no hope for the poor, here...

7/18/2016

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trying to escape the dangers of the 'home-land' a child's body washes ashore

the numbers demonstrate that the pious, sanctimonious, 'holier-than-thou', rich 'Christian' nation of the United States is pathetic when called upon for charity... the major lesson of Jesus.

by E.L. Christianson Jr.

The richest country in the world, at least richest in economic terms, and the country that shouts loudest about 'Christian Values' is also a country wherein the teachings of Jesus have the least influence on policy.  On the domestic level, taking care of the poor is of least importance, and on the international level saber rattling is of greatest importance.  Both in direct contradiction to the lessons Jesus taught.

The crisis of refugees around the world is a result of exercising the military might of the United States.  The violence fostered by our policy of continuous 'regime change' is one of the leading causes of people fleeing their own country.  Our efforts at world domination make conditions at home to dangerous for many people.  The result, for many, is to leave loved ones behind and seek safety someplace else.

Having driven them from their homes, we feel no compulsion to assist as they drown from capsizing over crowed boats and we are not standing on the shore to welcome any of those who survive the journey.

Is there any reason to expect something different?  We don't treat the poor of our own country very well.  We resist every effort to assist the poor at any level... health-care, housing, food, education, and all other social services are constantly under the ax.  While we search for ways to enrich the rich through tax cuts and other hand-outs.

Our current political campaigns are focused on building a wall between here and Mexico so that we can keep those less fortunate souls our of our country.  As the figures from the above chart demonstrate, we are pathetic when it comes to helping others.

Six Richest Countries Host Less than Nine Percent of Refugees The six wealthiest countries - which make up more than half the global economy - host less than nine percent of the world’s refugees while poorer countries and territories are shouldering most of the responsibility, Oxfam said today. Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, South Africa as well as the Occupied Palestinian Territory host over 50 percent of the world’s refugees and asylum seekers but account for under 2 percent of the world’s economy. Oxfam’s analysis shows that collectively the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom hosted 2.1 million refugees and asylum seekers last year - just 8.88 percent of the world total. While Germany has recently welcomed far more refugees than the other richest nations, there still remains a major gap with poorer countries providing the vast majority of safe havens for refugees. Ahead of two major summits about refugees and migrants in New York in September, Oxfam is calling on governments to not only host more people in need of safe havens, but to commit to do more to help the developing countries sheltering the majority of refugees and protect all people on the move. Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International said:  “It is shameful so many governments are turning their backs on the suffering of millions of vulnerable people who have fled their homes and are often risking their lives to reach safety. Poorer countries are shouldering the duty of protecting refugees when it should be a shared responsibility, but many richer countries are doing next to nothing. "The international displacement we are seeing is an unprecedented and complex challenge requiring a coordinated global response. The richest countries need to be part of the solution and do their fair share by welcoming and protecting more refugees." Over 65 million people have fled their homes because of conflict, persecution and violence; the highest level since records began. A third of these are refugees and asylum seekers, while the majority have been internally displaced. The conflict in Syria has been a major factor, but people are also fleeing violence in South Sudan, Burundi, Iraq and Yemen, and elsewhere.   This is happening as the mood for offering safe havens to people on the move is darkening. The recent deal between European governments and Turkey has left thousands of men, women and children detained in Greece in often appalling conditions and in a legal limbo. The Kenyan government - when announcing the closure of the Dadaab refugee camp - said that if Europe could turn away Syrians, Kenya could do the same for Somalis. ​ "Too many people who have taken treacherous journeys to reach safety end up living in degrading situations littered with abuse, hostility and discrimination, and too few governments are doing anywhere near enough to help or protect them. We must stand as one with the millions of people who have been forced to flee as they need our help. Please sign Oxfam's petition, and make our world leaders meeting in New York in September act,” said Byanyima. Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 like-minded organizations working together and with partners and allies around the world to bring about lasting change. Oxfam works directly with communities and that seeks to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them. Oxfam International Contact: Phone +1 617 482 1211 (Toll-free 1-800-77-OXFAM) Email  info@oxfamamerica.org escaping refugees walking across the desert

(Photo: Tilman Köneke/flickr/cc) Turning Backs on Despair, Richest Nations Doing Least for World's Refugees -- 'Poorer countries are shouldering the duty of protecting refugees...but many richer countries are doing next to nothing.' from Common Dreams by Deirdre Fulton "We must stand as one with the millions of people who have been forced to flee as they need our help."  The world's six wealthiest nations are "turning their backs" on refugees, hosting less than nine percent of those who have fled their homes due to war and violence and leaving poorer countries to shoulder the burden, a damning new report from Oxfam reveals. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, the number of displaced people around the world has surpassed 65 million—an "unprecedented" milestone "that represents unacceptable human suffering." Yet the Oxfam briefing released Monday shows that the United States, China, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom—which together account for more than half of the global economy—have taken in just 8.88 percent of those 65 million. Meanwhile, though they account for less than two percent of the cumulative world GDP, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, South Africa, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory host over 50 percent of the world's refugees, the report finds. (Credit: Oxfam/UNHCR/UNRWA) "It is shameful so many governments are turning their backs on the suffering of millions of vulnerable people who have fled their homes and are often risking their lives to reach safety," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International. "Poorer countries are shouldering the duty of protecting refugees when it should be a shared responsibility, but many richer countries are doing next to nothing." Citing its own research on one of the main regional drivers of the so-called refugee crisis, the Oxfam report notes that "some governments have not only given their 'fair share' of aid for those whose lives have been blighted by Syria's terrible conflict, but also welcomed their fair share of Syrian refugees to their countries." "But that is the honorable exception to 2016's far wider, more dangerous trend of governments turning their backs on the world’s most vulnerable people and failing to uphold the spirit of the international law they claim to champion," the analysis continues. "And not all governments that have welcomed large numbers of refugees in the past are willing to continue doing so or to uphold the right to claim asylum."The Oxfam report comes ahead of two major summits about refugees and migrants in New York in September. To that end, the organization has launched a petition demanding: All countries must uphold the fundamental human rights of all people on the move and uphold and implement the principles and standards of the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol; Rich countries must welcome many more people seeking refuge and asylum; All refugee-hosting countries must provide a dignified future—including the right to work and education—to everyone trapped in long-term displacement; Rich countries must give more help to the developing countries who host the vast majority of refugees and displaced people. ​"Too many people who have taken treacherous journeys to reach safety end up living in degrading situations littered with abuse, hostility and discrimination, and too few governments are doing anywhere near enough to help or protect them," Byanyima said. "We must stand as one with the millions of people who have been forced to flee as they need our help."

lots of children are dying in their attempts to escape the dangers of their home-land... dangers brought on by brutal political systems far beyond their level of understanding

and, we here in the United States, the richest land on the planet,
​simply do not care... and that's the truth !!!