Qatar Concerned Over Hate Speech Towards Refugees

Qatar Concerned Over Hate Speech Towards Refugees

Geneva/Information Office/ 30 March 2016/ The State of Qatar has expressed concern over hate speech and reactions made by some countries and people towards refugees under the pretext of terrorism. It stressed that these refugees are the victims of dictatorial governments and terrorist groups, who are displacing them from their homes and forced them to leave their areas to search for safety and a decent living, and that boats anchored on the shores of the Mediterranean were carrying desperate people, not terrorists. This came in speech delivered by HE Faisal bin Abdullah Al Henzab, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva today, during the high-level meeting organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees. HE Ambassador Al Henzab said that the meeting is held under the greatest human tragedy in modern times, which is daily experienced by the Syrian people and reflected in the difficult living conditions in the refugee camps, and death by drowning in the sea at the hands of human traffickers, and subjected to insults, arrests and expulsions and violations of their human rights, which human conscience cannot remain helpless and silent about it. He expressed hope, towards this appalling, humanitarian situation, the meeting would produce tangible results to strengthen efforts to help alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people, and send a positive message to reassure the international humanitarian community will stand by the Syrian even more till they overcome their ordeal. He pointed out that the Qatar government and people had been standing by the Syrian people since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, out of humanitarian, moral and fraternal obligations, by providing various relief assistance to refugees and displaced Syrians. The Qatari foreign aid size for the benefit of the Syrian people amounted to nearly $1.6 billion allocated to improve the situation of the displaced within Syria and refugees in the resort areas, HE Al Henzab added. He noted that the total number of the Syrian community in Qatar reach 54,000 Syrians, and the estimated number of Syrians who arrived in Qatar since the beginning of the Syrian crisis reached more than 25,000 Syrians, all of whom have been granted residence and free health care permits, and on background of increasing numbers of Syrians expatriates, Qatar has allocated two schools for Syrian children , and are currently under preparation for a project to build a third school.