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+--- Thread: If you are a Human? (/thread-if-you-are-a-human)
If you are a Human? - ibrishah - 09-30-2005
This article is about Human beings, Democracy, UNHCR, Refugees, The Iraqis,Islam, Kurds, Human rights, Respect, Money, Donations, Angelina Jolie,Pavarotti, Giorgio Armani, Donors, Peace, History, Campaigns and about you ifyou care about these words.
Hi there,
I am SAM, an Iraqi refugee living in Lebanon at the moment; I have spent the last 9 years of my life as a refugee registered with the UNHCR in Beirut. The last 3 years, I have spent as an activist for peace and human rights (especially refugees and asylum seekers) on the Internet; I'm also books author and ebooks
publisher. I have launched many campaigns to improve our situation as refugees
in Lebanon and hopefully bring more understanding to our problems worldwide. I
helped make many changes and improvements at the UNHCR office in Beirut; I used
the Internet as the field for my activities (you can read more about that in my
free ebook âMY CAMPAIGNSâ http//www.unhcr.co.uk/truth/free_ebooks.htm ).
My latest campaign is to stop the UNHCR from conducting illegal and humiliating
actions, by using photos of refugees as banners and human-buttons to collect
money. This is an abuse of the dignity and humanity of the refugees and must
stop immediately and a clear public apology present by the United Nations High
Commissioner of Refugees. My friends, I am talking about the pictures you can
see here http//www.unhcr.co.uk/if_human/if_human.htm
As Iâm a refugee and an activist for human rights, I feel that the problems of
refugees are not being solved by the UNHCR in fact their policies are worsening
them. I have been saying this since the first day I started my activities and I
said then that âIf we want to improve the situation of the refugees in the world
we must start with changing the policies of the UNHCR,â I even wrote this in my
books.
The people of the UNHCR have used these pictures as banners and buttons to
collect money from donors. As a human being and a refugee, I felt these pictures
represent a bad and offensive example of the disrespect for our humanity as
refugees and asylum seekers. It does nothing to represent the meaning and the
principles that were mentioned in the UN51 convention. It fills me with pain and
sorrow to see this disrespect to our dignity and humanity and also how they are
deceiving the community with these pictures.
Unfortunately, the people who work at the UNHCR are working hard to present to
you a portrait of a refugee as a poor human being who's problem will end when
you donate a few $$$. Please look at their website (just google for the unhcr)
and look at the pictures there. Everywhere on the site you'll just see pictures
about poor people!
They have worked hard to establish a deep-rooted connection between poverty and
refugees. Everywhere in the world now if you ask anyone what the word 'refugee'
means the answer will be "a poor person who has lost his home", does any one of
you know another meaning for the word?
They have showed you just one thing poor people as refugees and they made it
clear that by paying some money to them, the problem will be solved; all it
needs is financial resources! When you look directly at their websites, the
pictures of poor people will grab your attention straight away! For UNHCR, the
problem is money only! We all as humans need money, but not only the money!
There are many things in the life not only money, for example things like what
you could read in my free ebook âREFUGEES FARMâ
http//www.umacr.org/truth/free_ebooks.htm
When I started to post in Yahoo groups mentioning Iâm a refugee, many people
didnât believe me, and they asked, âhow it was possible for me to have access to
the Internet?â I was astonished at the beginning but afterwards I understood the
reality of what they were saying and started to post messages telling the truth
and because of this the UNHCR declared war on me and prosecuted me. So then I
started to call myself âThe Truth Warriorâ because I am struggling to tell you
the truth. I was the first refugee who wrote and published an e-book on the net
and the first refugee who wrote and published an e-book about the UNHCR and the
first who used the Internet as a weapon in his struggle to survive and to make
changes in real life.
The people of the UNHCR emphasized the connection between the refugees and
poverty and they drew a foggy picture of refugees, creating a strong impression
about their poverty, more than the fact they were stateless refugees. They also
put forward the idea it was the poverty creating the reality of them being
refugees in the first place. Now it is an accepted idea in the world community
that a refugee is just a poor person looking for a better life, well this is
just not true! The majority of the world doesnât even realize that it is even
possible for a millionaire to have to flee his home and be a refugee.
Article 1 of the Convention defines a refugee as "A person who is outside
his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of
persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to
avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for
fear of persecution."
There is no mention made of the financial situation of the refugee or the degree
of poverty he is experiencing, in plain simple words âpoverty does not make
someone a refugeeâ. As I said before âthe link between poverty and being a
refugee is another thing entirelyâ. Most of the time the situation of the
refugees is bad because they have no security, no opportunities to get work and
this then does create poverty! Its clear that giving money will not solve the
problem, what's needed is real understanding for the problems that refugees are
facing and they need global co-operation to solve these problems. This inspired
me to adopt my motto
Justice brings peace, freedom brings democracy
Understanding is the way.
Let me share with you some figures published by the UNHCR itself.
The table is on my site here http//www.unhcr.co.uk/if_human/if_human.htm
From that table, we can see the total private donations in year 2003 were US$
20,072,010. Now letâs analyze that number, Anyway if we consider the total
numbers of asylum seekers and refugees and others of concern to the UNHCR which
was 20,556,781 persons published on their table on the 1st of August 2003. Now
we need to divide that amount on the number of refugees 20,072,010/20,556,781
guess what? Itâs equals $0.97!
So then each refugee will have a grand sum of $0.97 every year from these
donations!!! Yes my friend, they humiliated us for less than $1 a year. Now let
me think what I can do with this amount of money in one-year mâmmmm, maybe I can
buy 2 bars of Lebanese candy! I registered with UNHCR more than 8 years ago now
and until this day I have not received one cent from them! So according to that
table they owe me $7.80, a fortune!!! I declare now that I donât want this money
($7.80) I just want them to remove these humiliating pictures and make a public
apology. You can ask the UNHCR in Beirut about that point via their email
lebbe@... and please ask them also about the amount of the money that they
give for the refugees in Lebanon now. I hope theyâll answer you! Donât you think
itâs strange that itâs hard to get answers from the UNHCR! Youâll see if youâre
interesting to know the truth!
The big question is Does all this money come from these human-buttons asking
for donations on the UNHCR'S site? Does Pavarotti or Giorgio Armani need these
human-buttons to make donations? If they need these buttons and it's a good way
for collecting money for the UNHCR why don't they use their own pictures this
way to bring more money in for the UNHCR. Also about Angelina Jolie, she is a
goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR and she has worked hard to collect money for
the UNHCR, she is pretty and attractive and her picture would make an excellent
human-button. They could write on the Angelina Jolie button "make a donation and
be like Angelina" or Send a donation to receive thanks from Angelina" do you
think that would offend her or the others we spoke about? Why would it do you
think??? Her pictures are everywhere so let them use these as a human-button to
collect money if they feel it is inoffensive and not dishonorable to her.
The last thing about these numbers is the percentage of the amount that
different governments contribution to the UNHCR. I read in one table the total
is $928,865,984. So what will happen if the UNHCR loses the 20 million that
comes from private donors, if they remove the human-buttons of refugees? OK,
they will have $908,865,984, but they would be giving respect to the refugees of
the world, do you think they care?
$0.97 a year makes no difference to a human being but if we divide the same
amount between the number of people working for the UNHCR, I believe they have
about 5000 employees⦠so 20,072,010/5000=$4014.40 more than $4000 a year don't
you think that makes a difference?
I have finished now about the numbers, let us continue about the pictures, and
the idea of using the Angelina Jolie, maybe you will say that her picture is
already being used on the site of the UNHCR and you would be right! But there
are a few differences between her picture and the pictures of the refugees.
Angelinaâs picture isnât used to collect money; itâs used to show how much she
cares about people and her help for the UNHCR. When you click on her picture,
you read about Angelina, but when you click on the human-button of the refugees
you find a form to donate money.
The important difference being this, Angelinaâs picture gives you her name,
dates and history. The human-buttons, say nothing about the people on them, no
names, no dates, nothing! This pushed me to find out more about these
human-buttons. I found out the truth about the picture on the Iraqi banner in
the page about Iraq, and the button on this page to donate money. I wrote about
it in my book âTHE TRUTH WARRIORâ I could tell you quickly about it now, for
more details please look in the book.
This is a picture of a Kurdish family, and it was taken in 1991! So that was 13
years ago!!! The funny thing is that they used it to illustrate and draw
attention to an event that happened last year, writing on it âIRAQ EMERGENCYâ
strange to speak about an emergency and use a 13 year old picture donât you
think?
Do you know why they used that picture? Because it was easy⦠they had it
already, no new refugees crisis happened during the last war with the USA on
Iraq in 2003! Guess what? This picture shows a Kurdish family fleeing by
crossing the border near Suleymaniye in the north of Iraq! The problem now, of
course is the returning of refugees who left during Saddam's rule. The age of
the picture and the fact it was taken for a different reason, it's deceptive and
dishonest act.
I would have thought that a big organization like the UNHCR would be able to get
a more modern picture of what is happening. They receive information daily and I
am sure they don't need to resort to 13-year-old pictures; this information is
from the last century!!! Maybe now there are not any pictures of Iraqi refugees
to encourage donors to click the human-button! What a pity for the people of the
UNHCR and for the refugees, especially the Iraqis. I wonder, how old the other
pictures?
Do you feel that the picture shows the real situation of Iraqi refugees now? Are
the Iraqis still fleeing and seeking refuge outside Iraq? The truth is always
painful. The UNHCR has stopped receiving new applications form Iraqis seeking
help, and when an Iraqi goes to the UNHCR in Beirut to ask for assistance they
are told that the only help they can get is repatriation to Iraq. At the moment
Iraqi refugees are scattered around the world, Many countries are offering to
help return Iraqis home. These countries governments mostly finance these plans.
For example in England the government has offered $1000 plus the cost of their
flight home to each refugee.
In Lebanon, we are not sure about the amount of financial support for those
wishing to return home, but someone who had gone home told me that it was about
$40 informed me, the source of the money was also unclear. Some people are
saying that this money is from unknown Iraqi parties and some say the Iraqi
Embassy in Beirut. I am currently looking for more information on this matter.
Anyway I donât feel the $40 dollars given to refugees in Lebanon is worth
anything. Especially when viewed against the $1000 given by most European
countries. The question is this If there is no refugee crisis in Iraq and the
financial support is being paid for by the governments where these people are,
why is the UNHCR still asking for money using pictures of Iraqi refugees?
One more important question about that picture, do you think that the people who
work for the UNHCR know anything about this woman or her family? Are they
registered refugees? What is her name and where are they all now? Do you think
she agreed to have her picture put on the web and used as a human-button?
I would love to know the answers to these questions, but unfortunately I canât
ask the people at the UNHCR even though I tried many times over the years. They
never answer any questions! Instead they have tried to hurt me and even tried to
get my ISP to cut my connection! I hope one day you get the chance to ask them,
and that maybe they will answer you. They didnât answer any of my friends who
sent them messages. So please if you like, let us play their game and be a
little cheeky. I hope that one of you can contact them and tell them you want to
donate money to help the family they showed in the picture. Not telling them of
course that you know the picture is old. Just tell them you want to sponsor that
family. Notice that they wrote on it âEmergencyâ so itâs good to help them out!
Iâll wait with baited breath to hear their answers.
What do you think the answer will be? What do you think she would feel like if
she saw her picture used like that, and what if her family sees her like this or
someone in her village? She is a Moslem woman and to expose herself like this is
a sin in Islam. Did you notice she uses two pieces of cloth to cover her head?
The UNHCR using picture of Moslem woman on the net as a banner and as a
human-button to collect money where millions of men could see her!!! That is a
very big sin in Islam.
As Iâm a Moslem and I am sure the UNHCR havenât asked the womanâs permission to
display her picture publicly like they are doing now, I am asking them to
respect the Islamic religion and apologize to the woman and remove her picture
immediately. Also I am asking each Moslem person reading this article to express
their concern about this sin, which is being committed by the UNHCR for the sake
of this woman and her family. Every Moslem knows what sin is, and it is also a
sin to be silent when you see a wrong being committed. I am asking each Moslem
to contact the UNHCR and express your opinion as we are guided to do by
Islam. Iâm asking Moslems particularly and all members of other religions
generally, to express concern about the abuse of refugees because all religions
are based on respect for the dignity of all humanity.
There is a legal point of view for this subject
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established by the U.N.
General Assembly in 1950. According to the UN51 convention and the Statute of
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (G.A. res. 428
(V), annex, 5 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 20) at 46, U.N. Doc. A/1775 (1950)).
âCHAPTER II. - FUNCTIONS OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER
10. The High Commissioner shall administer any funds, public or private, which
he receives for assistance to refugees, and shall distribute them among the
private and, as appropriate, public agencies which he deems best qualified to
administer such assistance.
The High Commissioner may reject any offers which he does not consider
appropriate or which cannot be utilized.
The High Commissioner shall not appeal to governments for funds or make a
general appeal, without the prior approval of the General Assembly.
The High Commissioner shall include in his annual report a statement of his
activities in this field.â
As you can see the UNHCR must have permission from the General assembly for any
general appeal for money. The question is Did the General Assembly agree to use
these pictures to appeal for funds?
I would sincerely love to receive an answer, I am a refugee and I feel it is an
abuse of our humanity as refugees in this world. Its not just abuse of our
humanity but for the humanity of all humans.
We appeal to you to support this campaign to remove these abuses and to provide
more respect for all refugees worldwide. Our situation in the world worsens day
after day without any new polices to help or improve our situation. The UNHCR
uses us as human-buttons and baits to collect money! Our problem is not only
because of poverty it's because the general abuse of the meaning and the
principles of UN51 convention because of these money collectors in UNHCR and
other organizations.
This abuse must stop immediately. If UNHCR needs money so badly, there must be
other respectable and honorable ways to make general and public appeals for
money. For example using buttons like paypal provides for donation without any
humiliating pictures of humans at all.
I'm not saying that the people of UNHCR are all bad, they're just part of a
system and they have their procedures and regulations. I just wanted to explain
some of our feelings as refugees. To offer my understanding of the relationship
between the refugees and the UNHCR. I'm an eyewitness to that relationship,
trying hard to improve the relationship using my campaigns, my books and my
unanswered questions.
I feel sad because the UNHCR has failed in the past 3 years to answer my
questions. Until this day they failed to answer even one question! I'm not
asking for the impossible. I just want some answers, as I'm a refugee, as I'm a
human and as I'm an activist for human rights. All that gives me the right to
ask and to have my questions answered.
I invite you as fellow humans and members of the world community to support my
mission by asking the UNHCR to remove these abuses and to provide some
reasonable answers for the questions that you have read in this article.
This invitation is a very important as part of the collective efforts to enhance
respect for human rights, and for global peace. The UNHCR represent an important
constituent of our community, as humans and any failure in its performance will
weaken the harmony and peace of the world.
We're living in a time where wars are declared to liberate people from despotism
and further democracy and human rights. Blood is being shed now to improve
democracy, respect for human rights. Do we need wars and to shed blood every
time we face disregard for human rights and democracy?! Isn't there any peaceful
way?
I have heard many people claim that they're working to help the refugees and
human rights activists and some of them are collecting money also. I'm asking
these people What are you doing to help refugees and enhance human rights and
respect our humanity? I'd like to know, and if you have nothing to do now, you
can start work and help refugees by working to remove these abuses and
humiliations for all humans. Contact the UNHCR and ask them about these pictures
and tell them that these pictures are an abuse of refugeesâ dignity and
humanity, when you can do this then we can see that you really care about
refugees.
I donât have any money to pay you but if you would like to help us in our
struggle and you respect our humanity as refugees in the world, then we would be
very thankful for this help. Iâm an E-book publisher and I will be publishing
many more E-books in the future. I would like to have answers to the questions
in this article and since the people at the UNHCR refused to answer my
questions, I declare now that Iâll give free access to all of the E-books I will
write in my lifetime to the first person who will find the answers to my many
questions concerning the UNHCR. He/she will be a hero of all refugees and Iâll
write about them what they would like. I canât give them a medal now, but we
will give them our love and our thanks as refugees.
Please, if you think this issue is important and needs acts, you can send
messages to the UNHCR and your government to speak your opinions according to
your rights and the democracy. Here are some emails
ecu@...,inquiries@...,Hqpr00@...,tb-petitions@...,info@usaforun\
hcr.org
Notice that you can find more emails here http//www.umacr.org/truth/emails.htm
or you can brows for more on the net or to find more ways for contact them like
phones or faxes.
Together we will build better world.
You could reach me fast via this form http//www.unhcr.co.uk/email_me.htm and
you can read about me here http//www.unhcr.co.uk/about/osam_altaee.htm
Thanks
THE TRUTH WARRIOR
OSAM ALTAEE
http//www.unhcr.co.uk
Prays makes the Future
Ibri
http//www.ibrishah.4t.com