness are in trouble. Dear ones, dark consciousness has always had a tried-and-true system. It lurks in the shadows and influences all the power places of the planet - government, commerce, finance. Suddenly, it can't hide there as well anymore and it's out in the open.

Where is the funding coming from? It is coming from a storehouse that has always been there, dear ones. It uses income that has been generated from low consciousness acts, collected for a very long time. Funding didn't just appear. It has been stored, waiting to be used in order to spread fear and darkness to save what they believe is their way.

Who Will Win?

Dear ones, they haven't got a chance! But it looks like they do, doesn't it? Everything that they are doing is calculated to scare you into submission. Are they winning? Now, that's a question I want you to take from here and examine every day.

Fear is black. If you're in fear, there is no light. You can be the grandest Lightworker, or even be the channeller, but if you're in fear, it doesn't matter how many years you've done light work, or how much light you've accumulated personally. It all goes away with fear, and then they've won the battle for your mind. Do you understand this?

The Strength of the Old Soul - YOU

Old souls, Lightworkers reading this, the experiences you have had over lifetimes and lifetimes are incredible! The old soul knows fear. I don't want to be too graphic, but I want you to understand! What was it like when you put your head in the guillotine because you talked about God in a way that was inappropriate? What was it like to be bound hand and foot when they lit the match at your feet? Old soul, that's fear! You carry those experiences in your Akash.

I want to tell you they haven't got a chance to scare you! You absolutely know what fear is, and they haven't got a chance as long as you cling to that part of you that is the strength of God. You've been through it all. That means you've got the weapons of truth, wisdom and light. Don't forget it. Don't forget who you are!

Do you see how fast they assembled? It seemed like only yesterday that there was no organization at all. Where did they come from? Have you noticed a certain hesitancy to fight them? Why is it that the citizens of the lands that they are invading are hesitant to fight them? Instead, these leaders are calling on others to help. Why is it that the others are also hesitant? I want to show you that there are some anomalies of logic that are not making sense, because this is a battle you have never seen before on this planet. We've expected it, but you haven't. It's about consciousness, not land or resources.

How to Win?

We gave you the secret before of how to defeat them without taking even one life: Simply take away their funding. They cannot exist without their funding. The funding has to be organized, stored, and distributed. It has to be generated in such a way that it must also go through institutions. Did you hear that? All you have to do is stop the system. Winning won't be done with bombing. It's going to be done with intelligence, clever thinking and financial forensics. It's time to get smart on some of these things and not to be afraid to look at this puzzle differently than you have before. Do not apply the energy they are using in order to fight them, because you won't win. Figure it out. It's the last bastion of organized darkness and evil thinking on this planet coming together to try to survive the assault of your light. Don't be afraid to look at the funding trail, no matter where it takes you.

Fear is Their Weapon

I want you to know something as you look at your news. It may appear that you are unable to stop them. In many places, they will gain strength as they create fear. The fear is easily created in those who are not old souls and who don't know fear like you do and who don't have the armor of your spiritual experiences. This puts you in the front line, dear one. Did you realize that? But you don't have to go fight them on their terms. All you have to do is broadcast light. High consciousness will beat fear any day.. .”