Syrian refugees want to leave Uruguay, ‘living in poverty’

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 Syrian refugees speak to the press as they demonstrate at Independence Square in Montevideo on September 7, 2015, AFP
Syrian refugees speak to the press as they demonstrate at Independence Square in Montevideo on September 7, 2015, AFP
Syrian refugees who arrived in Uruguay last year under a resettlement program protested Monday outside the presidential offices, saying they are living in poverty and want to leave.

“We didn’t flee the war to die here in poverty,” 36-year-old Maher el Dis told AFP. “This is not a place suited for refugees.”

Five families, with more than 30 children, camped out with their luggage on one of Montevideo’s main squares, saying they will stay there until they are able to leave the South American country.

The resettlement program, launched last year under Uruguay’s then-president Jose Mujica, aims to take in families with small children, house them and provide them with a modest income.

But the protesting families, who arrived in October, said they are isolated and struggling in Uruguay, which has just a tiny Arab population and a relatively high cost of living.

“We want to live with (our) identity and (our) values,” Maraa el-Chibli said through tears, speaking through an interpreter.

“We’re not here for them to test this out on us,” said the 55-year-old father of 15.

The families have been housed in shelters and receive a small stipend, but they said it was not enough.

“The people here are nice, but it’s very expensive,” said Ibrahim Mohamed, who had a little girl in his arms.

One of the families recently tried to leave Uruguay but was detained in Turkey because of visa problems and finally sent back to South America.

President Tabare Vazquez, Mujica’s successor, has pledged to welcome a new group of Syrian refugees by the end of the year. In all, Uruguay has promised to take in 117 people from Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon.

The protest comes as the Middle East and Europe struggle to deal with the massive flow of refugees out of Syria, whose civil war has now been raging for more than four years.

FRANCE24 /AFP

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11 responses to “Syrian refugees want to leave Uruguay, ‘living in poverty’”

  1. Saudi Arabia is much closer than Uruguay.

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar

    You can die in poverty in Tripoli, Lebanon instead.

  3. Same thing happened in Sweden. Syrians refused to live in central Swedish town bc it was too cold and too far from Stockholm. I think Swedes agreed to their demands and gave them more money.

    1. You “think”? Bullshit! You’ve never thought! And you think isn’t fact but purely conjecture on your part you nazi fuck.

      1. I think you are a ragoholic IS supporter. I do not battle the deranged.

  4. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
    Michaelinlondon1234

    You wanted to destroy syria for the Americans…..Most people in countries the USA control live in absolute poverty…Get use to it.

  5. Patience2 Avatar

    You should’ve gotten together with your countrymen and changed the regime in your country of origin instead of burdening another country with your sniveling.

    1. Wow tough tak…online. Typical keyboard warrior

      1. Patience2 Avatar

        Got that in your keyboard buffer, eh? You’ve said that before. Well, you’re very predictable.

  6. Intouchable Avatar
    Intouchable

    According to a Swedish proverb “Much will be heard before the ears fall off”;
    Aylan Kurdi’s Father said: ‘I Will Stay and Fight for Kobane’
    “I can’t leave Kobane,” he says. “I want to be close to my family’s grave, to be able to visit them every day.”

    “I will stay and fight for Kobane, fight for the family I have left and for my people,” he adds, rejecting the notion that he would attempt a move to Europe again in the near future. “We need all the help we can get and I hope that the world realizes how much we have suffered.”

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