Tuesday, April 24, 2007

your e-mail

Sender: JJ Jiang
Thu Aug 11, 2005 8:43 pm

Hi Sam, my name is JJ. I'm the treasurer of my high school's National Honor
Society. I'm very concerned about the conditions of refugees, and I have
created a fundraiser to help UNHCR. Right now I'm doing everything I can to
raise money to get to the refugees, but your e-mail scared me. Is there really
scandal in the UNHCR? I've thought about this for a long time, and if you could
sent me some valid information, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you, and good
luck in the future.

Sincerely,

JJ Jiang
--

Re: your e-mail
sam@... wrote:

Dear JJ Jiang,

First of all you must separate between the UNHCR and the refugees. UNHCR is big organization and it doesn't work with refugees only. It's true the UNHCR had been created to solve the problem of the refugee before more than 50 years ago, but today UNHCR look for refugees, IDPs and victims of tsunami. They changed to charity organization!

Also you need to understand that not only the UNHCR working to help the refugees but it's one part of the global efforts to help the refugees in the world. There are hundreds of other organizations who working with refugees in the world. So please, could you tell me if you like to help the UNHCR or the refugees?

"Is there really scandal in the UNHCR" I can't give you document about that but I just can tell you an example. I asked the people of UNHCR to let me take part in the festival of the refugee day but they refused. I went to the festival and I made myself a moving model to show my opinions, you can see what I'm speaking on my site:

There I read on one of their show board that they pay salary for the refugees every 2 months! And this is not true. You need to come here and speak with the refugees face to face and listen to their complaints about the UNHCR.

Please could you tell me how you raise money? And how you send it to the UNHCR after that, do you use the human-buttons?
I'm working on new campaign and I like you to read it and to tell me your opinion about it, please notice it still draft:

URGENT, we need a smile

Dear fellow humans on planet earth,

In name of peace and human dignity, I beg your attention and some minutes of your time to read this message.

In past years, with my activities as activist for peace and human rights on the net, I received many messages asking about why some Arabs and Moslems hate so much the west. I published some of these messages on my blog and tried to give some answers in my book 'The truth warrior'. I know it's hard to give one answer or perfect explanation, but I think there is many things caused that hate. Today I'll speak about one point I noticed recently in the office of the UNHCR in Beirut.

The UNHCR is part of the UN and created by the community as coordinator for the efforts of the community to solve the problem of nearly 20 million human being labeled as 'refugees' in the world. UNHCR represent all the community and all the humans on planet Earth, but most people think the UNHCR is supported by the west, especially by the countries, which have high degree of democracy and wealth.

As I'm refugee lived and still live among refugees for more than 10 years at this moment, I heard much about the feelings of refugees about the UNHCR and the way it use to deal with the refugees and how that caused them to feel humiliated and ignored. I spoke about that in my books and my campaigns for years and I pushed the UNHCR to make many changes in the way they used to deal with refugees.

Unfortunately they returned to one procedure they were used before years and they stopped it when I launched many campaigns about it at year 2002, I published some of these campaigns in my ebooks.

UNHCR is humanitarian organization and according its mandate all of its work must based on humanitarian principles! We'll see if that correct. I'll tell you now about the new procedure of the UNHCR to deal with the refugees. The office is protected by the Lebanese police as any other embassy in Lebanon, the governments pointed many policemen armed with small guns and semi machine guns, those policemen located at the main entrance of the building and they don't deal with refugees but they just watch them, in more the UNHCR hired private security agency and that agency appointed 3 security agents (guards) with their official uniform but without any arms. They're working now to check the refugees before they go into the reception room at ground floor. 2 of them do that work (man and woman) the 3d agent is working as reception secretary. He has table, interphone, papers and pens.

If any refugees needs any thing from the UNHCR he must approach the office of the UNHCR, at the main entrance the security agent (from private sector security agency) will ask him about the reason for coming to the office then at most cases he'll let him to pass after he checked him with special device (metal or explosive detector) and the refugee must pass through special door (always it gives peeps). Then the refugee go into reception room where the 3d security agent will ask for his card and give him paper and pen to write his request and then the security agent will take the paper upstairs to one of the UNHCR's staff, meanwhile the refugee is sitting in reception room. The d3 security agent works as paper delivery he gives the paper to the people upstairs and then he must return back fast to the reception room where the refugees are waiting for replies from the staff of the UNHCR, the replies will come through an interphone in the hand of the 3d security agent and the d3 security agent will tell the refugee what the people in the upper floor speak.

The reply is one of 2:
1. The people of the UNHCR will see the refugee so the 3d agent will let him go upstairs.
That happing when the refugee has appointment, mostly when they called him via phone before days.

2. If the refugee came to the office without appointment so the answer will be "go and we'll call you"! This happing with give the refugee any chance to speak with any one of the UNHCR's stuff! The refugees must provide the UNHCR with phone number to call the refugees when the UNHCR want and the refugees must wait for call phone from the UNHCR and that wait unlimited some time it'll take years!

I don't know if you'll think all that is normal. Maybe you'll ask what all that does with peace. OK. I'll explain our feelings and I'll tell you how that procedures effect the peace in the world. You must put in your head that UNHCR deals with millions of human beings every day, and those humans are refugees live in bad situation and need urgent help mentally and physically, most of the refugees are feeble humans and any thing even if it is small in your opinion has big effect on them because it'll accumulate with many other small in their hard life.

We could understand all these security arrangement, we could understand the needs to spend all these money to hire privet security agency to deal with refugees, anyway these money was donated for refugees and the UNHCR spending it on refugees via private security agencies (UNHCR has the same procedures in every office around the world), and maybe the policemen with guns aren't able to protect the UNHCR! One thing is hard for us (the refugee to understand): Why the people of UNHCR don't like direct relation with the refugees? I noticed this for years and I published pictures. I hope the people of the UNHCR will answer this question.

It's hard to explain my feelings when I went there to the office passing the check points in the streets with big hope that I'll find some when to speak with and to discuss my problems. But I just found security agents know nothing about the UNHCR, he asked me to write my request on paper, I did and they on top phoned him to tell me that they didn't understand my request so I rewrite my request with English and then the replies came via the interphone "go and we'll call you!" I felt humiliation and ignorance, maybe I'm not human deserve to meet a human being who is ready to listen to my worries, to understand my problems, to tell me some thing, to explain me what'll happen. I'm a refugee registered for more than 10 years and when I went to the office of the UNHCR because I wanted to speak with on of the UNHCR's stuff not a security agent working for private security agency. That's happing for many refugees every day not only me.

What I could speak more, we spent years waiting for answer and when we need to speak with those whom work for UNHCR we find only security agent! And sorrowful those security agents aren't qualified persons to deal with refugees and in more they didn't swear on the CODE OF CONDUCT, it's some thing like oath of the UNHCR. This is first paragraph of the code:

UNHCR's capacity to ensure the protection of and assistance to refugees and other persons of concern depends on the ability of its staff to uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct. We, the staff members of UNHCR, are personally and collectively responsible for maintaining these standards. Managers have a particular responsibility to uphold these standards, to set a good example, and to create a working environment that supports and empowers staff.
"We, the staff members of UNHCR, are personally and collectively responsible for maintaining these standards." yes with hiring a private agency to deal with the refugees! Those security agents are qualified to protect properties like banks, cars or villas for rich people, not to deal with refugees. Refugees are humans have problems and running away from prosecutions and dangers which threat their lifes and any information must kept secret even their names and to reveal any info to any one outside the stuff of the UNHCR will be resource for danger and will provide good way to track the refugees, for example the intelligence agency of Saddam has special department to collect info about the refugees in many countries. Those security agents whom working for private agency and didn't swear on the CODE OF CONDUCT could be good help for the intelligence agencies or any way ready to pay some dollars for any info about the refugees!

For those whom live in the west we're the refugees just like to speak the UNHCR represent you and it's working with your name, please help to stop such bad policies and procedures. UNHCR are dealing with more than 20 millions human being most of them in developed countries in Africa and Asia. Any humiliation or ignorance resulted from the procedures of the UNHCR will cumulate and will become haterness against you. Remember the scandal of the oil for food program and whom it has been used to help Saddam and those whom work for the UN, it's just an example. Those whom work for the UN thinks that they have the rights to do what they like and to deal with humans with any way just because they work for the UN. Unfortunately their deeds will reflect on innocent people whom don't agree on such policies and procedures.

Those people whom are working for the UN claim that they work for peace in the world, I just like to tell them: Peace isn't word you write on your building or on your websites, peace is way of life, whole life, peace is the way you used to deal with people, peace is respect fro other humanity, peace is justice, peace is to be honest, peace is what you give to people expecting to have it back, peace is smile you give to a human being in need when you can't help him any thing more than a smile.

We're the refugees whom live by our own selves (without help from UNHCR) are aware that the UNHCR has nothing left to help the refugees after all these expenses on security and accommodations for the staff but we don't understand why it's hard to have a smile form those whom working for the UNHCR. I'm starting this campaign hoping that those whom working for the UN and the UNHCR will read and understand and I hope the people every where will support this campaign with sending smile to the UNHCR maybe they'll give some for the refugees, just hope.

I'm still think (if I'm wrong I hope some one will correct me) that all refugees have the right to approach the office of the UNHCR and meet one of the staff who had swear on the oath and has qualification to deal with refugees. The refugees have the right to ask the UNHCR (not a private security agency) any questions related to their situation and problems. The refugees have the rights to have answers with smile not via interphone in hand of a security agent look like jailer! We're not criminals, we're refugees.

For those people whom care about peace and human rights, please send smiles to these emails.
--- end of the new campaign---

I don't know what kind of valid information! But I have document from Lebanese government about arresting me in the Office of the UNHCR upon a request from the UNHCR because of my activities on the Internet, I also have threaten letter from the UN for the same reason. Why do you think the reason for the UNHCR to deal with me this way because of my activities on the Internet? I hope you'll ask them and I hope they'll answer you!

I like to publish your message on my blog http://unhcr.blogspot.com with your permission.

Thank you very much and I hope to hear from you soon.

Friend4all
SAM
http://www.unhcr.info
http://unhcr.blogspot.com