Tag: human rights

Murdered Kuwait OFWs deserve decisive gov’t action

PRESS STATEMENT

January 25, 2023

Migrante International condoles with the family and friends of Jullebee Ranara, the 35-year old Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) and domestic worker whose burned body was found buried in a Kuwaiti desert on Sunday and who is suspected to have been murdered by the son of her employer.

We condemn this yet another murder of our kababayan, another Filipina, in Kuwait. Jullebee’s murder is the latest in a controversial series that includes Joanna Daniela Demafelis (2018), Constancia Lago Dayag (2019), and Jeanelyn Villavende (2019). There are also more than 400 distressed OFWs staying in cramped Philippine government facilities in Kuwait.

The recent deaths and abuse suffered by our kababayans in Kuwait are not isolated incidents and point to conditions in Kuwait and other countries that make our OFWs vulnerable to abuse and even murder.

In light of the successive deaths and abuse of our kababayans in Kuwait, Migrante-International calls on the Philippine government to:
(1) Seek justice for Jullebee. Her murderers must be brought to court and imprisoned.
(2) Order the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait to be more alert and attentive to OFWs’ complaints and cries for help. Expand repatriation and other services for distressed OFWs there.
(3) Probe and punish possible neglect of duty among Philippine officials in Kuwait, as shown by the deplorable conditions suffered by distressed OFWs in the country.
(4) Push for measures that will alleviate the working and living conditions of Filipino domestic workers and OFWs in Kuwait.
(5) In particular, push for reforms in, if not the abolition of, the kafala system, which has meant total employer control over domestic workers and OFWs.

These are all, however, band-aid solutions; they can only do so much to protect our OFWs. Foreign domestic work and labor migration are highly unequal setups that bring with them great risks of abuse for migrant workers, especially those coming from countries with uncaring labor brokerage governments.

As long as the Philippine government and economy remain highly-dependent on migrant Filipinos’ remittances, cases of abuse and even murder of our kababayans will not end. The real solution is an end to the government’s Labor Export Program and the generation of decent jobs within the country which, we believe, are only possible through genuine land reform and national industrialization.

It is clear that President Rodrigo Duterte’s OFW ban to Kuwait in 2018 and his appeal to Arab countries to treat OFWs with dignity and respect are failures. New contracts stipulating one day-off for OFWs per week and their working and sleeping hours are not enough. The Department of Migrant Workers’ thrust of promoting labor export is totally misguided.

It’s time that the Philippine government undertake both immediate measures to protect our domestic workers and OFWs abroad and long-term measures to generate decent jobs in the Philippines.###

25 January 2023
Support human rights in the Philippines with Altromercato

The Human Rights violations in the Philippines have also affected members, collaborators and volunteers of PFTC, partner organization of Altromercato since 1991, on several occasions.

Agreeing with the article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights – “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression” – and with article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights – “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression”, we appeal for the charges to be dropped against the 42 Human Rights activists arrested on May 1, 2020 by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Iloilo City and released on bail on May 2nd, 2020.

The activists were only exercising their Constitutional Rights by meeting at the Jaro Cathedral to demand justice for Jory Porquia, killed at dawn on April 30th, 2020. Altromercato strongly condemned this terrible murder and asks that executors and instigators be brought to justice. On April 30th, 2020, the name of Jory Porquia was added to the long list of victims of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

Jory Porquia, longtime activist for the defense of the environment and Human Rights, was also the architect who designed the mills for the organic Mascobado sugar, produced and exported by PFTC. Since 1991 Altromercato sells PFTC’s Mascobado sugar in Altromercato shops and in several supermarkets throughout Italy and in some European countries.

Jory’s is yet another murder perpetrated to affect the activity of PFTC (Panay Fair Trade Center), a strong network of 5 cooperatives, whose activities benefit over 10,000 families on Panay island in the Philippines. PFTC’s “fault” is having freed many small farmers from the dependence and exploitation of landowners. Not only has PFTC improved the living conditions of more than thousands families on Panay island, but they have also carried out empowerment and awareness-raising programs, highlighting social and political issues and working for a democratic and sustainable development.

The arrest of the forty-two peaceful activists, Elmer Forro, Mary Adrivene B. Dalida, Julrod Prino, Meriam Agbas, Mars Geraneo, Vivian Asong Apolinar, Alma Sumague, Rea D. Ogoy, Ana Marie G. Primalion, Ruth O. Alinsangao, Jocelyn S. Gabion, Pergerie P. Panila, Sheba Q. Babac, Dave I. Cordero, Sharon Rose Nabua, Tessie C. Garachico, Inecitas A. Ruedas, Ruben P. Obrero, Ronalyn G. Pronelos, Bonifacio M. Casipong, Edgardo A. Salarda, Saturnino Pitos, Jose Ely Garachico, Valiant Pabelona, Arjie Ertaleza, Krisma Nina Porquia, Crimson Labinghisa, Gabyel Rei T. Guillen, Randy Vergara, Marites Pinolan, Jean Tondo, Paz Garachico, Kervin Bonganciso, Bryan Bosque, MC Mace Sulayao, Marco Sulayao, Nelson Licoto, Ma. Preva Lhuz Cerdanio, John Marlon Jacar, Arnel Catedrilla, Lucia Fernandez, Francisco, Angelo Karlo Guillen, is a violation of citizens’ Constitutional Right to peaceful assembly and to freedom of expression.

These events occurred on the same day workers worldwide celebrated International Labour Day, and while the Philippines and the whole world are in the grip of the Covid19 pandemic. In compliance with the protocols to contrast the Covid19 pandemic, the activists duly observed “social distancing” rules and were exercising their Constitutional Right to a peaceful assembly, affirming their freedom of speech and expression.

The Bill of Rights guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution in 1987 establishes that: “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”

Sign this appeal in order to ensure that the forty-two peaceful Human Rights activists will be cleared, thus permitting them to go back to their work, their duties and their commitments to Human Rights.

Link to the petition

https://www.change.org/p/icpo-chief-peter-baliao-republic-of-the-philippines-sostieni-con-altromercato-42-attivisti-per-i-diritti-umani-nelle-filippine?recruiter=51504227&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&fbclid=IwAR0Fuv4QqkPtJMLiKTpOg8kNG_wx8R22pzeJ5v5lcElLiSjleShmtp0kgBk&use_react=false

19 May 2020
The International Peoples’ Tribunal on Crimes of Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III and the US Government as Represented by Pres. Barack Obama Against the Filipino People

The International Peoples’ Tribunal on the Crimes of the Philippine and US Governments Against the Filipino People (IPT 2015) is being convened at the behest mainly of victims1 of human rights violations and other crimes committed under the Presidency of Benigno S. Aquino III in the Philippines and President Barack Obama in the United States.

These entities shall be brought before a court of public opinion where concrete evidence shall be presented of their violations of the Filipino people’s individual and collective rights under international law. They will be brought for judgment before the broadest possible international audience.

The IPT 2015 embodies the right of peoples to hold states to account. It stems from the failure of the Philippine State and international institutions to uphold standards as embodied in Philippine as well as international laws and instruments under International Human Rights Law including the core human rights conventions and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed in 1998 by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

The IPT 2015 derives its legitimacy from the people as the ultimate source of the authority of all national and international laws. Its verdict shall be based on a thorough and fair assessment of the evidence by leading public figures of recognised achievement and high moral stature, in accordance with applicable legal standards.

The Peoples’ Tribunal draws inspiration and builds on the gains of previous peoples tribunals convened to condemn similar crimes by previous regimes in the Philippines. These include, among others, the:

• Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (First Session on the Philippines) [PPT1] of 1980 in Antwerp, Belgium (“Repression and Resistance, “ against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos at the suit by NDFP and the Moro National Liberation Front or MNLF)

• International Solidarity Mission- International People’s Tribunal [ISM-IPT] of 2005 in Manila (“In Defense of a People Fighting Repression; against human rights violations by

1 The victims and their relatives — belonging to a wide spectrum of social classes and sectors in Philippine society – are represented by the Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (EcuVoice), KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of the People’s Rights), Hustisya! (Victims United for Justice), DESAPARECIDOS (Families of the Disappeared for Justice), SELDA (Society of Ex-Detainees Against Detention and Arrest), BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) among others.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo);

Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (Second Session on the Philippines) [PPT2] of March 2007 in The Hague, The Netherlands (The Filipino People vs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, George W. Bush, et.al: indicting the US-backed Arroyo regime for human rights violations, economic plunder and transgression of Philippine sovereignty); and

International Migrants Tribunal [IMT] of November 2012 in Manila (In Defense of Migrant Workers’ Rights: counterpoint to the Global Forum on Migration and Development)

The verdicts of these tribunals delivered strong moral and persuasive force. Their conclusions and recommendations were transmitted to the United Nations, various Parliaments and governments, as well as broad international organizations to add pressure on the Philippine government to stop the killings and other gross human rights violations in the country.

The resulting international uproar against the spate of extra-judicial killings under the term of President Arroyo, for instance, contributed to a decrease in the incidence of such killings in the latter part of 2007. The temporary decline was a very welcome respite for the Filipino people under siege.

Holding the hearings and gathering support especially from the peoples of the US are particularly strategic because of the US government’s historical and decisive influence in Philippine affairs.

In 2007, US Senator Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Sub-Committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, acknowledged in a U.S. Senate hearing, “It is important we (Americans) do not have blood on our hands. . . . If we are training the (Philippine) military with our hard-earned tax dollars, our concern about the military cannot be discounted . . . the war on terror cannot be used as an excuse to kill innocent civilians.”

The International Peoples’ Tribunal (IPT) in 2015 shall help raise national and international public visibility of the ongoing violation of people’s rights in the Philippines, exercise moral suasion and help generate further political pressure on the governments of the Philippines and the US to end impunity.

OBJECTIVES:

The overall objective of the IPT 2015 is to expose the crimes not only of the current Philippine government as represented by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III against the Filipino people but also those of the US government, under the watch of President Barack Obama.

Specifically, the IPT aims to:

− Exert greater international pressure on the Philippine and US governments to stop human rights violations in the Philippines, including extrajudicial killings and disappearances;

− Establish by sufficient credible evidence according to international norms and standards that these violations are part of state policy which is being perpetrated with impunity by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), and paramilitary and armed groups under their command and control;

− Establish the complicity of the Commander-in-Chief Aquino and the top military and police officials in the killings, disappearances and other gross human rights abuses;

− Show the various systematic and systemic violations of economic, social and cultural rights of the Filipino people through the imposition of exploitative policies and programs;

The complaints and presentations shall consist of the following:

Violations of human rights, particularly civil and political rights, with focus on extrajudicial killings, disappearances, massacres, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions as well as other vicious, brutal and systematic abuses and attacks on the basic democratic rights of the people.

Violations of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights of the Filipino people through the imposition of imperialist globalization to exploit the people; transgression of their economic sovereignty and national patrimony; various forms of economic plunder and attacks on the livelihoods of the people and the destruction of the environment.

Violations of the rights of the people to national self-determination and liberation through the imposition of the US war of terror; US military intervention; as well as the perpetration of crimes against humanity and war crimes; misrepresentations of the people’s right to national liberation and self-determination as “terrorism” and the baseless “terrorist” listing of individuals, organizations and other entities by the US and other governments.

July 16 to 17, 2015: Hearings
July 18, 2015: Deliberation and Presentation of the Verdict July 20, 2015: Service of the Verdict

Washington D.C.

Oral Presentation of Evidence under oath (either by affidavits or depositions) by victims and experts

on very select illustrative cases for each issue (either in person or through web though other cases can be submitted through documentary evidence)

Issues and Charges (Initial)

Violation of Civil and Political Rights

Human Rights Violations and Impunity

Political prisoners

Marcos victims’ compensation beneficiaries (delisted victims)

Violations of International Humanitarian Law

Violation of Socio, Economic and Cultural Rights

Hacienda Luisita

Yolanda, Pablo and Sendong typhoons

Labor contractualization

Urban poor demolitions

Power rate hikes and other basic services

Migrants/OFW cases

Privatization of public hospitals

Environmental

Mining

Corruption

Onerous trade agreements; neoliberal globalization, economic plunder

Charter change to open up of economy to increased foreign exploitation

Violation of the Right to Self-Determination and the Right to Resist

Oplan Bayanihan

EDCA and US military intervention (case of Jennifer Laude)

GPH-NDFP Peace Negotiations

Some Cases carried over from the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

EJK

Enforced Disappearance

Torture

Legal Bases

National and International Instruments including 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966 International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention against Torture and related instruments, Convention against Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance, 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1977 Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, 1976 Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples (Algiers Declaration), 1949 Geneva Conventions, 1977 Protocols 1 and 2, 1992 Hague Joint Declaration, 1995 Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), 1998 Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and

International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, among others.

Organization of the Tribunal:

Conveners:

 International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)  International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
 National Lawyers Guild
 IBON International

Concerned international organizations and networks who have come together to organize and convene the International Peoples’ Tribunal on Crimes of the US-Aquino Government Against the Filipino People.

Endorsers, Partners and Sponsors:

Personages and representatives of institutions and organizations who are interested in the issues of peoples’ rights, human rights and international law, and who wish to extend moral support and concrete assistance to the Tribunal, shall be invited to become Endorsers, Partners and Sponsors to the Tribunal. They will also endorse the Tribunal to their existing contacts and assist the organizers in reaching out further to the international community.

Plaintiffs/Complainants:

Representatives of the Filipino people: victims of the crimes of the US-Aquino regime; HR groups, various people’s organizations and their contituencies

Ecu Voice (Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines)

Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples’ Rights)

Hustisya (Pagkakaisa Ng Mga Biktima Para Sa Hustisya Inc. or Unity of Victims for Justice)

Selda (Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto or Society of Ex-Detainees

Against Detention and Arrest)

Desaparecidos (Families of the Disappeared for Justice)

Bayan (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance)

KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno or May 1st Movement)

KMP (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas or Philippine Peasant Movement)

Gabriela – Alliance of Filipino Women

KADAMAY (Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap or National Alliance of Filipino Urban

Poor)

other mass organizations and individual victims in the Philippines and abroad

Defendants:

Philippine President Benigno Simeon S. Aquino III

US Government as represented by President Barrack Obama

International Monetary Fund

World Bank

World Trade Organization

Multinational Corporations

Judge/s:
1- 3 international personages or eminent person/s with at least 1 with a legal background

Jurors:
9 – 11 individuals of diverse backgrounds and different disciplines, with at least 3 with a legal background; representing the peoples of the world

Judges and Jurors composed of internationally distinguished personages will sit in the Tribunal. They shall formulate the verdict and pass a judgement at the end of the Tribunal. They shall also discuss these at a press conference.

Prosecutors/Legal counsels to victims and witnesses:

National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL)

Public Interest Law Center (PILC)

Individual (international) lawyers

Defense Lawyers (will be assigned by the Tribunal if no appearance from Defendants)

Clerk of Court and Deputy Clerks of Court

IPT 2015 Secretariats: Two secretariats have been constituted to assist the conveners: The Philippines Coordinating Secretariat which shall perform the staff work for the Tribunal preparations in the Philippines and the International Coordinating Secretariat to serve as the center of communications for all entities involved in the project and to coordinate the technical and other preparations for holding the tribunal, including financial and political support. These 2 secretariats are headed by Paul Quintos of IBON International and Dr. Angie M. Gonzales of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines respectively.

For more information and updates: www.internationalpeoplestribunal.org

—
==========================
Mr. Ramon Bultron
Managing Director
Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)

President
World Association for Christian Communications – Asia Region (WACC-AR)

Office Address: G/F, No. 2 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
Telephone: +852-2723-7536
Fax: +852-2735-4559
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: www.apmigrants.or

23 May 2015
Migrante International condemns criminalization of undocumented migrants in EU-wide crackdown

October 20, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reference: Sarah Katrina Maramag, Campaign Coordinator, 0921-7417469

Global alliance of overseas Filipinos Migrante International condemns in strongest terms the ongoing crackdowns resulting in the criminalization of undocumented migrants and refugees being implemented by the European Union.

The EU-wide crackdown called “MOS MAIORUM” has launched massive police operations to hunt down undocumented or irregular migrants and refugees in the region. Operations have started last October 13 and is set to end on October 26. MOS MAIORUM has been approved by the Council of the European Union last July 10, 2014 and is being implemented under Italy’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Overseas Filipino workers and Filipino migrants in Europe have expressed grave concern as more than 20,000 police officers have been deployed in massive operations ranging from increasing checks in airports, stations, trains, main roads and highways to house raids. The main objective of the operations is to actively hunt down undocumented migrants and arrest as many as possible within the time frame of its implementation.

“We call on the European Union to call for a stop this inhumane operation. Under the guise of going after crime and trafficking syndicates, MOS MAIORUM is giving license to EU authorities and police to indiscriminately arrest and violate the rights of irregular migrants, and promote xenophobia and racial discrimination,” said Garry Martinez, Migrante International chairperson.

Martinez said that MOS MAIORUM is in direct violation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. These conventions do not discriminate against undocumented and irregular migrant workers, he said.

“Being undocumented is never reason to be stripped of one’s fundamental human rights. Undocumented migrants and refugees, who inevitably provide solutions to labor shortages or the clamor for cheap labor in host countries, especially in times of economic crisis, should not be marginalized and exploited. They are already less able to assert their claims and are more vulnerable to abuses. MOS MAIORUM will only make them more susceptible to grave abuses and human rights violations.”

Martinez said that while they fully support moves to prevent human trafficking, Migrante believes that MOS MAIORUM will not solve but rather further exacerbate the problem. Instead of arresting irregular migrants and treating them as criminals, their status should be rectified because it makes them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by crime syndicates.

Further, MOS MAIORUM is being implemented at a time when health epidemics, civil wars and conflicts in the Middle East-North Africa region and elsewhere in the world continue. Millions of people are on the run because of these. Such a situation makes it a tool for crime and trafficking syndicates to intensify their activities. Constricting borders and implementing stringent immigration policies will not only cost lives but will also worsen trafficking in persons in the region, Martinez said.

Migrante International supports the international campaign for the de-criminalization and legalization of undocumented migrants and refugees.

According to December 2011 data of the Department of Foreign Affairs, there is an estimated 746,701 Filipinos in Europe, 138,088 are undocumented. ###

Website: http://migranteinternational.org
Office Address: #45 Cambridge St, Cubao, Quezon City
Telefax: 9114910

20 October 2014
“Mos Maiorum”: Yet another criminalization of people on the run

On the 13th of October, a large-scale European police operation starts that targets undocumented migrants.

It has become a tradition. Each time a country receives the presidency of the EU, it launches a large-scale action against migrants. Coincidence or not, with Latin or Old Greek names. Aerodromos, Aphrodite, Perkunas are the names of the actions of Greece, Cyprus and Lithuania respectively during their presidencies.

On the 10th of July, not even two weeks after Italy got the presidency of the EU, a police operation was announced. This action will be led by the Italian Ministry of Interior Affairs in ‘close cooperation’ with Frontex, Europol and the Schengen member states. The action received the name Mos Maiorum, which literally means ‘custom of the ancestors’. It refers to the first centuries of the Roman Republic.

In not one European media, mainstream or alternative, nor from any politician, have you heard about Mos Maiorum. In practice, between the 13th and 26th of October, approximately 20.000 police officers will be deployed in operations ranging from increasing checks in airports, stations, trains, highways to house searches. The main aim is to gain a better insight in the migration routes and to arrest as many undocumented migrants as possible.

The operation is presented as prevention against organized crime and human trafficking, but we know from the past that this is just an excuse. During previous operations, practically no human traffickers were arrested; only undocumented migrants who ended up in detention centers and ultimately were deported. In addition, Europe wants to extend the databases of Frontex and Europol through these kinds of operations.

Refugees are seen as a threat. The new migration streams are presented as questions of security and criminality while they are a consequence of wars and conflicts, especially in the Middle East and Africa.

Since World War II, there has never been these many refugees. According to numbers of the United Nations, there are 51 million refugees. Only in 2013, 17 million people were on the run. In Europe, we are convinced that all refugees of the world are coming here. However, in 2013, there were only 435.385 applications for asylum in the 28 European member states. Not that big of a deal.

On the other hand, Europe is the most dangerous destination for people on the run. According to research, since 2000 at least 40.000 migrants lost their lives on the way to Europe. The Mediterranean Sea has become a mass grave. This has to do with Fortress Europe. European countries and the EU have invested billions of Euros to protect their borders. In the buffer zone around the EU approximately 2 billion Euros were invested. Frontex received in 2013 as much as 85 million Euro. Europe launched last year Eurosur, in charge of the European border control, which will receive during the next 6 years approximately 250 million Euro. The number of cameras and kilometers of fences on the European borders is exaggerated. Tens of thousands of border patrols were hired to be based at the borders, from Bulgaria to Spain. In countries as the UK, Hungary and Austria, refugees are locked up in jails. In Greece, Malta, Poland and Bulgaria even non-accompanied minor asylum-seekers are locked up.

The security and criminalization policies that Europe is executing and operations such as Mos Maiorum are a violation of the European Agreement to protect human rights, in particular the right to freedom and security. According to researchers and refugee organizations, human traffickers are the ones that take advantage of the current European policy. As soon as a route is closed, the smugglers are looking for new routes that are more dangerous and more expensive for migrants.

It is evident that action should be taken against human traffickers. But to achieve this, operations such as Mos Maiorum are not necessary. There are sufficient laws at the level of states and at the European level to tackle crime. Police and justice need to be more effective. The top persons of human trafficking are still walking the streets and we know who they are.

There are millions of people on the run because of wars, but since recently the amount of refugees is even greater because of natural disasters. The billions of Euros that are spent on the security of borders, could be used to establish legal trajectories to Europe. By enabling safe access routes, not only more lives will be saved, but it will also help to fight human trafficking.

The current European policy considers migrants as a threat, but without them Europe would be in an even deeper crisis. Tens of recent reports and researchers demonstrate that migrants play a crucial role in the European economy. In the UK, for instance, migrants have contributed 32 billion Euros to the economy. In the new Swedish government, there are four ministers with a migration background. Aida Hadzialic arrived at the age of 5 as a refugee from Bosnia and at age 26 she is the youngest minister in the government. Migrants are people who want an opportunity, but today these opportunities are taken away by Europe, while it actually really needs these people.

Bleri Lleshi is a political philosopher and author of various books.

Translated to English from Dutch by Natalie Lefevre

http://blerilleshi.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/Bleri.Lleshi
@blerilleshi

Share this:

8 October 2014