People smugglers using Facebook to sell fake Syrian passports

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People smugglers using Facebook to sell fake Syrian passports ...

...to economic migrants...

Genuine Syrian refugees angry that people from other countries are taking advantage of their plight to get into Europe

Migrants from north Africa and the Middle East are using fake Syrian passports bought via Facebook to pose as refugees and enter Europe, The Telegraph can disclose.

Thousands of fraudulent documents are in circulation in Turkey and other migration routes into the EU, which the head of Europe’s border police described as a “windfall” for economic migrants.

An undercover Telegraph reporter posing as an Egyptian migrant called a number left on an Arabic language Facebook site and spoke to a people-smuggler who offered to arrange fake Syrian documents for £1,000, with passage from Turkey to Greece costing another £800.

It comes after German police arrested a Moroccan-born Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) jihadist using fake papers to pose as an asylum-seeker.

Genuine Syrian asylum seekers fleeing the civil war in their country are angry that people from Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Egypt and other countries are passing themselves off as Syrians because they think it will give them a free pass into Europe.

The Arabic language version of Twitter even has an “expose fake Syrians” hashtag, which is one of the most popular trending topics in Syria.

The most recent EU figures show that only one in five migrants is Syrian, but at some border crossings it has been reported that up to 90 per cent of those entering Europe claim to be from Syria.

Fabrice Leggeri, the executive director of Frontex, the EU’s external border agency, said: “There are people who are now in Turkey, buying false Syrian passports because they have obviously realized that it is a windfall since Syrians get asylum in all member states in the European Union.

“People who use false Syrian passports often speak in Arabic. They may originate in North Africa or the Middle East, but have the profile of economic migrants.”

In Bulgaria 10,000 fake Syrian passports have been seized, which is likely to be only a fraction of those in circulation elsewhere.

Fights have broken out between real Syrians and fake Syrians on the migration routes, as the genuine refugees fear the imposters are filling up places in EU countries that will close the door on migrants because of the sheer weight of numbers.

In Beli Manastir, a gathering point for migrants entering Croatia from Serbia, groups of Syrians and Afghans have fought with stones and bottles over who would get to board trains heading towards Germany.

"This is not fair," said Aida, a 28-year-old woman from the southwestern Syrian town of Deraa, after watching a stampede for a train in Tovarnik, Croatia. "We (Syrians) were told we would have priority. They are using this opportunity that Europe gave to our countrymen to make gain at our expense."

Nizar Shoukry, a Syrian dentist who has lived in Croatia for the past 30 years, said: “I see so many people from Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan saying they come from Syria and many do not speak Arabic at all.

"It really bothers me that so many people abuse the misfortune of the Syrian people to get a toehold in western Europe."

In Germany, a 21-year-old Moroccan using a “false identity” was arrested in Ludwigsburg after being linked to a European Arrest Warrant issued in Spain accusing him of recruiting Isil fighters, and in Brandenburg police are investigating reports that a Syrian refugee being housed in a shelter for asylum seekers is an Isil fighter.


What makes someone a refugee?

A refugee is someone who has proven to authorities that "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country", according to the 1951 Refugee Convention

What is a migrant?

This broader term refers to someone who leaves their country for another one, to live for more than a year. Those leaving for work, or for a better life, are often called "economic migrants"
Is there a difference between the term 'asylum seeker' and 'refugee'?

'Asylum seeker' technically refers to a person who has applied for refugee status and is waiting to be assessed by the government. A refugee is a person who was an asylum seeker and has achieved refugee status
What happens when asylum seekers arrive in another country?

Each country has a national asylum process for assessing claims. Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, those fleeing persecution are entitled to apply for refugee status and to be given somewhere safe to live until their asylum claim has been accepted or denied. In 2014, 61.2% applications for asylum were rejected in the UK
Why is the current situation different?

The UNHCR says that when there is a mass movement of refugees after war or conflict, big groups are often declared "prima facie" refugees and countries can decide to take them in automatically

Source:
Red Cross, UNHCR

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11880979/People-smugglers-using-Facebook-to-sell-fake-Syrian-passports-to-economic-migrants.html