National

Medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym MSF) was forced last Thursday to shut down its search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean on board the vessel Aquarius, blaming a "dishonest smearing and obstructive campaign."

Why it matters: MSF International President Joanne Liu tells Al Jazeera in an interview: "We just can't understand why saving lives has become illegal." She added that MSF is examining whether there's any possibility of resuming operations in the future.

How difficult was it to continue operations in recent months and what forced you to stop them?

Liu: "The last few months, rescuing people in the Mediterranean was made more and more difficult for us. We were regularly blocked and impeded in trying to save lives. We tried to get a flag for several weeks but things didn't work out. First Gibraltar and then Panama, under increasing pressure from different states, decided to withdraw the flag. So we decided that we needed to close that sequence and see how we go forward."

What happens now with the Aquarius and the rescue mission?

Liu: "With the sabotage of the Aquarius, gone is the most basic humanitarian and legal commitment: saving lives at sea. For the time being, we are re-assessing so it's a bit too early to answer that. We can't resume unless we have a boat flag. There's no sign of that happening right now. We will talk to... countries and put forward what the reality is."

"It's clear that migration is a very, very politically loaded issue. Countries need to understand that human rights of a person do not disappear as soon as they cross the border."

What are the countries opposing your operations saying to this?

Liu: "Right now, it is being portrayed that the number of migrants reaching the shores of Europe is decreasing. That's being shown as a success story by these people. But on the flip side, that's because more and more people are being rescued by the Libyan coastguards and taken back to the filthy, overcrowded detention centers in Libya where almost 5,000 of them are living in inhumane conditions. We're telling them that the cost of their success is human lives and dignity."  

Go deeper: Read the full Al Jazeera report.

Doctors Without Borders chief: "Saving lives has become illegal"

An interview on the rescue boat Aquarius being forced to stop operations

Aquarius docked in Marseille. Photo: Boris Horvat/AFP/Getty Images

World

Immigration

Medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym MSF) was forced last Thursday to shut down its search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean on board the vessel Aquarius, blaming a &quot;dishonest smearing and obstructive campaign.&quot;Why it matters: MSF International President Joanne Liu tells Al Jazeera in an interview: &quot;We just can&#x27;t understand why saving lives has become illegal.&quot; She added that MSF is examining whether there&#x27;s any possibility of resuming operations in the future.

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Jeju, South Korea — The arrival of 550-plus asylum seekers from war-torn Yemen earlier this year on South Korea's Jeju island has sparked online outcry and protests on the island, as well as the capital, Seoul.

What they're saying: "I don't want the government to accept refugees at all, especially those from Muslim countries,” said a 38-year-old protester in Seoul who refused to give his name. “Their culture and religion are very different from us. I don't want to see this bad religion in our country where our children will grow up and it will bring harm to them."

A rise in fake stories and anti-Islam propaganda online has spurred on the protesters but, according to Il Lee, a human rights lawyer, the anti-refugee sentiment is not new in Korea. There are also worries that the spread of false information is going unnoticed and the government's apparent lack of involvement in the matter has failed to calm down the situation.

"There is a strong phenomenon in Korea that people blame foreigners for everything that goes wrong," said Lee. "But when it comes to the Yemeni asylum seekers, there is a strong anti-Islam sentiment.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Choo Mi-ae, chief of Korea's ruling party, admitted there was “lack of understanding and room for improvement.” She added that “the Korean public didn't have many opportunities to encounter cultural diversity.”

Jeju has a population of around 600,000 and a recent survey of 500 islanders revealed 90% felt insecure about going outside since the Yemenis' arrival.

Islamophobia drives backlash to Yemeni refugees in South Korea

“Their culture and religion are very different from us"

A protest in Jeju. Photo: Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images

South Korea

Jeju, South Korea — The arrival of 550-plus asylum seekers from war-torn Yemen earlier this year on South Korea&#x27;s Jeju island has sparked online outcry and protests on the island, as well as the capital, Seoul.What they&#x27;re saying: &quot;I don&#x27;t want the government to accept refugees at all, especially those from Muslim countries,” said a 38-year-old protester in Seoul who refused to give his name. “Their culture and religion are very different from us. I don&#x27;t want to see this bad religion in our country where our children will grow up and it will bring harm to them.&quot;

The forest in Tangier is often the last stop for many migrants from sub-Saharan African countries. The police routinely raids the forest, where migrants are sleeping under the trees, and takes them to the south of the country. Photo: Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera

Tangier/Rabat/Casablanca, Morocco — Moroccan authorities are using force and committing human rights violations amid efforts to block migrants from crossing into Europe, migrants and rights groups told Al Jazeera.

The backdrop: Almost 50,000 of the 54,922 arrivals into Spain this year have been by sea, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 2,000 people have died in the Mediterranean trying to reach the European country, with over 550 of them having departed from Morocco. The numbers would have been far greater if Morocco had not prevented nearly 70,000 attempts to cross into Spain this year, authorities in the North African country say.

"Since 2004, we've aborted 500,000 attempts to cross into Europe, mainly via sea, and dismantled around 3,000 networks. We have around 13,000 guards in the north covering around 1,100km. That patrolling is costing Morocco over 200m euros ($228m) annually," Khalid Zerouali, Morocco's border control chief, said.

These "preventive measures" include routine police raids to move migrants from the country's north to the south. According to Amnesty International, at least 5,000 people have been "swept up in the raids" around Morocco, "piled onto buses and abandoned in remote areas close to the Algerian border or in the south".

"Morocco is using these migrants as a pressure card in negotiations with the European Union,” says Said Tbel, of the Moroccan Human Rights Association. “It takes them to the border cities to put pressure on Europe. When they get what they want, these migrants are moved back south." 

"I have been taken to the south 10 times," a migrant from Ivory Coast, who did not wish to be identified, said at a camp by the main bus station in the port city of Casablanca. "I was arrested and put in a police car with dogs. From the police station, I was put on a bus with other migrants and taken near the Algerian border. I then had to beg on the streets to make enough money for a bus ride back up."

Q&A: Morocco's border chief hits back at criticism

Raped, abused and harassed: Tale of female migrants in Morocco

Morocco's treatment of African migrants draws scrutiny

"Morocco is using these migrants as a pressure card with the EU”

<figure><img alt="" height="396" id="366be622-931c-464e-8555-97c5ac888029" src="https://images.axios.com/m54ZZciXsXEv8N8A2fyQsBlHL0g=/2018/12/05/1544047477349.png" width="707"/><figcaption>The forest in Tangier is often the last stop for many migrants from sub-Saharan African countries. The police routinely raids the forest, where migrants are sleeping under the trees, and takes them to the south of the country. Photo: Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera</figcaption></figure>Tangier/Rabat/Casablanca, Morocco — Moroccan authorities are using force and committing human rights violations amid efforts to block migrants from crossing into Europe, migrants and rights groups told Al Jazeera.The backdrop: Almost <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="50,000 of the 54,922 arrivals" data-vars-click-url="http://migration.iom.int/europe?type=arrivals" data-vars-content-id="efa15f71-d248-4160-ac8a-a6b53d1c0767" data-vars-headline="Morocco&#x27;s treatment of African migrants draws scrutiny" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="http://migration.iom.int/europe?type=arrivals" target="_blank">50,000 of the 54,922 arrivals</a> into Spain this year have been by sea, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="2,000 people have died in the Mediterranean" data-vars-click-url="https://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean?" data-vars-content-id="efa15f71-d248-4160-ac8a-a6b53d1c0767" data-vars-headline="Morocco&#x27;s treatment of African migrants draws scrutiny" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean?" target="_blank">2,000 people have died in the Mediterranean</a> trying to reach the European country, with over 550 of them having departed from Morocco. The numbers would have been far greater if Morocco had not prevented nearly 70,000 attempts to cross into Spain this year, authorities in the North African country say.

Faras Ghani of Al Jazeera

Stories

Doctors Without Borders chief: "Saving lives has become illegal"

Morocco's treatment of African migrants draws scrutiny

Islamophobia drives backlash to Yemeni refugees in South Korea