The vast majority of Chilean refugees live in Argentina or Europe. Approximately 100,000 Chileans have settled in Europe since 1973, mostly in Spain or northern Europe. Fewer Chileans have departed in recent years, in part because of the improved economy, but also because of the improving human rights situation. Moreover, the political situation changed dramatically; on December 14, 1989, a civilian government was democratically elected (and assumed office in March 1990). The Internationa! Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that it assisted 996 Chileans in a special resettlement program to settle abroad during 1989. According to the IOM, almost all those leaving Chile in 1989 went to join family members who had left earlier for political reasons. More Chileans returned home in 1989, however. IOM assisted 1,385 individuals to relocate to Chile in 1989. UNHCR helped 957 Chileans return from Argentina and Cuba. Many other Chileans who fled for political reasons are believed to have resettled without IOM or UNHCR assistance in order to avoid identification as political refugees. The returnees enjoy the same legal rights as other Chileans. They are not singled out for harassment by the government or vigilante groups. However, many of those who were officially exiled have had difficulty finding employment. Colombia Despite its liberal refugee policy, Colombia's internal problems of violence, guerrilla warfare, and narcotics trafficking generally made it unattractive to those seeking refuge. On the other hand, Colombia's democratic tradition and pluralistic political system do not generate refugees since nearly all of those fleeing internal violence usually settle in other parts of the country. A handful of persons seeking asylum continued to arrive in Colombia, but in 1989 there were more repatriations than new arrivals. Colombia has incorporated the UN Convention and Protocol on refugees into its law. According to UNHCR, 14 applications for refugee status, mostly from citizens of communist countries, were adjudicated during 1990. UNHCR, working through the Catholic Church, provides some assistance to refugees and aid in repatriations. Some 52 Chilean refugees were repatriated during 1990. The island of San Andres, about 150 miles from the east coast of Nicaragua, received large numbers of Nicaraguan migrants in the early 1980's. These totaled an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 at the end of 1989. Ecuador Ecuador is a refugee-receiving country. Due to their relatively small numbers, however, refugees have no discernible political or economic impact on Ecuadorian Government policy. The Government of Ecuador does not give refugees any type of economic support. All assistance is provided by the Ecuadorian Ecumenical Refugee Committee, an affiliate of UNHCR. Ecuador has been a member of the International Organization for Migration for almost three decades. Asylum/refugee legislation, based on the UN Convention of 1951 and approved by the Ecuadorian Congress, has been in force since March 1989. In 1989, the major refugee groups in Ecuador were Iranians (68), Cubans (88), Chileans (401), and Colombians (62). Colombian refugees, along with Peruvians, were in an ambiguous situation in Ecuador. While some Colombians and Peruvians did receive support from the Ecumenical Refugee Committee, government policy was to accommodate them under standard immigration law rather than refugee regula tions. A small number of refugees voluntarily returned to their country of origin in 1989 ( 30 Chileans, 1 Colombian, 2 Iranians and 1 Paraguayan). Ecuador does not accept refugees previously granted first asylum in another country. Paraguay Paraguay historically has been a refugee-generating country because of political and economic factors. Until 1989, those in opposition to the government in power fled the country, fearing persecution. During Alfredo Stroessner's 34 years as President (1954-89), thousands of political opponents went into exile. The refugees included members of opposition political parties as well as dissident factions of the ruling Colorado Party. In the 1969's and early 1970's, thousands of Paraguayans began to leave their unindustrialized country for employment in neighboring nations. Twenty-five percent of Paraguay's population is estimated to be living abroad. On February 2-3, 1989, a military coup toppled President Stroessner from power. Immediately thereafter, political exiles began returning to the country but the number remains unknown. The government welcomed the return of all exiles and did not harass any that actually came back to Paraguay. Paraguay is not a refugeereceiving country. However, the region of eastern Paraguay bordering on Brazil is home to thousands of Brazilian permanent and temporary economic migrants who cross the border in search of land and agricultural employment. Also, in 1989 several hundred Peruvians arrived fleeing political violence and economic problems in their country. Peru The total number of refugees in Peru at the end of 1989 was 681, with Cuban being the largest group (423). During the 1980 exodus from Cuba, Peru accepted 742 people as refugees. Although many have since been resettled in the United States or elsewhere, a large group remains who lack the opportunity to obtain residence in a third country yet refuse to become Peruvian citizens. Peru is a signatory to the 1951 Convention on Refugees and the 1954 Caracas Convention. Since 1966, it has also been a member of the International Organization for Migration, which assists its 35 member nations in the processing and transportation of refugees. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs only considers applications for refugee status from the UNHCR regional office in Lima. That office will close in April 1990, and the regional office Buenos Aires will assume responsibility for Peruvian refugee affairs. Because the majority of its emigrants are motivated by economic factors, Peru is not a significant refugee-generating country. Political violence continued, however, and terrorist-related deaths (3,198) reached a five-year high in 1989. Suriname The Surinamese refugee situation changed little in 1989. As at the end of the year, UNHCR officials estimated there were around 7,000 refugees from Suriname living in neighboring French Guiana. About 4,000 of the refugees lived in camps managed by the French Government and the remainder lived mainly with ethnic kinsmen. Relief workers believed that few of the refugees returned permanently to Suriname during 1989. Despite the signing in July of a peace agreement between the Surinamese Government and the jungle insurgency, most refugees apparently considered the security threat in Suriname still too high to permit their safe return. UNHCR has opened an office in Paramaribo. UNHCR officials, working under the umbrella of a tripartite committee made up of UNHCR and the Governments of Suriname and France, are attempting to fashion a pilot program for the return of about 50 families to their traditional villages around Moengo in eastern Suriname. The absence of a local implementing agency and the weakness of Surinamese management structures have hampered efforts to carry out the pilot program. Uruguay Since the restoration of democracy in 1985, Uruguayans living abroad are not likely to be classified as refugees under the UN definition, but are part of the normal outflow of emigrants looking for better economic opportunities. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Uruguay is home to about 600 political refugees, most of whom are Chilean. However, IOM has assisted 30 families to return to Chile in recent months, and it appears that other Chilean political exiles and their families will return as the transition to democracy in Chile continues. Refugees are eligible for citizenship and enjoy full legal rights in Uruguay. Venezuela Venezuela neither generates nor receives a significant number of refugees. Each year the government accepts a small number of individuals whom it determines to be refugees, with most coming from Central and other South American countries. These individuals enter Venezuela as tourists or temporary residents and may subsequently obtain resident status. Because there is no separate visa category for refugees, no accurate estimate of their numbers is available. There were no significant changes in Venezuelan Government refugee policy or in the refugee situation in Venezuela during 1989. The hundreds of thousands of Colombians living in Venezuela chiefly along the border between the two countries do not enjoy refugee status and are regarded as illegal aliens. Bahamas Haitians comprise the largest potential refugee community in the Bahamas. Although the government does not have reliable recent information on the number of illegal Haitians in the Bahamas, the most commonly used figures range from 40,000 to 65,000 (including Haitians who settled in the Bahamas in the 1950s and 1960s). Authorities estimate the rate of illegal Haitian immigration to be 200-400 per month, based on the number of illegal Haitian migrants actually intercepted at sea by Bahamian patrol craft as well as reported sightings from outlying islands of the archipelago. The Bahamas did not officially grant asylum or refugee status to any Haitian migrants in 1989, contending that a 1985 Haiti/Bahamas treaty on illegal immigration removed what would otherwise be an obligation under international conventions. The agreement does permit the granting of "temporary" legal status to Haitian migrants deemed necessary for purposes of employment, a provision the government used in a small number of cases in 1989. The Bahamas does not recognize individuals of any group as refugees or asylum-seekers in the formal sense. It has no procedures for making individual or group determinations of refugee/asylum status. There are no specific assistance programs to deal with the needs of refugees and/or asylum-seekers. Cuba The main causes for migration from Cuba continue to be a pervasive suppression of basic human rights and civil liberties, and an almost total lack of economic opportunity. The Caribbean government, however, reserves the exclusive right to determine whether a citizen may emigrate. When permission is withheld, or an entry visa to another country is not available, desperation often leads to escape attempts, such as by boat. Those who fail in such attempts but survive the sea are jailed. In 1989 the United States Interests Section's former-prisoner program came close to its ceiling of 3,000 refugees and parole departures. Cuba is one of the few countries with in-country refugee processing. The principal criterion for refugee status is that the applicants have served time in prison for political crimes. As prisoners have been released and then granted refugee status, the pool of qualified applicants has diminished. As a result, it has become more difficult to use all 3,000 refugee numbers allotted to the program. Most of the remaining long-term prisoner cases left Cuba through the program in 1989. At present, the program has close to 4,000 applications from ex-prisoners, most of whom served less than three years in jail. In addition, at least one form of illegal immigration from Cuba reached a record high-more than 300 people arrived in the United States on rafts or in small boats. Dominican Republic In 1989, there was no change in the origin of asylum-seekers arriving in the Dominican Republic. Almost all of those arriving continued to be Haitians who cross the border hoping to find better economic opportunities here. Few Haitians requested refugee status. The majority crossed the border almost unhampered by Dominican authorities. In late 1989, however, the Dominican Government made an effort to stem illegal Haitian immigration, resulting in an apparent reduction in the flow across the border. There are no official figures on the number of Haitian economic migrants living in the Dominican Republic, but Dominican authorities have claimed that there may be up to 1,000,000, the vast majority believed to be residing illegally. Refugee and asylum requests are received by a National Commission for Refugees which is headed by a representative of the Foreign Ministry with ambassadorial rank. The UNHCR representative in the Dominican Republic is allowed to participate in the Commission's deliberations on the applicant's behalf. Currently, there are 78 refugee applications pending before the Dominican Republic's National Commission for Refugees. The Dominican Government offers no material assistance to refugees. UNHCR assisted in the voluntary repatriation of 492 Haitians during 1989. Only 39 Haitians were officially deported by Dominican authorities during the same year. An undetermined amount were caught in the border region by army patrols and sent back to Haiti. Those Haitians granted refugee status are allowed to work in the Dominican Republic and are entitled to the same health and education benefits as Dominicans. Although currently no special or vocational educational programs exist for refugees, the government is studying the possibility of establishing such programs with government and private industry participation. Immigration and refugees are frequent topics of debate in the Dominican Republic. Some Dominicans resent the refugees' presence because they compete for scarce resources and put an additional strain on an already troubled local economy. Periodically, the increasing population of illegal Haitians is discussed publicly by politicians, government officials, and other prominent and influential citizens. Haiti Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, generated migrants more for economic rather than political reasons. Poor economic conditions in Haiti, in some cases exacerbated by violence and political unrest, continued to encourage outward migration. Those Haitians involved in political activities, who at various times are persecuted or fear persecution, generally do not seek to leave the country as boat people. In recent instances, most politically-oriented Haitians who have fled or been deported have sought only temporary refuge abroad, planning to return home as soon as the immediate danger nas passed. On the other hand, most illegal migrants have left hoping to reach the United States, Canada, or the Bahamas in search of better economic opportunities. Haitians trying to enter the United States for economic reasons do not qualify as "refugees" under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1980. Under the Alien Migrant Interdiction Operation (AMIO)—a bilateral accord signed in 1981-the U.S. Coast Guard intercepts illegal migrants on the high seas and returns them to Haiti. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officers on the ships interview the individuals to determine if any qualify as refugees under U.S. law. Interdictees expressing a fear of persecution if returned to Haiti are brought to the United States to submit an asylum application. A very small portion of the interdictees interviewed have claimed to be leaving for reasons of persecution. INS and the State Department are working together to ensure that asylum screening procedures used aboard Coast Guard vessels are fair and uninhibiting. In 1989, the U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 3,446 potential illegal migrants under the interdiction program, compared to the 4,655 Haitians repatriated in 1988. In addition to the "boat people" phenomenon, many Haitians try to go to the U.S. using fraudulent entry documents or by obtaining nonimmigrant v.sas with the intention of remaining in the United States. Haitians attempt to migrate to other countries as well. Some try to go to the Bahamas, although that country is a less preferred destination. Haitians continue to cross the border with the Dominican Republic in large numbers, while far smaller groups go to France (including Martinique and Guadeloupe), Venezuela, and Cuba. Countries in addition to the U.S. repatriated Haitian migrants in 1989. The Bahamas repatriated 1,496 persons. Under the auspices of the International Red Cross and the Cuban Red Cross, 408 Haitians were repatriated from Cuba during 1989. All returning boat people receive assistance from the Haitian Red Cross, through ICRC funds provided primarily by the U.S. and Dutch governments. A small allowance enables returnees to pay transportation costs back to their home villages. The Haitian Government cooperates fully with this program. Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago does not generate refugees. However, several thousand Trinidadians of Indian origin have requested refugee status in Canada. These claimants are widely accepted as economic migrants. New review procedures in Canada designed to handle spurious refugee applications may reduce the number of such claimants going there. According to Trinidadian authorities, there are no foreign nationals in Trinidad and Tobago who could be classified as refugees. |