Asylum immigration refugees

The first time the young immigrant men met their future Swedish neighbors, it was Kristin Ohman (photo above) who made contact.  "They were standing alone so I came over to meet them and I gave them some flowers," the 74-year-old smiles, as she remembers the gathering of the 70 people hand-picked to live in her new apartment building. "They seemed a bit shy, but they were all very positive." Read more: German teacher travels world to connect with students The "SällBo" project in the Swedish city of Helsingborg aims to combat loneliness among the elderly at the same time as helping former child refugees integrate by housing them side-by-side in the same building. There are 31 flats for retired people and 20 for 18- to 25-year-olds, ten of which are reserved for people who arrived in Sweden as unaccompanied child asylum-seekers. The project's name combines the word "sällskap," meaning company or togetherness, with "bo," meaning to live, and under their contract, … [Read more...] about Swedish town to integrate refugees by housing them with pensioners

Non-EU migrants and refugees wishing to live in Belgium will have to sign a statement declaring their acceptance of local values or see their residency claim rejected, a government official said, in a move campaigners fear will fuel anti-immigrant sentiment. Parliament is expected to pass the proposal to introduce a “newcomers’ statement” in the next few months, according to a spokesman for Belgium’s secretary of state for asylum and migration, Theo Francken, who drafted the plan. People moving to Belgium for more than three months would have to sign the statement which includes a pledge to prevent and report any attempts to commit “acts of terrorism”. The statement would not apply to asylum seekers and students, the spokesman said. “[Many people] are coming [to Belgium] from countries with other values,” said Francken’s spokesman Laurent Mutambayi. “If they want to build their life here in Europe [we have] no problem with … [Read more...] about Belgium to require immigrants to sign up to ‘European values’

Italy's new interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has said on a visit to Sicily that the island must stop being "the refugee camp of Europe". The leader of the far-right League party said his government's plans on migrants were not "hard line... but common sense". He said that increasing deportations and limiting new arrivals would end up saving lives. However, critics have cast doubt on the feasibility of Mr Salvini's plans.Italy is the main destination for migrants crossing from North Africa to Europe, although numbers have fallen in recent months. The country's new populist government involving the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League was sworn in last week, ending months of uncertainty for the EU's fourth-biggest economy.The League is strongly anti-immigration and a joint plan agreed with the M5S in forming the new government reflects that stance. Italy coalition: What you should know What exactly is populism? Italy's economy in charts Speaking on Sunday in the … [Read more...] about Italy migrants: Matteo Salvini calls for end to Sicily ‘refugee camp’

France and Italy have thrown down the gauntlet over Europe's system of passport-free travel, saying a crisis of immigration sparked by the Arab spring was calling into question the borderless regime enjoyed by more than 400 million people in 25 countries. Challenging one of the biggest achievements of European integration of recent decades, Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi also launched a joint effort to stem immigration and demanded European deportation pacts with the countries of revolutionary north Africa to send new arrivals packing. The French president and the Italian prime minister, at a summit in Rome, opted to pile the pressure on Brussels and the governments of the other 25 EU states, demanding an "in-depth revision" of European law regulating the passport-free travel that takes in almost all of the EU with the exception of Britain and Ireland. Prompted by the influx to Italy of almost 30,000 immigrants, mainly from Tunisia, in recent months, the two leaders warned that … [Read more...] about France and Italy in call to close EU borders in wake of Arab protests