Archive for November 1st, 2010

Traffickers in Pakistan market the Australian Asylum dream

ON Tuesday last week, 17-year-old Zabih received the phone call he has been dreaming of from his cousin in Australia.

“He told me that Afghans have suffered a lot but finally things are getting better for them now that your government is allowing asylum-seekers and families to live in the community,” the affable young Afghan refugee told The Australian at his family’s restaurant in suburban Islamabad.

Zabih’s family had already applied unsuccessfully for legal refugee status in Australia. Now he believes the asylum-seeker route is their best option. Read the rest of this entry »

The Church of the virgin Mary, in the al-Karrada district of central Baghdad, scene of yesterday's bloodbath

UPDATED: 58 are now known to have perished.

The BBC were at pains to point out that these were ‘foreign Arabs’, not Iraqis – but the truth is that Christians in every Muslim majority country in the world regularly face intimidation, discrimination, violence and death from adherents of the Religion of Peace™:

More than 50 people have been killed as Iraqi security forces stormed a Catholic church in central Baghdad to free dozens of hostages being held by gunmen there, security sources say.

Seven members of the Iraqi security forces and at least five attackers were among the dead but officials said most hostages were rescued. Read the rest of this entry »