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In the first few minutes of the new documentary Missing in Brooks County, Eddie Canales idles his truck along a long stretch of trees, brush, and barbed wire. A few steps away a plastic barrel marked Agua sits under a tattered Red Cross flag where Canales retrieves a few empty water jugs and replaces them with full ones. Here in Brooks County, a rural Texas community located near the U.S.-Mexico border, summertime temperatures regularly exceed 100 degrees. A person could easily die of thirst out here, and as Canales drives his truck down the road he halts when he sees buzzards nearby. Whoa, he says, watching the birds as they circle. Theyre here.

A grizzled, aging man, Canales gingerly climbs over barbed wire and hacks through tall grass to discover what the buzzards have already found. A migrant is lying on the ground, dead. The man faces the sky, his arms outstretched, his chest swollen.

Hundreds die traversing this sweltering landscape every summer to evade the states largest border patrol checkpoint in nearby Falfurrias. There is no infrastructure to help them: Canales is the one-man engine behind the tiny South Texas Human Rights Center, providing humanitarian help where it can in Brooks County. Yet this unnamed soul is one of thousands of missing migrants whose families will never know what happened to them.

Missing in Brooks County, a documentary by Connecticut-based filmmakers Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss screening periodically across Texas and currently streaming on Laemmle Virtual Cinema, zooms in on this immense issue in one particularly dangerous area: Brooks County, population 7,100, where more than 2,000 migrants are presumed to have died since 2008. An estimated four in five of them will never be found. Texas leads all U.S. states in migrant deaths, having now surpassed Arizona for the dubious distinction. This film follows the helpers, who have been clouded by controversies in other parts of the Southwest: In 2019, humanitarian volunteers outside Tucson were charged with felonies for providing water and shelter to two young men walking through the Sonoran Desert. Here, volunteers have avoided legal harassment, but are instead entirely invisible.

The film takes shape as a portrait of the few human beings who carry countless spirits on their shoulders, who take the dead under their wing. Canales is one of them, and when family members come to his humble office to ask for help, he sifts through binders of crime scene photographs. It is traumatizing, thankless work, but he keeps on, often sleeping on a cot in the office.

If a migrant is walking through the brush in Brooks County, they have already made it across the border in McAllen. Coyotes bring people north and, upon reaching the Brooks County seat of Falfurrias 70 miles from the border, face the largest border patrol checkpoint in Texas. The only way to circumvent the checkpoint is to hike 40 miles around it. The filmmakers excoriate both federal and state officials for the humanitarian crisis that has resulted. It is clear to the filmmakers that federal policies of deterrence, dating back to 1994 under the Clinton Administration, are to blame for the forging of these dangerous paths and the subsequent surge in deaths. Yet they also indict Texas systems, or lack thereof, for failing to keep track of migrant deaths in any meaningful way.

Another of the movies main characters is anthropologist Kate Spradley, who leads a Texas State University project to exhume unmarked graves, conduct DNA testing, and reconnect the mourning families of missing migrants to their loved ones remains. We watch how Canales stays calm and keeps his head down in the work to cope, but Spradleys response is one of building anger. She calls him about yet another funeral home that told her that, inundated with bodies, they just started burying people everywhere with no records. These are people, these arent receipts you lose track of, she vents.

The filmmakers do an expert job of humanizing Spradley and Canales, but they could have spent more time with the migrants grieving families. They follow the families of Homero Romn Gmez and Juan Maceda Salazar, shedding light on their stories, but they dont get quite as much screen time or exploration. Even so, Missing in Brooks County lingers with a quiet care on human moments. Four years of footage has been distilled into a thrumming, tense hour and twenty minutes, a collection of scenes that illuminate fleeting traces of pain and memory. Often, these scenes are mundane: we see Romn Gmezs brother and sister sit in a plain hotel room, waiting on the phone, transferred again and again to county offices that will lead them nowhere; we watch research students gently and silently handle the bones of migrants dug from unmarked graves. We learn that grave diggers and the folks who mow the cemetery lawn are frequently the only people who remember where the unidentifieds were buried. In one striking shot, Spradley shows us a room filled with small, cardboard boxes, so many that the cameras frame cant capture them all. There is a person inside every one of these boxes. Everybody in here has a family that wonders what happened to them.

Viewers also see local residents and officials who appear to view migrants as less than human. A Border Patrol agent says he doesnt call the migrants people anymore; he calls them bodies. Ranchers, some of whom staunchly refuse Canales requests to set out water on their land, say shocking things on camera. Ive got my suspicions about Eddie Canales, says one. Were just waiting to try to catch him loading some [people] up and sneaking them around the checkpoint. He laughs at a Border Patrol photo in which three migrants hide in a tree from guard dogs. Another rancher, a veterinarian by day, eventually invites the filmmakers on a vigilante stakeout that he organizes with other elderly white men who are concerned about immigrants bringing sleeper cells and cartel soldiers to overtake us internally. He sits through the dead of night, wearing night vision goggles and full camo hunting gear, hoping to apprehend people he considers to be dangerous criminals.

Even in these bizarre, hostility-tinged moments, the films tone remains solemn. The ranches of Brooks County are haunted. By the movies conclusion, however, theres still hope to be found. Kind people of faith in Falfurrias often pull over to wish the searching families well. Crosses and angel statues stand among flowers in the cemeteries. God bless you is a common refrain, the charm of small town Texas. At one point, a friendly couple delivers food for graduate students conducting an exhumation. We call this working for the Lord, the woman says. No one sends us, we just go around town looking for things to do, see where God sends us, and he led us to the cemetery tonight. Despite these acts of care, the film still ends on a quiet, despairing note, in Canales office. In the last shot, the Red Cross flag waves under a big moon, ripped apart by the wind, hanging on.

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Missing Migrant Crisis Haunts South Texas' Brooks County - The Texas Observer

The wall that Turkey has built on the Iranian border cannot solve the refugee crisis on its own, the spokesperson of Turkey's Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Commission said Thursday, calling on European countries to play a more active role in Afghanistan to resolve the international crisis and "act more conscientiously."

Speaking to the Deutsche Welle (DW) Turkish, Van lawmaker Osman Nuri Glaar from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) evaluated issues like the transition of Afghan refugees to Turkey, the latest situation in the region, the adaptation of Syrian refugees to Turkey, and Europe's expectations.

Stating that Turkey, which hosts millions of migrants, is not in a position to bear any more burden, Glaar said the number of Afghans arriving in the eastern border province of Van fell to 100 on some days but rose to 300 and 400 on others. "This migration has been an incredibly heavy burden. It is an intensity that can cause burden and tragedy, and it does not have a sustainable side."

Turkey was abandoned in its efforts to prevent irregular migration, President Recep Tayyip Erdoan said on Thursday. "Turkey has been left alone in its extraordinary struggle to prevent irregular migration originating from Syria," the president said in a video message sent to a symposium on the Aegean Sea and Turkish-Greek relations.

Saying that the 2015 refugee crisis when 1.3 million people traveled to Europe to request asylum could have been instrumental in strengthening cooperation between Turkey and Greece, Erdoan said Athens wasted this opportunity with its "uncompromising stance."

Foreign Minister Mevlt avuolu also recently highlighted the importance of taking joint action to deal with the migrant crisis, as he urged the European Union to properly implement the terms of the 2016 deal and undertake burden-sharing responsibilities.

Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution such as the Syrian civil war. Through its March 2016 agreement with the EU, Turkey was key in bringing down migrant numbers and alleviating the crisis.

Concerns have risen over a possible spike in migrants from Afghanistan, due to the United States' pullout from the country and the following surge of Taliban attacks. Turkey has made it clear that it will not bear the burden of the migration crises experienced as a result of the decisions of third countries.

Turkey is continuing efforts to bolster the security of its border with Iran to prevent any new migrant wave in the face of the recent developments in Afghanistan. The beefed-up border measures in Turkey, which already hosts nearly 4 million Syrian refugees and is a staging post for many migrants trying to reach Europe, began as the Taliban started advancing in Afghanistan and took over Kabul last month.

Turkey is not the only country putting up barriers. Its neighbor Greece has just completed a 40-kilometer (25-mile) fence and surveillance system to keep out migrants who still manage to enter Turkey and try to reach the EU.

Authorities say there are 182,000 registered Afghan migrants in Turkey and up to an estimated 120,000 unregistered ones. Erdoan urged European countries to take responsibility for any new influx, warning that Turkey had no intention of becoming "Europe's migrant storage unit."

Turkey hosts nearly 4 million refugees more than any country in the world. After the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Turkey adopted an open-door policy for people fleeing the conflict, granting them temporary protection status. Afghans are believed to be the second-largest refugee community in Turkey after Syrians. Many of the migrants arriving via Iran are heading for Istanbul to find work or passage to another coastal city from which to embark for Europe.

Calling on Europe to take reasonable and more logical steps to provide serious support to Turkey in this sense, Glaar added: "Germany is currently the leader of Europe. I would also like to emphasize that we wish Germany to develop friendly ties with Turkey. And if the refugee problem is to be resolved, then more consultation and communication is needed. We have witnessed how badly Greece treats refugees. At the point of throwing their boats back into the rivers after they pierced, or throwing them into the sea, they were faced with a treatment that no human conscience would accept. Efforts should be made for a fairer system and order in the world."

Turkey and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back asylum-seekers, saying the country violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children. A recent report by Amnesty International titled "Greece: Violence, lies and pushbacks" documented "how the Greek authorities are conducting illegal pushbacks at land and sea." Pushbacks are considered contrary to international refugee protection agreements.

Explaining that it is not possible for Syrians to return to their countries in the short term, Glaar said: "Unless there is a just solution in Syria, it will not be possible for millions of Syrians to return to their homes, unfortunately, it will not be possible."

See more here:
Europe must be more active to prevent Afghan migrant crisis: Turkey | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

Lithuania, Latvia and Poland are currently dealing with a migrant crisis triggered and fuelled by the regime in Belarus. They have no experience in managing such crises, and might find value in studying the approaches, solutions, and mistakes of EU peers such as Italy and Spain, countries that have often been on the frontline in dealing with illegal migration.

Spain and Italy have both had to deal with high numbers of arrivals in short periods of time, overloading their migrant reception systems. They have both suffered the economic, political, and social consequences of migration crises that continue to impact their societies. Migration has become a hot political issue, dividing populations, and distorting the discourse of political parties. Spain has also recently experienced the weaponisation of migrants in the city of Ceuta, where Moroccos political bargaining is reminiscent of the strategy adopted by Minsk.

There is no magic solution for irregular migration. In some cases, cooperating with origin and transit countries has been a fruitful mitigation strategy. But dealing with regimes such as Belarus, which turns migrants into geopolitical weapons, while at the same time ensuring respect for the human rights of the migrants themselves and the humanitarian obligations of target countries, continues to present a challenge.

Download and read: Pushed to the Limit? Italian and Spanish Lessons from the Migration Crises (PDF)

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Pushed to the Limit? Italian and Spanish Lessons from the Migration Crises - RKK ICDS

'These refugees have all been abandoned in a seemingly permanent state of waiting, trapped between home and a land of opportunities.'Twitter @LimboFilm

Limbo: an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition.

The 2020 film, endowed with this curious, one-word title, tells the story of a group of all-male refugees who have been sidelined in the Scottish Isles and are stuck in such a limbo-like state, waiting to hear news on their sanctuary application. It is director Ben Sharrocks second feature film and the filmmakers experience is made evident through his use of heavily stylised shots to convey his characters bare-bones lifestyle, while simultaneously delivering the resonant political commentary of the film.

Throughout the story, we mainly follow Omar, a Syrian musician who carries his grandfathers oud with him everywhere he goes his only remnant of home. He lives with Farhad, his mellow companion who endlessly picks up new trinkets from the local donation box, as well as two brothers, Wasef and Abedi. They are left with no hope but to each day wait for the mailman who stops at every house but theirs, withholding the long-anticipated letter of acceptance to release them from this modern-day purgatory.

Sharrock seems to be asking his audience: as a refugee, how do you fight?

Sharrocks direction is confident yet controlled, creating a consistent aesthetic throughout the film, which somehow manages to make ugly 80s sweaters (of which there is an abundance) seem cool. The beauty of every scene combined with its deadpan humour makes Limbo an entertaining watch at the bare minimum. What truly elevates the film, however, is its pertinence to todays refugee crisis and its huge amount of heart when dealing with this topic. The film clearly seeks to enforce the humanity of its subjects. The characters are not merely part of a statistic, portrayed as parasitic thieves, or trapped cattle being herded from one place to another. They are not defined by their status as refugees, but are portrayed as flesh-and-blood humans with hobbies, families, and endless memories of their lives before.

These refugees have all been abandoned in a seemingly permanent state of waiting, trapped between home and a land of opportunities. They are bombarded by the harsh Scottish weather, shown in all its ever-changing glory through the timeline of the film which stretches over several years, and portrayed as a character in its own right. The bitter winds and bleak skies create a backdrop which, although breathtakingly beautiful, aptly reflects the cold shoulder welcome from the Scottish residents who are themselves similarly neglected by the Government. The locals taunt them, recalling the caricatured, racist image of a Middle-Eastern terrorist that haunts Western nightmares. According to them, Omar and his friends are there to take their women, destroy their homes, wreak chaos and pain. This aimless waiting in such an unwelcoming community erodes any remaining spirit after Omars treacherous journey to the UK and rather than using violence or military action, the Government seems to be exercising a much more cost-effective tactic: stick them in the middle of nowhere and wait until they give up.

Refugees should not have to be plastered, dead, across the front of newspapers for us to care

This battle against the weather is the most tangible struggle in the film as any progress towards gaining asylum seems next to impossible. Sharrock seems to be asking his audience: as a refugee, how do you fight? By constantly rehearsing for job interviews? Watching your friends water themselves down and become more British, more palatable? Erasing every trace of your ethnic identity and culture despite still being marked as an outsider by everyone?

Limbos political commentary, therefore, is incredibly relevant and will no doubt remain so for the foreseeable future. However, with Afghanistan trumping Syria in most recent headlines with regards to urgent calls to accept as many refugees who are fleeing the Talibans take-over, it also exposes how different crises come in and out of fashion. It shows how our short attention span grasps onto them, producing a few Instagram posts and social media outrage, only to fade out just as quickly and inconsequentially as it appeared. And what happens then? These refugees become past their sell-by date as one migrant comments (Limbo, 2020). They are no longer in fashion, they get stuck in the middle of nowhere, in a constant limbo, forever.

Refugees should not have to be plastered, dead, across the front of newspapers for us to care. And Limbo avoids this sensationalism or the medias customary harsh demand for instant guilt and empathy. Its characters are not degraded in order for us to see their struggle. Instead, there is a quiet unravelling of the whys and the hows of their various complex situations and backstories which adds a warmth to the film despite the Islands overwhelmingly harsh weather.

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We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding, and during this unprecedented global crisis, we expect to have a tough few months and years ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content and of course in print too.

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as 1, to help with our running costs at least until this global crisis ends and things begin to return to normal.

Many thanks, all of us here at Varsity would like to wish you, your friends, families and all of your loved ones a safe and healthy few months ahead.

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Portraying the refugee crisis in modern cinema - Varsity Online

PTI | | Posted by Sharangee Dutta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

PUBLISHED ON SEP 14, 2021 10:13 PM IST

Turkey does not have the capacity to deal with a possible new refugee wave from Afghanistan, the Turkish president told German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a telephone call on Tuesday.

During the call, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said Germany and other European Union nations should provide assistance to Afghanistan's neighbours to help them as they bear the burden of the Afghan migration, according to a statement from the Turkish leader's office.

Turkey, which already hosts the world's largest refugee population, including 3.7 million Syrians, is concerned about a potential influx of refugees fleeing the Taliban. Anti-migrant sentiment has been running high in Turkey as it grapples with economic woes, including high unemployment, that have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

President Erdogan underlined that Turkey does not have the capacity to handle a new migration burden, said a statement from the presidential communications office.

Erdogan added that no one wants to relive an experience similar to the Syrian refugee wave of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people reached Greek islands by boats from the nearby Turkish coast, on their way to seek asylum in more prosperous EU countries.

In 2016, Turkey and the EU signed a deal for Ankara to stem the flow of migrants heading toward Europe, in return for visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and substantial EU financial support.

Erdogan told the German president that the EU should rapidly take steps to ensure that the deal is implemented by re-starting Turkey's stalled membership talks, updating the customs union with Ankara and granting visa-free travel to Turkish citizens, according to the statement.

There was no statement on the call from the office of the German president, whose duties are largely ceremonial.

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Dont have capacity to handle new refugee influx': Turkey on Afghanistan crisis - Hindustan Times