jueves, 31 de marzo de 2016

COALICION BINACIONAL VS TRUMP DF #MXCONTRATRUMP



Anterior
Llaman a no votar por Donald Trump
Desde la ciudad de México, la Coalición Binacional contra Trump da la bienvenida a la campaña #MxcontraTrump desde el Senado. Apelamos a mexicanos y latinos y a quienes tengan residencia (green card)en Estados Unidos a realizar el trámite a la ciudadanía para votar en las elecciones de noviembre, y evitar el triunfo electoral del republicano. En cada mitin del empresario, una manifestación pacífica en su contra.
Ricardo Juárez Nava, Mexicanos sin Fronteras Kansas; María García, Organización Binacional Migrante Chicago DF; Ignacio Estrada, Grupo Henriquista; Wilner Metelus, Comité Afromexicanos y Naturalizados, y Gritón, artista plástico

de RICARDO JUAREZ NAVA MSF (KANSAS CITY)

A 10 AÑOS DE LAS HISTORICAS MARCHAS MIGRANTES EN ESTADOS UNIDOS, LA DESTRUCCION DEL MOVIMIENTO Y LA AMENAZA DE TRUMP.


POR Ricardo Juárez Nava

Migrante Mexiquense y Coordinador General de la organización de inmigrantes Mexicanos Sin Fronteras con sede en Washington D.C. Ricardo ha sido protagonista principal de las históricas luchas de los migrantes en EU.

A 10 años de las marchas masivas de los inmigrantes en Estados Unidos que surgieron a razón de la aprobación en diciembre del 2005  de la Ley anti inmigrante conocida como “Ley Sesenbrenner” en el Congreso de los Estados Unidos la situación para  los inmigrantes es hoy considerablemente peor especialmente para los indocumentados.
La movilización masiva de millones de indocumentados logro la anulación de dicha ley y además que se discutiera en  el congreso una Reforma Migratoria que legalizaría la estancia de al menos 11 millones de trabajadores migrantes y sus familias, que finalmente  no se aprobó y hasta hoy no es mas que una promesa electoral.
De las movilizaciones surgió un movimiento social autentico y fuerte, del que surgieron lideres naturales y que se fundó en las organizaciones comunitarias de base y no en las organizaciones latinas tradicionales. El movimiento que logro articular acciones a nivel nacional que trascendieron las fronteras. Una de estas acciones fue el primero de Mayo del 2006, “Un Día Sin Inmigrantes” que algunos llamaron el Boicot cuyo rotundo éxito consistió en la participación masiva y mayoritaria de los inmigrantes, los latinos y aliados con lo que logro empujarse a la clase política a debatir la reforma migratoria y mostró la verdadera fuerza del movimiento y expuso ante el mundo el fracaso de las leyes, la política y el sistema migratorio de los Estados Unidos.
Este movimiento fue Intencionalmente desarticulado por la administración de Barack Obama y sus aliados las organizaciones pro Establishment organizadas en la campaña conocida como Campaña una Reforma Migratoria Integral. (Comprehensive Immigration Reform)
En esta alianza contra el movimiento de los verdaderos migrantes participan organizaciones en su mayoría aliados del Partido Demócrata, Organizaciones Latinas, Sindicatos y organismos o supuestos institutos sobre migración no gubernamentales. La estrategia que implementaron fue:
1.       otorgarle a estas organizaciones y aliados millones de dólares para manejar y controlar las movilizaciones, mensajes y demandas a nombre de los migrantes y para apoyar  promover las políticas migratorias de Obama.
2.       Desplazar y suplantar a los verdaderos líderes y organizaciones de base del movimiento, a través del descrédito, exclusión y ahogamiento financiero y acallar las voces críticas y acciones de protesta.
3.       Usar electoralmente la lucha y el sufrimiento de los inmigrantes para favorecer a los candidatos del Partido Demócrata.
4.       Complacer al movimiento anti inmigrante, a los grupos conservadores y racistas y de odio, y al Partido Republicano implementando acciones y programas como la deportación masiva, refuerzo de la vigilancia con mayor presupuesto, tecnología y guardias en la frontera,  uso de policía locales en labores de inmigración, criminalización de los migrantes, restricción y acceso a servicios públicos, así como el encarcelamiento masivo y privatización de las prisiones para migrantes.
Como respuesta al infame bloqueo del Partido Republicano a  todas las iniciativas del Presidente Obama, surgió movimiento de jóvenes valientes hijos de indocumentados conocidos  como “Los Soñadores” quienes mantuvieron viva la lucha con sus específicas demandas.
 Los Soñadores fueron los niños que fueron a las marchas del 2006 en hombros y de la mano de sus padres e igualmente fueron despreciados por la elite de las organizaciones quienes les negaron apoyo a sus demandas propias con la excusa de la “Reforma Integral”.
Un acto para la historia solo comparable a la acción de Rosa Park en la lucha por los derechos civiles de los afro estadounidenses fue protagonizado por los jóvenes indocumentados que ya habían sido deportados y en un desafío al sistema y al estado cruzaron la frontera sin permiso, fueron arrestados y desde estas prisión detono el movimiento de los “Dreamers”
 Cuando los jóvenes rebeldes trascendieron y la élite se vio disminuida públicamente entonces intentaron tomarlos bajo control pero fue demasiado tarde y Obama ante esto y el bloqueo republicano  no tuvo otra salida que las Acciones Ejecutivas de alivio conocidas como DAPA, que actualmente están suspendidas en las Cortes de Justicia y bajo ataque de los anti inmigrantes de toda clase.
La amenaza de Trump nos llega en un momento en que los indocumentados vivimos la situación más vulnerable y precaria desde el 2005, y la persecución más agresiva bajo la administración Obama, como lo demuestran la crisis de los niños migrantes y las recientes redadas y deportaciones indiscriminadas, además de que se transfirió la frontera al sur Mexico con la complicidad del gobierno Mexicano.
La amenaza de Donald Trump es real, se ha liberado al furioso monstruo del odio, nos toma desorganizados y desarmados, muy poco tenemos, algunos la opción del voto, los más la movilización y las redes sociales, y mientras los grupos de odio, los KKK se arman y preparan sus balas y cuchillos; los mismos intereses que lograron la privatización de los recursos energéticos de México, el golpe de estados en Honduras, la encarcelación masiva de afros, latinos e inmigrantes, el bombardeo criminal con drones en oriente, el arresto y deportación de niños migrantes, los mismos interesados detrás de Trump nos quieren imponer con sus medios que la candidata oficialista es nuestra opción, pero Hillary Clinton no es garantía ni confiable y ni merece nuestro voto. Los Latinos están votando en las primarias mayoritariamente por Bernie Sanders.

Pero Trump no está solo, están los intereses económicos y políticos e ideológicos que lo respaldan, y sus cómplices internacionales, los que se manifiestan y los que guardan tenebroso y despreciable silencio como el de Enrique Peña Nieto en México y la fascista  “Ley Atenco” de Eruviel Ávila en el Estado de  México
Hoy, los migrantes somos  y seguimos siendo rehenes de los intereses económico-político- electorales, somos los chivos expiatorios o mejor dicho los humanos expiatorios del fracaso del neoliberalismo y esas bestias, y el reconocimiento a nuestros derechos sigue siendo solo una promesa de campaña.
Mexicanos Sin Fronteras, los migrantes y nuestras organizaciones estamos ya enfrentado al fascismo Trumpista y sus aliados, nuestra lucha no tiene como único fin la reforma migratoria, nuestra lucha es por la igualdad. A 10 años la unidad nos está llamando.


Enlaces Electrónicos de fotos y Reportajes:
1.      Galeria de Marcha Historica de inmigrantes en Washington D.C. Abril 10, 2006: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mexicanos-sin-fronteras/albums/72157617707136536
2.      Presentacion Fortografica de la Organización Mexicanos Sin Fronteras: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mexicanos-sin-fronteras/albums/72157610203132702
3.      Ricardo Juarez Nava, Reportaje en L a Jornada: http://migracion.jornada.com.mx/rostros/ricardo-juarez-nava
5.      Ricardo Juarez Nava en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RICARDO-JUAREZ-NAVA-150168211754477/


martes, 29 de marzo de 2016

IMAC TIJUANA

 COMUNICADO

Presenta IMAC diversas exposiciones sobre feminidad, sexualidad y migración

Tijuana, B.C., a 29 de marzo de 2016.- El Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura (IMAC) inaugura esta semana tres exposiciones y una plática a partir de este martes, actividades de interés y utilidad para la comunidad en general.
Este martes 29 de marzo a las 4:00 pm, en forma conjunta con la Asociación Apiades de Tijuana, se inaugura en los pasillos de la Casa de Cultura Tijuana una muestra de fotografía y carteles, resultado de concursos dirigidos a estudiantes de secundaria y preparatoria sobre  el tema de la Migración, con la intención de que los jóvenes de Tijuana contribuyan al impulso de una nueva cultura y apoyo hacia la población migrante. Se exhiben los trabajos de 32 estudiantes, de donde se seleccionaron tres primeros lugares.
Por otra parte, este jueves 31 de marzo a las 6:00 pm se inaugura la exposición fotográfica y de escultura de Carmen CampuzanoCampos Lunarios en la Galería Álvarez Malo de la Casa de Cultura Playas, con el  tema  de la sexualidad femenina. Su enfoque es sobre el cuerpo femenino y el lenguaje  de la sexualidad. Estas obras, algunas de las cuales son autorretratos, fueron realizadas durante varios años, incluso por medio de esculturas de gran detalle.
Este viernes 1 de abril y en el cierre de la exposición Andrés Zapata, retrospectiva 1975 al 2015, el artista dialogará con el público sobre la historia detrás de sus pinturas, y el viernes 8 de abril en la Galería de la  Ciudad (Antiguo Palacio Municipal) se inaugura la muestra colectivaPaisanos, que incluye  con el trabajo de 28 artistas del Noroeste del país y San Diego, coordinado por el artistas plástico Luis Alderete.
Alejandra Chong, coordinadora de Galerías IMAC, invitó al público a visitar estas propuestas variadas y  versátiles, de las cuales pueden estar al tanto en Facebook/Coordinaciondegalerias
   
–o O o–

TELESUR


DESDE STOKTON CA





PÁRAMO HERNÁNDEZ, VOCERO UNIÓN CÍVICA PRIMERO DE MAYO STOKTON CA.-


Aprecio mucho que se me haya incluido en éste grupo de rechazo a la persona del candidato Donald Trump y lo que representa.  Sin embargo, (y lo digo sin ningún afan de crítica), en estos momentos estamos muy ocupados peleando contra la politica anti immigrante de Obama y Hillary Clinton.  El tipo Trump todavia no deporta a nadie; cuando llegue el momento lucharemos contrra su administración.  RECHAZAMOS la postura de cientos de oportunistas que nunca han levantado un dedo para defender a nuestras hermanos y hermanos migrantes indocumentados y que ahora toman la vía facil del pronunciamiento contra TRUMP, en un intento para congraciarse con las organizaciones genuinas.  En los Estados Unidos tenemos muchos ejemplos, en el territorio mexicano existe gente como Jorge Castañeda Gutman, - tal vez el oportunista de más alto nivel. Nosotros, los migrantes organizados de la región central del norte de California rechazamos el oportunismo. De acuerdo. Creo que con toda la estridencia del personaje y su discurso no estamos viendo ni revisando cosas de mucho mayor fondo y significado.

De ningún modo apoyamos al tipo, pero para nosotros es mas peligrosa la Sra. Clnton, quien nos ha hecho más daño que los dos Bushes juntos.  - -  REPITO, no me corresponde criticar ni mucho menos oponerme a ninguna lucha por los derechos de los mas vulnerables.   -  Pero quiero señalar que los programas S-Com y E-Verify del Obama siguen vigentes.  Y que la lucha es regional porque cada estado y cada zona de cada estado es afectada de manera diferente.

DESDE NY

Ellas ganan menos, pero les cobran más por sus productos

-Estereotipos, trampas mercadotécnicas e inequidad 


Por Leticia Puente Beresford

 Nueva York, marzo 28 de 2016.- Bien dice Jessica Valenti: “cuando piensas que la sociedad progresa para lograr la equidad entre los géneros, avances para las mujeres, la tienda de la esquina te dice lo contrario”. Es decir, la situación sigue mal, señala Velenti en The Guardian.
  
En diciembre del 2015 una investigación del New York City Department of Consumer Affairs encontró, en un estudio realizado tomando como base el precio de 800 productos, desde juguetes hasta artículos personales como champú, que los precios de los mismos  productos eran diferentes para hombres y mujeres.  

Encontró, por ejemplo, que los rastrillos para hombre costaban 14.99 dólares y que los mismos rastrillos, solo que marcados para mujeres, eran vendidos en 18.49 dólares. Una patineta rosa, radui fkyer, estaba marcada al doble del precio que una roja, versión para “niños”.

En promedio, la investigación halló que los de artículos señalados como “para mujeres” costaban 7 por ciento más en promedio que los artículos considerados “para hombres”.

En Reino Unido, indica el artículo de Valenti, se encontró algo similar en el mes de enero: el mismo producto, solo que con un marcado diferente para indicar si es “para hombre” o “para mujer” tienen una enorme diferencia de precio, de aproximadamente 37 por ciento más caro para ellas. 

Productos de belleza, juguetes… todo. Cuestan más incluso los  productos para las adultas mayores, ya que los pañales marcados “para ellas” cuestan más caros, lo que constituye un insulto y una agresión a las mujeres, señala Valenti. 

En suma, es injusto que las mujeres tengan que pagar más por el mismo producto, mientras los salarios para las mujeres son menores que los de los hombres por trabajo igual.
  
Pero más allá de esto, es realmente injusto que la disparidad de precios, según el género, haga parecer a las mujeres como frívolas, “gastalonas” o irresponsables desde el punto de vista financiero, ya que siempre gastarán más que los hombres, aunque compren lo mismo.  

Valenti recuerda la imagen estereotipada de las mujeres que llegan a su casa, tras una jornada de compras, cargadas de bolsas, estresadas y buscando a su esposo. Señala también la imagen desproporcionada que manejan en los anuncios comerciales, donde se ve a las mujeres ávidas de productos, sobre todo de belleza, para no sentirse feas. O comprado cosas que no necesitan, por el "vicio" de "comprar".

Los precios diferenciados a partir de que son considerados “para mujeres” o “para hombres” son evidente expresión de la inequidad, ya que no sólo se crean estos estereotipos de la mujer que gasta irresponsablemente y es presa fácil de la publicidad, sino que además esa diferencia en precios lesiona su economía.  

Deberían de ser hora, señala Valenti, de que las tiendas de ropa y farmacias vendan productos para hombres que sean más caros que los destinados a la población femenina. Y, señala irónicamente, las mujeres de Estados Unidos estarán muy agradecidas si, por ejemplo, dejan de existir los sprays "femeninos".  

Más aún, señala Valenti, los productos para el control de la natalidad y para prevenir infecciones de transmisión sexual resultan más caros para las mujeres. Los anticonceptivos hormonales para las ellas resultan mucho más caros que los condones. El costo de la píldora, cuando no se tiene seguro médico, es tres veces mayor que el costo de usar condones de por vida.  

Sucede también con la ropa interior: para las mujeres comparar lencería es mucho más caro que para los hombres comprar un bóxer. Los calzones para hombre deberían de costar 50 dólares el par, dice, si se siguiera la lógica de precios de las prendas femeninas. 

De ninguna manera se trata de atacar la situación de los hombres, de hacer algo contra ellos, sino de proponer que los productos no tengan tanta diferencia de precio según el género al que van dirigidos, porque esto constituye discriminación y en ello ayuda la publicidad engañosa que hace suponer que los productos son muy diferentes. 

Un rastrillo es un rastrillo, una pluma es una pluma, no importa quién la use, señala Valenti. No tienen por qué tener un precio tan diferente. Ojalá y los fabricantes y los distribuidores lo entendieran.

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Mexicano en huelga de hambre por los 43 estudiantes continuará su protesta así sea arrestado por la Policía de Nueva York.
Leobardo Santillán, mexicano originario de la sierra otomí-tepehua, inició una huelga de hambre de 10 días en frente de las Naciones Unidas en Nueva York desde el lunes pasado; sin embargo al estar él situado en un parque, el Departamento de Policía de Nueva York (NYPD) argumenta que la ley no le permite estar ahí por la noches. Hoy le fue dado un ultimátum a Santillán: si no se retira, será arrestado por lo que el activista ha decidido dejarse arrestar y continuar su huelga de hambre hasta ser liberado. La Policía de Nueva York le dio hoy hasta las 11:00pm, hora local, para retirarse.

Santillán reside actualmente en Houston, Texas. Esta huelga de hambre frente a la sede de las Naciones Unidas es la cuarta que realiza en demanda de la presentación con vida de los 43 estudiantes desaparecidos de la Escuela Normal Rural de Ayotzinapa. También demanda juicio penal al Presidente de México, Enrique Peña Nieto en una corte internacional por crímenes de lesa humanidad y la permanencia de un presidente interino hasta 2018; cárcel para gobernadores, militares, policías o cualquier miembro de las fuerzas de seguridad por actos de violación a derechos humanos y actos de corrupción y que la sede de las Naciones Unidas cambie de país ya que Estados Unidos apoya al gobierno corrupto y autoritario de México a través de la Iniciativa Mérida.

lunes, 28 de marzo de 2016

ACCION URGENTE MEXICO




ACCIÓN URGENTE: RIESGO DE REPRESIÓN MILITAR CONTRA COMUNIDAD INDÍGENA HUASTECA PERTENECIENTE AL FEDOMEZ-FNLS

La Red de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos DENUNCIA LA REPRESIÓN MILITAR Y EL RIESGO DE DESAPARICIÓN FORZADA Y DEMÁS CRÍMENES DE LESA HUMANIDAD en que se encuentran los habitantes de la COMUNIDAD INDÍGENA DE LA HUASTECA Y SIERRA ORIENTAL en las entidades de Veracruz e Hidalgo, México.


HECHOS

13 DE MARZO DE 2016, una patrulla de soldados del EJÉRCITO FEDERAL con cinco elementos del al 40 BATALLÓN DE INFANTERÍA, INTENTARON ALLANAR EL INMUEBLE “CASA CAMPESINA-POPULAR-CULTURAL” QUE ALBERGA LAS OFICINAS DEL COMITÉ DE DERECHOS HUMANOS DE LAS HUASTECAS Y SIERRA ORIENTAL (CODHHSO) Y DEL FRENTE DEMOCRÁTICO ORIENTAL DE MÉXICO “EMILIANO ZAPATA” (FDOMEZ), en la que dos miembros de ésta organización fueron AMENAZADOS DE DESAPARICIÓN FORZADA.
Ante los hechos, el FEDOMEZ-FNLS realizó una MARCHA DE PROTESTA en la que  FUERON NUEVAMENTE ACOSADOS, elementos del ejército adscritos al 40 BATALLÓN DE INFANTERÍA se colocaron en posiciones de ataque, tras sus pertrechos, cortaron los cartuchos de las armas de fuego, fotografiaron y por orden de uno de sus superiores filmaron selectivamente a varios manifestantes.


ANTECEDENTES

Se señala que los miembros del FNLS, con presencia en diversas entidades del país, han sido VÍCTIMAS DE CRÍMENES DE LESA HUMANIDAD en los diferentes estados de la República Mexicana, entre los que se destacan los más recientes:

5 DE MARZO DE 2016DETENCIÓN DESAPARICIÓN-FORZADA DE FIDENCIO GÓMEZ SÁNTIZ, (OCEZ-FNLS), por el GRUPO PARAMILITAR “LOS PETULES” con presencia en el MUNICIPIO DE OCOSINGO, ESTADO DE CHIAPAS.

12 DE ENERO DE 2016: “LOS PETULES”INTENTO DE EJECUCIÓN EXTRAJUDICIAL CONTRA DEL BACHILLER DANIEL GÓMEZ DÍAZ, Cuxuljá, Ocosingo.
7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2015: INTENTO DE EJECUCIÓN EXTRAJUDICIAL EN LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO RESULTARON HERIDOS MATÍAS FLORES, JESÚS HERNÁNDEZ Y RUBICEL HERNÁNDEZ, VÍCTIMA DE PARÁLISIS.

Los miembros de las diversas organizaciones del FNLS que sufrieron este atentado han participado múltiples veces en las ACTIVIDADES DE DENUNCIA POR LOS MILES DE DETENIDOS-DESAPARECIDOS EN EL PAÍS Y PARTICULARMENTE POR LOS CASOS DE EDMUNDO REYES AMAYA Y GABRIEL ALBERTO CRUZ SÁNCHEZ.
29 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2016: HÉCTOR SÁNTIZ LÓPEZEJECUTADO EXTRAJUDICIALMENTE por el grupo paramilitar “LOS PETULES”.
26 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2015: INTENTO DE EJECUCIÓN EXTRAJUDICIAL DE EMILIO MORALES DÍAZ.


DENUNCIA

LA RED DE DEFENSA DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS SOLICITA EL MÁS ENÉRGICO PRONUNCIAMIENTO. SEÑALAMOS COMO PRINCIPALES RESPONSABLES al presidente de la República ENRIQUE PEÑA NIETO, a JAVIER DUARTE DE OCHOA, Gobernador del estado de Veracruz, a FRANCISCO OLVERA RUIZ, Gobernador del estado de Hidalgo, a SALVADOR CIENFUEGOS ZEPEDA, Secretario de la Defensa Nacional.

Atentamente
Puebla, Puebla. 27 de marzo de 2016.
RED DE DEFENSA DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS

Se incluyen como anjuntos los documentos de la denuncia completa (PDF, word).
Video sobre el caso de Fidencio Gómez Sántiz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arbc_IQ04xI


domingo, 27 de marzo de 2016

JORNADA CONTRA TRUMP MIERCOLES 30 DE MARZO 6PM

RICARDO JUAREZ NAVA DE LA ONG MEXICANOS SIN FRONTERAS EN KANSAS EU

DA ENTREVISTAS EN COATEPEC HARINAS EDOMEX CEL 04455 14 75 48 59


Foto de Casa de la Cultura San Rafael Oficial.



PRD coloca en ventanales del Senado cartulinas contra Donald Trump México, 29 Mar (Notimex).- Senadores del PRD colocaron en la sede de la Cámara Alta cartulinas en contra de las aspiraciones presidenciales de Donald Trump, como parte de la campaña que busca alertar sobre sus posturas antimigrantes y antimexicanas.
  En las oficinas de senadores del PRD cuyos ventanales dan al Patio del Federalismo, se colocaron este martes cartulinas con la frase #mxcontratrump.
  El coordinador del PRD, Luis Miguel Barbosa Huerta dijo en rueda de prensa "hacemos un llamado desde México, desde cualquier parte del mundo, a la sociedad, al pueblo americano, a que rechace esa estrategia y rechacen la iniciativa de Donald Trump para volverse primero candidato de un partido político y después Presidente".
  Dijo que es un riesgo para Estados Unidos, México y el mundo el que Trump pueda convertirse en el Presidente de la nación más poderosa del mundo, ya que pondría en riesgo la estabilidad y la paz.
  Por separado, el presidente de la Mesa Directiva del Senado, Roberto Gil Zuarth hizo un llamado a los mexicanos con derecho en Estados Unidos a expresar su inconformidad en contra del discurso del precandidato republicano.
  "Somos una comunidad electoralmente muy potente, tenemos que persuadir a nuestros compatriotas que ya han hecho comunidad en los Estados Unidos de que es momento de movilizarse política y electoralmente para ganar el debate con respecto al populismo y al racismo, a estas posiciones xenófobas", indicó.
  El senador del PAN indicó que es necesario ganar el debate pero sobre todo que es necesario ganar la elección y rechazar en las urnas estos regresos populistas de derecha extrema.

TEL. 5345 30 00 EXT 3158 SENADOR BARBOSA PRD

DE DON M CASTILLO COLMEX

Desactivar para: inglés
Greece Struggles to Enforce Migrant Accord on First Day
By LIZ ALDERMAN - MARCH 20, 2016
http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/03/21/world/21GREECE/21GREECE-master675.jpg
Migrants reaching the Greek island of Lesbos on Sunday. Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
ATHENS — Greece and the European Union scrambled on Sunday to put in place the people and the facilities needed to carry out a new deal intended to address the migrant crisis that is roiling Europe, as hundreds of migrants in rubber dinghies continued to land on the Greek islands from Turkey.
The accord, struck between the union and Turkey on Friday, set a 12:01 a.m. Sunday deadline for Turkey to stem the flow of people making clandestine journeys across the Aegean Sea to Greece in an attempt to enter Europe, and required Greece to begin sending back migrants who are not eligible for asylum.
Yet processing centers on the Greek island of Lesbos and on several other Greek islands were not adequately staffed to comply immediately with the new measures, and officials said they were waiting for the European Union to follow through on a pledge to send at least 2,300 European police and asylum experts to help.
By Sunday afternoon, around 875 migrants in rubber boats had reached the Greek islands since midnight, the government said, despite an operation in Turkey that began Friday to detain migrants and the smugglers who make their journeys possible.
Many migrants landing in Lesbos on Sunday appeared to be unaware of the new policies and were reeling from their harrowing journey. Greek television showed black and gray rafts arriving at the island laden with people, some sobbing with relief at having reached Europe, and others nearly unconscious. Two little girls were found drowned, and two Syrian refugees died in the crossings over the weekend.
On Sunday, the Greek government began clearing out more than 6,000 migrants who had been waiting at processing centers and camps on several Greek islands, and transporting them on large ferries to Piraeus, the port of Athens, and to Kavala, a port in northern Greece. From there, they are to be sent to refugee camps recently set up around the
Nearly 50,000 migrants are stuck on the Greek mainland at camps, in Piraeus and on Greece’s northern border with Macedonia. More than 10,000 people have been living in miserable conditions in the Idomeni camp, on the Macedonian border, after west Balkan countries sealed their borders last month to cut the flow of migrants making their way to Germany and northern Europe.
Once emptied of their previous occupants, the migrant centers on the Greek islands are to be used only to process those who make it across the Aegean Sea through a phalanx of patrols run by Frontex, Europe’s border agency, as well as NATO and the Greek and Turkish Coast Guards.
The Greek authorities will register the migrants and process asylum applications. Migrants who do not apply for asylum or whose applications are rejected are to be returned to Turkey within two weeks. Under the accord, for every Syrian refugee returned to Turkey, the European Union will resettle one refugee directly from Turkey.
For the tens of thousands of other migrants stuck in camps around Greece, the situation is less clear. Many of them are Syrian and Iraqi nationals who, for the most part, are considered eligible for political asylum and a program that would relocate them across Europe.
Yet governments in several European countries recently began screening Syrians to determine whether the cities they came from were buffeted by conflict or considered “safe,” meaning that not all Syrians will be eligible for asylum.
In addition, around one-third of migrants in Greece are from Afghanistan. After several European countries last month abruptlyreclassified them as “economic migrants,” most were disqualified from political asylum, and will most likely be repatriated. That process could be lengthy, even after help from other European Union countries arrives in Greece.
In the meantime, tensions have been flaring in some camps on the mainland as well as in Piraeus, where many migrants have been waiting, often for weeks, to find out if they will be able to cross the borders. On Friday, fights broke out between groups of Afghan and Syrian migrants in Piraeus, after a similar brawl the day before.
At the Idomeni camp on Sunday, Doctors Without Borders said 33 migrants had been treated for injuries inflicted by the Macedonian police as they tried to cross the closed border with Greece.
A version of this article appears in print on March 21, 2016, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: Greece Struggles to Enforce Migrant Accord as Hundreds Arrive on First Day

Angela Merkel’s Trust in Turkey and Greece on Migrants Comes With Risks

By ALISON SMALE - MARCH 20, 2016
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Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany arriving at the European Union summit meeting in Brussels last week. Credit John Thys/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel, alternately lauded for courage and reviled for recklessness in admitting more than one million migrants into Germany, finally has what she wanted: a European Union accord with Turkey to reduce and manage the influx.
But even before the ink had dried on the deal reached Friday, Ms. Merkel faced sharp criticism from human rights groups for compromising on European values that she herself had championed regarding the protection of refugees, as well as from others who questioned a partnership with Turkey.
The European Union has embraced a nation whose president, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has veered from democracy, muffling the news media and other freedoms. He has pursued his own agenda against opponents of the Assad government in Syria’s civil war, reviving a military campaign against Kurd militants while facing terrorist bombings in Ankara and Istanbul.
“Does anybody seriously think that a country which hunts down and mistreats its own citizens can offer security to people in flight?” asked Cem Ozdemir, the leader of the opposition Greens and one of an estimated three million people of Turkish descent in Germany.
Another Greens leader, Anton Hofreiter, told The Rheinische Post, “Angela Merkel has achieved a European solution, but abandoned her own humane stance.”
While others were less categorical in their criticism, the compromises entailed in the accord no doubt underscored that the refugee crisis has eluded easy solutions. But it was made necessary by Europe’s inability to secure its own borders and put in place a timely and workable plan to process and redistribute refugees.
Short of that, Ms. Merkel argued, the deal with Turkey was all that stood between Europe and a repeat of the dangerous chaos that ensued last year when hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees set off on rafts to cross the Aegean to Greece.
The deal was also needed to shield European leaders from the political backlash in a bloc wary of migration. Even Ms. Merkel’s own political standing is being challenged by a shift among voters toward the far right.
In essence, Europe will pay Turkey up to 6 billion euros, or nearly $6.8 billion, through 2018 to keep at least 2.7 million Syrian refugees in decent conditions and prevent their passage to a continent where Ms. Merkel and other leaders are under populist pressure to keep out more foreigners.
Greece will get money and up to 4,000 European officials, judges and interpreters to help process any migrants who do still reach its shores and the approximately 40,000 already trapped there.
The smugglers who have made billions shipping desperate migrants across the Aegean to Greece and on to Northern Europe will see their business destroyed because everyone reaching Greece will be turned back to Turkey, Ms. Merkel stressed three times as she presented the pact on Friday in Brussels.
“Great plan,” said Stefan Ulrich of the liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. “Just unfortunately a bit too reliant on good will on all sides.”
But even as she hailed the deal, Ms. Merkel was cautious about its prospects. “Tremendous logistical challenges lie ahead,” she acknowledged on Friday.
“I am under no illusions that what we decided today will also bring further setbacks,” she said. “But I think we have found an agreement that contains an aspect of irreversibility.”
“Above all, it was very important to me that everything today was agreed together,” she continued, referring to the 28 European Union member states.
With Friday’s agreement, Ms. Merkel is also safeguarding the billions already poured into keeping Greece in the euro currency, and shoring up NATOon its southeastern flank, adjacent to Middle East war zones. The alliance, including its often quarreling members Greece and Turkey, is now involved in patrolling the Aegean to prevent illegal migration.
At home, Ms. Merkel has seen a far-right party ride the refugee crisis to spring from obscurity last summer to double-digit percentages in three state elections a week ago. She has also come under heavy fire in her own conservative bloc for refusing to impose a limit on sheltering migrants.
The sharp fall in arrivals in Germany that has resulted from Austria’s and Balkan nations’ shutting their borders has benefited Ms. Merkel, whose poll standings are rising for the first time since December. If she now also controls the refugee influx her way, she is likely to regain further support.
Tanja Börzel, a professor of politics and social sciences and integration expert at the Free University in Berlin, saw what she called good and bad news in Friday’s outcome.
“I was very surprised,” she said by telephone, “that Turkey has committed to this for relatively little in exchange.”
Professor Börzel pointed to Turkey’s succeeding in opening just one new policy channel for talks on eventual European Union membership and facing stiff conditions for the visa-free travel it seeks for Turks from late June.
In addition, she said, Europe insisted that it would dispense the €3 billion, or about $3.4 billion, it initially promised Turkey in aid before giving more.
“The European Union did not yield,” Professor Börzel said, seeing a gap between “what Turkey wanted and what it got.”
The “bad news,” she added, is that Europe still depends heavily on Turkey and Greece to manage their share, despite broken past promises to do just that.
The United Nations’ refugee agency, which has been pouring new staff and assistance into Greece, stopped just short of rejecting the deal and stressed that every refugee still must get an individual hearing.
“Ultimately, the response must be about addressing the compelling needs of individuals fleeing war and persecution,” the agency said in a statement. “Refugees need protection, not rejection.”
The International Rescue Committee, a nongovernmental group that recently arranged a meeting between Ms. Merkel and the actor George Clooney and his wife, Amal, a human rights lawyer, was more blunt. Instead of shutting down smuggling, the group warned, “the E.U.’s deal with Turkey will lead to more indignity, more disorder, more illegal journeys and more lives lost.”
The newsweekly Der Spiegel, never slow to cast the chancellor in a critical light, noted that “on paper, she has (with some minus points) the deal she sought. But she now bears the responsibility that it works.”
Ms. Merkel, who at 61 has been in power since 2005, brings not just her political experience but also the process-driven approach of a trained scientist to the task of governing. On Friday, she peppered her presentation with talk of summaries, phases and mechanisms, and purposefully looked on the bright side.
“Why should I paint horror scenarios?” she asked a questioning journalist. “Let’s first of all begin with the process. It lies in our hands whether we undertake the visa liberalization” that Turkey seeks, and when and how to advance talks on European Union membership.
Professor Börzel was also philosophical. Ms. Merkel’s plan assumes, she noted, that when the Syrian refugees find out that they cannot go to Germany, they will accept this and wait in Turkey. At least over the weekend, that indeed appeared to be the case.
“There are a number of assumptions that we will see in the next weeks and months if they are confirmed,” Professor Börzel said. “It gives Europe and Ms. Merkel some time. And if it doesn’t work, we will all have to think again.”
A version of this article appears in print on March 21, 2016, on page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: Merkel’s Trust in Turkey and Greece to Stem Migrants Comes With Risks

Deal Appears to Curb Migrant Flow, but Greece Still Faces ‘Uphill Effort’

By JIM YARDLEY and LIZ ALDERMAN - MARCH 21, 2016

Migrants Arrive in Mainland Greece

In compliance with a new agreement between the European Union and Turkey, the Greek authorities started moving migrants and refugees from the islands to make space for new arrivals.
By REUTERS on Publish Date March 21, 2016. Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters. Watch in Times Video »
MYTILENE, Greece — Standing on the southern coastline of the island of Lesbos, Molhim Zreiki peered through binoculars across the narrow strait of the Aegean Sea dividing Greece from Turkey. During the past nine months, hundreds of thousands of refugees had crossed these waters on smuggler rafts to reach Europe.
But how many rafts reached Lesbos on Monday morning?
“None,” said Mr. Zreiki, one of the volunteers who have patrolled the beaches for months to help refugees as they came ashore.
The Greek Coast Guard did pick up two rafts near Lesbos early Monday and brought the 56 people aboard to the island, according to the local police. By comparison, in October an average of 4,400 refugees landed on the island every day.
For the European Union, the paramount goal of last week’s much-criticized refugee deal with Turkey was to shut off the enormous flow of people pouring in to the Continent and break the smuggling rings targeting Greece. By insisting that people coming into Greece will be deported back toTurkeyEuropean Union officials say, they are trying to dissuade Syrians and other migrants from taking the smuggler boats in the first place. They hope Syrians will instead decide to stay in Turkey and apply for European asylum from there.
Yet many officials and migration experts warn that most migrants are fleeing war from countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and that they will simply find other routes into Europe, with the aid of smugglers in any case. Italy is already preparing for the likelihood of a higher influx of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya. Other experts say refugees could try to enter Europe from the east, or elsewhere.
But at least here on Lesbos, 48 hours after the deal went into effect, the number of refugees landing seemed to be slowing, though the figures were still being tabulated. Sunday brought more than 1,500 new refugees to the Greek isles, but early tallies suggested that the figure might have dropped to just a few hundred on Monday.
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Volunteers directed a raft carrying migrants to the Greek island of Lesbos on Sunday. Officials said fewer arrived Monday. Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
“The numbers show a significant decrease, but it’s too early to draw clear conclusions,” said Giorgos Kyritsis, the government spokesman for migration policy.
Indeed, even as the situation at sea remained uncertain, Greek officials on Monday were still confronted with widespread confusion about how the new refugee deal will be administered on land.
Under the agreement, Greece is expected to detain refugees arriving by boat and return many of them to Turkey. The European Union will then accept a certain number of Syrian refugees from camps in Turkey.
Greek officials also must address the status of the more than 50,000 refugees who are exempted from the new agreement because they were already stranded inside the country. But sifting and assisting those people have created parallel challenges for a Greek state already battered by years of economic crisis.
The migrants already inside the country must be sheltered and fed for a considerable period, possibly years, until their futures are sorted out. Many are now living in squalid tent cities — most infamously at the Idomeni crossing on the Macedonian border — and must be moved to government camps. On Monday evening, Yiannis Mouzalas, the country’s deputy migration minister, said Idomeni would be emptied within a month.
At the same time, the government must rapidly prepare for the arrival of new refugees on the islands, given that most experts expect the flow to increase again as the weather grows warmer, despite last week’s agreement.
Even with help from other European countries, the Greek government will struggle to process and detain the newly arriving refugees while also setting up a large-scale system for deportations back to Turkey that meets legal scrutiny. Deportations are scheduled to begin around April 4.
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Migrants from Pakistan at a camp in Moria, Greece, were told they would have to leave. Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
“We have to make an uphill effort because implementation of this agreement will not be an easy issue,” the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, said on Monday. He met with Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Union migration commissioner.
Officials with the United Nations, as well as many migration experts and human rights advocates, have already expressed concerns about the deal. Some argue that it violates the legal rights of refugees under international law. Others say the rush to start sending people back to Turkey is placing a tremendous strain on Greece.
“We feel it is being implemented prematurely,” said Boris Cheshirkov, a spokesman on Lesbos for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Our main concern is the Greek government doesn’t have the capacity to assess massive numbers of cases.”
Amid the uncertainty, migrants across the country were groping for answers on Monday. At the port of Piraeus, near Athens, thousands of refugees wandered in a state of confusion about their future. Piraeus now has refugees sleeping in passenger waiting rooms or in tents outdoors.
With no processing or information centers on site, rumors abounded, as did anxiety, among people who had hoped to reach Germany.
“People are asking me for information about what to do,” said Yousif Karoija, 30, a pharmacist from Aleppo, Syria, who has been in Greece for nearly a month. “I tell them: Wait one to two weeks to see what happens.”
Mr. Karoija’s wife and daughter died when bombs struck their home in Aleppo. He once hoped to reach Germany, but he is now thinking of applying for asylum in Greece and looking for work as a pharmacist or a translator to help resettling migrants. Fluent in English, and having already picked up some Greek, Mr. Karoija said he still had not figured out how to enter the asylum process.
“It’s incredible,” he said. “We came from a war. Now it’s like we’re in another war.”
Others feared that they would not be able to reunite with relatives who had already made it to Germany or other countries.
“No one knows what to do,” said Abdulraham Hedar, a Syrian stranded at Piraeus with his two daughters as they try to join his wife in Germany. “Governments look at us like we are just numbers. They don’t see us as humans.”
On Lesbos, the authorities were in the early stages of trying to put the new deal in place. Last year, Lesbos became the primary entry point for refugees into Greece, partly because of the island’s proximity to the Turkish coast.
The government has run an official processing center near the village of Moria. Some migrants lived there, but it was an “open” facility, meaning people could come and go freely. Now it will become a restricted center where new arrivals will be processed and housed before possible deportation back to Turkey.
In the past two days, Greek police forces have been working to evacuate refugees already stranded on the island so that they can be moved into government camps. This has caused some tensions, especially at Better Days for Moria, a camp run by volunteers that now largely houses Pakistani men.
The police warned camp organizers that the men would now need to leave and be moved into government camps. But many of the Pakistanis were uncertain and anxious about what would happen.
“What happens today?” asked Faisal Alam, 26, who had left Lahore to seek a future in Europe after both his parents died. “Nobody understands what is happening.”
On Monday, after hugging volunteers, many of the Pakistani men slowly walked over to the newly closed processing center. Their cases will be examined, but then they could be among the first people deported back to Turkey.
Nikolas Leontopoulos contributed reporting from Mytilene, and Dimitris Bounias from Piraeus, Greece.
A version of this article appears in print on March 22, 2016, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: Deal Appears to Curb Migrant Flow, but Greece Still Faces ‘Uphill Effort’.

The Opinion Pages | Editorial

Human Trafficking on Trial in Thailand

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD - MARCH 25, 2016
The first witness in the largest human-trafficking trial in Thai history was called to testify last week in a court in Bangkok. The witness, a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, told of being beaten and starved by gun-toting captors on the boat that ferried him and more than 200 others to a trafficking camp in Thailand.
That witness is lucky to be alive: The trial was sparked by the grim discovery last May of a mass grave containing more than 30 bodies in a trafficking camp in southern Thailand. Faced with international outrage — and the lowest ranking on the State Department’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons report — the Thai government suddenly cracked down on trafficking rings in the region. Unfortunately, that created another catastrophe when thousands of people being held on the boats were abandoned at sea by panicked traffickers.
Traffickers in Thailand profit from Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar, Bangladeshis seeking work, and women and girls sold into the sex trade. Thailand’s multibillion-dollar fishing industry is also a powerful magnet for trafficking, with victims enslaved on commercial fishing boats. Last month, President Obama signed legislation effectively banning American imports of fish caught by slave labor.
The human-trafficking trial is an opportunity for Thailand to end the impunity that has allowed traffickers, and the officials who collude with them, to operate freely. The 92 defendants in the current trial include politicians, police officers and Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpaen, a senior army officer based in southern Thailand.
With the trial expected to last until the end of this year, the government must ensure the safety of the witnesses. Last December, the top investigator in the case, Maj. Gen. Paween Pongsirin, fled Thailand, saying he feared for his life after uncovering the involvement of senior military officers and other “influential people.”
Some 3.7 million people have fled to Thailand, including an estimated 130,000 refugees. Thailand has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, and classifies all refugees as illegal migrants with no right to work legally, making them vulnerable to traffickers. It is time for Thailand to reform its asylum framework. That, together with justice for victims and reforms in the fishing industry, is the only way to end the unconscionable tragedy of human trafficking in Thailand.



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Necesitamos la inmigración 

Fernando Luengo*

Los responsables comunitarios hacen lo posible y lo imposible, vulnerando la legislación internacional y los principios humanitarios más elementales, echando al cubo de la basura los principios sobre los que, en teoría, descansaba el denominado proyecto europeo, para deshacerse de los refugiados  y poner freno a la inmigración.

El mensaje es claro: FUERA.

Al mismo tiempo que Europa intenta echar el candado a sus fronteras –reto imposible-, cerrando el paso a los centenares de miles de personas que huyen de la guerra y la pobreza, ganan terreno y espacio político movimientos xenófobos y de extrema derecha. Y también avanza en la derecha más “civilizada” un discurso político que sitúa a la inmigración como problema.

En Alemania, en Francia, en Austria y en otros países europeos prende, entre segmentos cada vez más amplios de la población, el mensaje –simple, equivocado, pero efectivo- de que los inmigrantes representan una amenaza para nuestros estados de bienestar, pues habrá que dedicar recursos públicos (salud y educación) para atenderles, competirán con “nuestros trabajadores” por los empleos disponibles, contribuyendo al aumento del desempleo, y contribuirán a que los salarios se mantengan en niveles bajos.

¡Cuánta ignorancia y miseria moral  hay en este diagnóstico! En efecto, se han degradado las políticas públicas, el número de desempleados ha seguido una tendencia alcista y se mantiene en cotas elevadas y los salarios han perdido mucha capacidad adquisitiva; pero no es de recibo culpabilizar a los inmigrantes, que son víctimas y no causantes de este deterioro.

Este planteamiento olvida, además, que los inmigrantes han trabajado y trabajan duro, casi siempre en condiciones infames, en las residencias de ancianos, en la hostelería, en la construcción, en las tareas domésticas, en la agricultura… realizando jornadas interminables y recibiendo a cambio salarios bajísimos, a menudo en condición ilegales, sometidos a la explotación de empresarios sin escrúpulos y a la permisividad de las administraciones públicas que han mirado hacia otro lado. Esa misma población inmigrante que producía, también compraba casas, adquiría hipotecas, abría negocios y consumía bienes y servicios. Todo ello ha contribuido, de manera decisiva a la dinamización de nuestras economías, al aumento del Producto Interior Bruto.

La inmigración ha sido vital a la hora de impulsar nuestras economías y para sostener nuestro modelo económico, incluidos los estados de bienestar. No sólo eso, ahora y en las próximas décadas la necesitamos de manera imperiosa. Para corregir la evolución de las pirámides poblacionales de los países europeos, determinada por la reducción de las tasas de natalidad y el progresivo envejecimiento de la población. Aporta básicamente población joven, por lo que contribuye al rejuvenecimiento de las estructuras demográficas europeas. Aumenta la proporción de la población activa respecto de la inactiva, creando de este modo las condiciones para la sostenibilidad de las pensiones.

Tan sólo se trata de algunas pinceladas, sin mayores pretensiones, de un debate muy necesario sobre el papel de las corrientes inmigratorias en el desempeño de nuestras economías. Este debate, clave para hacer llegar a la población otro mensaje, muy distinto del que se está abriendo camino en Europa, en la actualidad está virtualmente fuera de la agenda política.

A punto de concluir estas líneas, me llegan noticias de que la policía y los antidisturbios están desmantelando el campo de Moria en Levos, expulsando a las ONGs y desalojando a los refugiados -asustados, empapados y ateridos de frio-, para deportarlos a Turquía. Siento angustia, impotencia e indignación por la enorme crisis humanitaria de la que estamos siendo testigos, provocada por las autoridades comunitarias. Urge detenerla, la vida de mucha gente está en juego.

*Profesor de economía aplicada de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid,  miembro de econoNuestra y  del Consejo Ciudadano Autonómico de Madrid. Blog: Otra Economía (https://fernandoluengo.wordpress.com/)  . En Público.es , 20/03/16



E.U. Aims to Revise Proposed Migrants Deal With Turkey

By JAMES KANTER - MARCH 16, 2016
BRUSSELS — European Union authorities sought on Wednesday to alter the terms of a provisional agreement brokered by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to curb the flow of migrants and refugees streaming into Europe through Turkey.
The revised proposals were put forward by Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, on the eve of a two-day meeting that was supposed to be the deadline for signing a deal with Turkey to ease the bloc’s migration crisis.
Under the deal backed by Ms. Merkel, Turkey would get visa-free travel to much of Europe for its citizens by the summer, accelerated prospects for joining the European Union and more financing to support the nearly three million refugees inside Turkey. In return, Turkey would effectively guard Europe’s eastern shores and take back all migrants who enter Greece using clandestine routes. In addition, for each Syrian sent back, the European Union would resettle a Syrian refugee from Turkey.
Yet the last European Union meeting 10 days ago ended in disarray because the leaders would not consent to the deal.
Mr. Tusk’s revised proposals, which were discussed by representatives of the union’s governments on Wednesday, kept much of the plan put forward by Ms. Merkel intact.
But Mr. Tusk, who represents the bloc’s 28 national leaders, backed important modifications in a bid to tamp down a wave of complaints from human rights groups about the risk of forcible returns of Syrians as a result of that arrangement.
Mr. Tusk also appeared to side with Cyprus, which had reacted furiously to the prospect that Ms. Merkel’s agreement would immediately resume negotiations on European Union membership for Turkey, which has occupied the northern half of Cyprus since 1974.
Turkey was prepared to make “a commitment that migrants returned to Turkey would be protected in accordance with the international standards concerning the treatment of refugees” while Greece would “ensure that migrants already on the Greek islands would be transferred to reception centers on the Greek mainland,” according to the proposals, which are subject to change before a final agreement with Turkey this week.
Mr. Tusk, a former prime minister of Poland, also sought to reassure countries like Bulgaria and Italy that they would not be left exposed to waves of migrants seeking alternatives to Greece to reach other European Union countries.
“Turkey will take any necessary measures to prevent new sea or land routes for illegal migration opening from Turkey to the E.U.,” the revised proposals said.
But in a letter published Wednesday, Mr. Tusk warned leaders before the summit meeting that there still could be no guarantee of success.
“The catalog of issues to be resolved before we can conclude an agreement is long,” he wrote.
With weather conditions improving, journeys to Europe could soon surge and deaths increase on the maritime route to Greece from Turkey across the Aegean Sea. That has raised the pressure on leaders to discourage migrants from taking clandestine routes to Europe.
But the terms of the arrangement Ms. Merkel struck with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey incensed some European states.
President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus suggested this week that allowing Turkey to resume union membership talks was tantamount to sacrificing his nation’s interests for the short-term gain of bigger member states like Germany. Mr. Anastasiades threatened to veto the deal.
The Hungarian government this week reiterated its opposition to Ms. Merkel’s approach, suggesting that it was naïve to rely on Turkey to guard European borders, partly because migratory routes can shift — and have. Hungary is also vehemently opposed to plans to offer refugees from camps in Syria resettlement in Europe.
Even so, Mr. Tusk’s revised proposals maintained the pledge to resettle one Syrian from a camp in Turkey in exchange for each Syrian who used an irregular route, like crossing the Aegean Sea, to reach Greece. The deal also would still give up about $6.6 billion in aid to help organizations look after the nearly three million migrants already in Turkey.
Alison Smale contributed reporting from Berlin.
A version of this article appears in print on March 17, 2016, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: E.U. Seeks Revised Plan to Curb Flow of Refugees

Westbury Schools Agree to Alter Enrollment Policies for Immigrants

By BENJAMIN MUELLER - MARCH 1, 2016
The Westbury school district on Long Island became the 22nd in New York to agree to change its enrollment policies for immigrants after a state investigation found that it was unlawfully denying or delaying an education to undocumented children.
The agreement announced on Monday came amid a 16-month review by the state attorney general’s office that uncovered a pattern of schools’ violating state or federal law by asking about children’s immigration status or diverting them into alternative, non-degree-bearing programs.
From 2012 through 2015, Westbury schools asked about students’ citizenship status or for their Social Security numbers, which undocumented immigrants generally would not have, the attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, said. The schools also required students to give proof beyond what the state required that they lived in the district.
As a result, the students — many of them unaccompanied minors from Central and South America — had their enrollments delayed by up to six months, and in some cases they gave up.
New York Times article in October 2014 documented such problems in Westbury, helping to spur the investigation, which the state’s Education Department joined. A 1982 United States Supreme Court decision found that schools cannot deny access to public education on the basis of immigration status.
Westbury schools were also found to have an unwritten policy of excluding non-English speakers over 16 from the public high school, instead sending them into alternative programs that did not allow them to earn a diploma. Mr. Schneiderman’s office identified nearly 24 students who were diverted, and found that they remained in the alternative programs from one to three years, without regular evaluations by the district.
The district agreed to hire an internal ombudsman and an independent monitor to oversee its enrollment policies, and to offer compensatory schooling to students who faced enrollment delays or diversion in recent years.
A version of this article appears in print on March 2, 2016, on page A25 of the New York edition with the headline: Westbury to Alter Enrollment Policy

Migrants in Greece, Ready to Go Anywhere in Europe, Scramble to Enter E.U. Relocation Program

By LIZ ALDERMAN - MARCH 26, 2016
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“I’m afraid people will think we are all Daesh,” said Ahmed Arab, a Syrian refugee, last week at his Athens apartment. Credit Angelos Tzortzinis for The New York Times
ATHENS — Under the glare of a naked light bulb, in the tiny one-room apartment where he has taken shelter with three other young Syrian refugees, Ismail Haki clutched the folded white card on which he has pinned all his hopes.
“It’s our only chance,” said Mr. Haki, as he and his companions displayed the cards that showed they have applied for asylum in Europe. “If this works, we don’t know what country we’ll end up in. But at least we’d be in Europe.”
The four men arrived in Greece last month after making a perilous trek from Aleppo, the war-torn Syrian city, to find a hoped-for path to Germanyclosed. After languishing in a military camp for two weeks, they turned in desperation to a final option and entered a European Union relocation program that might, if they are lucky, place them almost anywhere in Europe but Germany.
The closing of Europe’s main migrant route to Germany, whose open door policy last year made it a preferred destination for refugees, has stranded more than 50,000 people in Greece. Now, as a European Union deal to start returning new arrivals to Turkey takes effect, many are realizing that their dream of getting into Europe’s prosperous north may be virtually impossible to attain.
Having come this far, migrants are scrambling to figure out how they can stay legally anywhere in Europe, or at least avoid getting deported as new policies to reduce their numbers come into place.
Some are now taking steps to settle in Greece, a battered country that may struggle to integrate them at a time when a quarter of the population is jobless. But many more are vying to get into the European Union relocation program, which is supposed to disperse 160,000 refugees, mostly from the Middle East, in countries across Europe.
“People are scared. A lot of them are saying we have no hope,” said Yousif Karoija, a Syrian who has been living for weeks in Piraeus, the port of Athens, after being tear-gassed when he tried to cross Greece’s northern border. “These people will apply to the relocation program now; they are tired, and will go anywhere in Europe,” he said, sweeping his eyes over a crowd of nearly 5,000 women, children and men camped in squalid conditions around the port.
The timing could not be worse. Since Islamic State assailants bombed Brussels last week in terror attacks that killed 31 people, Europe’s focus has swung sharply to security, raising the prospect of a further tightening of the European Union’s migration policies. The attacks renewed a bitter debate over migrants as right-wing European politicians urged a halt to mass immigration in speeches that conflated refugees with terrorism.
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Mr. Arab with his roommates, Mohamoud Sharour, center, and Ismail Haki, right. All of them are Syrian refugees who have applied for asylum.Credit Angelos Tzortzinis for The New York Times
Poland on Wednesday abandoned its pledge to take more than 6,000 migrants under the European Union relocation program, citing the attacks. “We can’t allow for events in Western Europe to happen in Poland,” said Rafal Bochenek, a spokesman for the conservative government.
For Mr. Haki and the men with whom he was sheltered, the future was thrown into question yet again.
“We left a dangerous situation,” said Mr. Haki, who was transferred from a military camp near a muddy refugee encampment in Idomeni to a cramped apartment in a run-down Athens neighborhood after registering for the program with the United Nations refugee agency. “We hope every country will have an open mind. But after Brus
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