The US State Department on Thursday launched a new programme that encourages groups of Americans to sponsor refugees as they resettle in the country.
The so-called Welcome Corps aims to mobilise groups of five or more Americans into providing private sponsorships for about 5,000 refugees.
“The Welcome Corps builds on our country's proud tradition of providing refuge and inviting Americans to serve as neighbours, guides and friends to refugee newcomers as they build new lives in the United States,” a senior State Department official told reporters.
The US already has programmes that allow for the private sponsorship of refugees from several nations including Afghanistan, Ukraine and Venezuela. Welcome Corps is for refugees coming from anywhere.
Sponsors must raise $2,275 per refugee to provide “initial support” during their first three months in the US.
That fee is aimed at covering “security deposits for an apartment or [to] buy winter clothing or furniture, provide the resources the refugees need during those first three months”, the official said.
“The goal is for the refugees to become self reliant as quickly as possible … they pay their own way like everyone else who is in this country.”
Refugees will be vetted through the same “extensive security screening” process as others, and the application process for sponsors will be handled through a State Department-funded consortium of non-profits.
Ukrainian refugees in Mexico en route to US — in pictures
The vetting process for sponsors was established in part to ensure refugee safety and ensure they are not subjected to labour abuses.
A group of more than 200 refugee advocacy and other aid groups on Thursday signed a letter of support, praising the programme as Washington's “boldest innovation” in decades.
“The Welcome Corps is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to directly engage communities in the resettlement process and allow more refugees to find a safe place to call home,” wrote Becca Heller, executive director of the International Refugee Assistance Project.
David Miliband, president and chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, described the Welcome Corps as a “much-needed pathway” to help “people find safety through the American spirit of welcome”.
The expansion comes as human displacement reaches historic highs.
UN refugee agency figures from 2021 show that 89.3 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced, a figure that does not account for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has displaced nearly eight million people.
President Joe Biden previously issued a memorandum mandating that up to 125,000 refugees be admitted to the US in fiscal year 2023.
That includes 40,000 people from Africa, 35,000 from the Middle East and South Asia, 15,000 from East Asia, 15,000 from Europe and Central Asia, 15,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 5,000 unallocated.
The Welcome Corps will contribute to that existing overall goal.
The State Department official said one of the “touching” results of the Afghan private sponsorship programme was how refugees who became naturalised Americans have worked to help others like them.
“One of the groups that stood up in greatest numbers were people who had arrived themselves as refugees,” the official said, pointing in particular to the “Vietnamese boat people” who fled to the US during and after the Vietnam War.
They “have really stood up in very big numbers to welcome Afghans, and really saying that they feel a need to pay it forward”, the official said.
If more than 10,000 sponsors join the Welcome Corps, the State Department will seek to pair additional sponsors with refugees in need, the official added.
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight Championship AJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 2020 calendar
March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.
Company%20profile
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The years Ramadan fell in May
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
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Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
