Humanitarian Initiative or Bureaucratic Nightmare? How Germany's Visa Relief Falls Short for Earthquake Survivors!

 

Anis Albasha

The German government's recent announcement to temporarily ease visa restrictions for Turkish and Syrian earthquake survivors with German family ties is a well-intentioned humanitarian effort. However, upon closer examination, the bureaucratic procedures and stringent conditions of this program raise serious concerns about its effectiveness.

My work as an advisor to people with immigrant backgrounds has led me to closely examine this initiative. Since the announcement of this initiative, I have received many inquiries from people seeking guidance on how to assist their affected relatives.

As an advisor to people with immigrant backgrounds, I have received many inquiries from those seeking guidance on how to assist their affected relatives. Despite its well-intentioned nature, the reality on the ground is far from hopeful, as many survivors face significant hurdles and bureaucratic obstacles in accessing this relief.

As per the German government's announcement, the temporary easing of visa restrictions is exclusively available to earthquake survivors from Turkey and Syria who have immediate family members currently residing in Germany. However, to be eligible for this relief, these survivors must provide comprehensive documentation and evidence of their familial connections, which includes valid passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and verification of their relationship with their German family member. These requirements impose an additional challenge for those who have lost their possessions, papers, and documents as a result of the disaster and are currently struggling to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of this catastrophe.

In addition, the visa program has a limited capacity and a stringent deadline, making it difficult for many earthquake survivors with family ties in Germany to qualify for relief. Moreover, the German authorities' processing time for visa applications is lengthy, which further hinders many from benefiting from the program.

Another significant hurdle facing this "humanitarian" initiative is the requirement that the inviting party bears the costs and provides accommodation for their visiting relatives. This prerequisite creates an unnecessary complication, making it difficult for many families, particularly for thousands of immigrants already living in Germany, who are still seeking employment opportunities. Even for those who work and support themselves, it would be challenging to afford the expenses of accommodation, healthcare, and daily living for their relatives, given the high cost of living in Germany, especially with the recent inflation and the surge in energy and food prices.

If the German government genuinely wants to provide urgent humanitarian assistance, it should modify the commitment period and reduce it to a symbolic range. The current five-year commitment period is excessive and unrealistic for many families. Moreover, the obligation to cover expenses extends beyond just medical treatment and food. It also includes providing adequate housing space, subject to strict German laws that mandate sufficient space for the number of people sharing a living space under one roof. This requirement poses yet another challenge for those seeking to benefit from this temporary visa relief.

In summary, while the German government's decision to temporarily relax visa restrictions for earthquake survivors with German family ties is commendable, the existing bureaucratic procedures and stringent conditions create significant obstacles for many families seeking assistance. To ensure the relief measures are effective in providing the necessary support to those who need it the most, the program must be reevaluated and more inclusive and accessible policies implemented that prioritize the needs of the survivors over bureaucratic hurdles.

It is essential to understand that this natural disaster has caused significant suffering and loss for those affected by it. Many survivors have lost their homes, families, and loved ones, and they desperately need assistance and support. The German government's initiative can be a valuable humanitarian effort if it is designed and implemented with the survivors' needs and realities in mind. The program's current limitations and conditions prevent it from reaching its full potential and providing the necessary assistance to those who need it the most.

I really hope that the German authorities will reconsider their approach to this initiative and prioritize the needs of the survivors over bureaucratic hurdles by implementing more effective and accessible policies. It is important to remember that the survivors of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are real people with real stories, not just statistics or numbers, and they deserve our support and assistance during their time of need.

What is happening in Yemen?

Pic from Pexels

By Anis Albasha

A few days ago, my wife and I were watching the news on the TV. There was a news story about Yemen saying that the forces of the so-called “Arab alliance” along with its allied local forces have 'regained' control of a directorate located in the west of Yemen called Altahita!   

Many news channel hosted strategic experts to talk about that ‘breaking news’ from Yemen. Some of those experts were talking about the significance of this event and considering it as a turning point in the course of the war against Yemen. Since my wife and I are both from Yemen, we could hardly believe what we heard. It was really provocative because the only progress this absurd war, that has been going on for more than three years, could achieve was a total destruction of Yemen as well as causing the deaths of thousands of civilians, including children. 

This devastated directorate which is called Altahita has been suffering for decades from poverty, ignorance and lack of basic services. I am sure that the inhabitants of Altahita would never have imagined that their very poor directorate would be one day a hot topic in the top news channels. They would never have imagined that Altahita would be the main topic of many discussions and analysis among different kinds of experts. So, the question here is, in light of the deliberate media blackout regarding the war in the entire Yemen, why has a conflict that takes place in a very small neglected area become the focus of the news media? And how can we link the answer to this question to what is going on in Yemen?

About two years ago, my wife and I gave presentations about Yemen. The audience was German and we were talking about our country from cultural/social perspective. We also talked about the political satiation in Yemen and , of course, about the fierce war there. When I spoke about the reasons behind the international ignorance of the horrific war in Yemen, I have identified three reasons. The first one is that Russia did not intervene in the war of Yemen as it did in Syria. The second reason is the very powerful media outlets owned by the party waging the war against Yemen. And the third reason is the huge arms deals carried out by Western countries such as the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and other countries that sell and export weapons to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states.

This was more than two years ago. Now, the war in Yemen has entered its fourth year while the reasons behind the world’s ignorance of the devastating consequences of this war remain the same! On the other hand, this recent regional and international media's focus on the conflict of Altahita and portraying it as the most prominent event that could change the course of this absurd war is another proof of what I have said earlier. This focus is an example of the power of the money (Saudi/UAE) to steer the media and to buy affiliations. No body is talking about the massacres, about the famine that is taking place in the country or about the dozens of civilian deaths every day by the raids of this coalition. Now, it is all about the battle of "Altahita" and to hell with the suffering of the Yemeni people. 

Out of desperation, this ill-fated coalition is trying to distract the world's attention from the atrocities committed in Yemen by focusing on such news and battles. They have been doing this for a long time in a successful way. No wonder, both the Saudi Arabia and the UAE are paying huge sums of money to a number of public relations companies in the United States so that they can mislead the public opinion in the West and act innocently. In fact, without the services provided by those companies, they wouldn't be able to play this dirty game. Everybody knows, at least in the Arab region, that those who wage this war, Saudi Arabia and UAE, have no political, strategic or even logical objectives. This is the reality which, unfortunately, most people in America and in Europe do not realize. I think it is difficult for the western people to imagine that there is such foolishness among persons who are supposed to be leaders of their nations.

The problem is that those imprudent Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and in the UAE are no more than dirty claws and paws used by other superior powers that have their own goals and agenda in the region. Actually, some of these goals have already been achieved, but at the expense of the blood and the suffering of the Yemeni people. So back to the issue of Altahita's battle, which seems to continue being the media’s focus for an unknown time, this fierce conflict to get control over this unfortunate directorate are moving up and down and seems to have no end. The Saudi-led coalition mobilizes and tries to make a progress while the opposing resisting Yemeni forces are mobilizing and fighting back. As a result of this absurd conflict, the humanitarian suffering of the people of Altahita, and of the rest of the population, is compounded.  

But the regional and international media have another point of view. They portray the fight in Altahita as a very important battle which could make a fatal turn in the course of the war against Yemen. The truth is that, over more than three years, those who launched this dirty war against Yemen have not been able to achieve any victory or to make any tangible progress in any of the fighting fronts. So, what is the difference the battle of Altahita could make? The only thing this battle is going to achieve is shedding the blood of innocent civilians and adding more suffering for the people of the area. Worse still, this destructive scenario could be repeated in other areas of the country. It is very likely to hear the media talking about a new battle in another small district of Yemen in the same way they are using now to talk about Altahita's one. 

This is not about taking control over an area in the south or in the north of Yemen. In fact, this war against Yemen has lost its compass and it is going beyond all limits. In the light of the media's silence and the complicity of the international community, this war turned into a terrible destructive tool.  There are no suitable words that can describe the very deteriorating humanitarian situations in Yemen.  The whole image there is so bleak in a way that makes it difficult for any human mind to imagine. I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but if this futile war does not stop, the country is going to hell in a handbasket. Yet, nobody cares about what is going on in Yemen. Both the media and the international community are very concerned about what is going on in Syria. And of course, this attitude towards Syria is not out of any humanitarian sympathy. Otherwise, Yemeni people would get at least a small portion of that concern.

To conclude, what is going on in Yemen cannot be described as a ‘war’ because even wars have certain limits or at least they have specific targets to achieve. But when very modern warplanes bombard cars and public buses that carry civilians and children , And when these warplanes target schools, wedding and funeral halls, then we are talking about something worse than wars. So, until Putin decides to intervene in Yemen or until Gulf countries run out of money, the Yemeni tragedy will continue. Today they are talking about Altahita's battle, tomorrow they are going to talk about another battle in another miserable and perverted area. And this is, unfortunately, the only reality of what is happening in Yemen!

Life without walls...!

By Anis Albasha

One of the most interesting things I have seen in Europe is the scene of schools with no walls surround them. This might be a normal scene for Europeans. But for a person who came from a different background in which ‘walls’ are in everywhere, such wall-less views were so unusual.

Since ancient times, walls and fences have been an important part of human’s life. People built walls to protect themselves from impending danger. Walls played a pivotal role in wars. Impregnable walls were the main obstacle which determines the victory or the defeat of a nation. Today, some countries build fences on their borders to prevent the flow of migrants or smugglers. Some people might establish mental walls in order to keep a distance between them and other people. When it comes to Arabic culture and societies, concrete walls play a major role in people’s lives.

In my country as an example, the view of walls is very common. There are walls that surround school buildings, there are walls that surround houses, and there are also walls that surround buildings, companies and government facilities. Moreover, we have walls that surround vast areas of uninhabited and barren lands! The main purpose of all these physical fences and walls is to maintain privacy as well as to protect against thieves and nosy people. As for schools fences, the walls are there to hold students and keep them within the premises until the end of the school day. Besides, schools fences prevent ‘foreign’ people from entering the school. And because of these high fences and the rigid system of our schools, students' attempts to flee the school building know no end.

Unfortunately, these attempts sometimes have tragic endings. I remember one time I was in the secondary school and one day we were setting in our classroom when we saw from the window a student who was trying to escape by climbing one of school’s high walls "at least four meters height." The boy managed to climb the fence successfully. But when he tried to get to the other side of the wall, he grabbed the power cables which were close to him and unfortunately he was shocked by the electric current and died instantly. I am sure that if people from Europe saw that horrifying scene, they would not have imagined for a moment that this "escapee" was just a student wanted to flee the school. Those people, who come from countries where there are no walls around schools, would think that this poor student is a dangerous criminal who is sentenced to death so he was trying to escape in order to save his life. 

I’ve never climbed a school wall. But that does not mean I loved staying inside the school. Like many of my peers at the time, we look at the school as a kind of prison which we were forced not to leave until the end of the school day.  Perhaps that feeling was due to schools’ high walls that surrounded us or because of the poor level of education we had. When it comes to the houses, the fences and walls in my country may exceed the height of five meters, especially those fences surrounding the houses of the rich people or high ranking officials. It is very common to see some luxurious houses and villas surrounded by very high walls which are extended along the sight. Usually, there is a direct correlation the height and length of the fences and the status and the wealth of the owners of these luxurious.

However, the fences that surround houses in many Arabic societies often fail to provide privacy to their owners. Sadly enough, in the societies in which we grew up, there is no respect for the privacy of the others. Therefore, many people tend to interfere in others' affairs, bug each other, and intrude into the privacy of the others. Those 'interferers' continue doing so even with the existence of all those walls and fences made by people in order to maintain some privacy. The bigger the height of the walls, the greater the desire to climb these walls in order to know what is going on behind them.

I do believe that the shape and the size of the walls in any society is a reflection of the nature of that society as well as its inhabitants. The lower the walls in the society, the greater the awareness and the urbanization of the people who live in that society. The high number of fences in a society is evidence of the low level of awareness and urbanization among members of that community. In contrast, the high number of walls and fences in a society is an indication of the low level of awareness and urbanization among the members of that society.  

So, as I mentioned at the beginning, the view of very low fences that surround the houses here or the view of the pupils' playing in the schoolyard without climbing the walls will continue to catch my eyes. It is said that “Walls don’t fall without efforts”. So, I hope that one day; walls in my country will get more shorter and the sense of self-control among people will get more bigger.