East County News Service

June 25, 2016 (La Mesa)—Hope for Iraqi Christians, a La Mesa based organization that assists Iraqi Christian refugees fleeing genocide in the Middle East, has received a pledge from the  Anahid Oram Memorial Refugee Fund to match $10,000 in monthly donations, sponsoring 100 families per month, but only if they can secure sponsors for at least 100 families by July 4. If that goal is met, the matching funds will mean that 200 families will be helped.

You can sponsor a family for as little as  $1 a day. Each donor will receive information on the family adopted.  Smaller donations will be pooled to help reach the total. Or consider adopting multiple families.

East County News Service

Photo: Pope Francis, from his Twitter feed

March 27, 2016 (San Diego) – On Good Friday, Pope Francis washed the feet of European immigrants including Christians, Muslims and Hindus, demonstrating his outreach to people of all faiths and calling for world peace. 

In his Easter Sunday mass at the Vatican, the pontiff stated, ““This day invites us not to forget those men and women seeking a better future, an ever more numerous throng of migrants and refugees, including many children, fleeing war, hunger, poverty and social injustice.”

He also criticized those who seek to stop migrants fleeing persecution in the Middle East and North African from seeking a safe haven in Europe and other regions.

By Victiashea Matthews

December 30, 2015 (La Jolla)  - The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies (CCIS) and Eleanor Roosevelt College at the University of California, San Diego hosted an event called the “Comparative Responses to Asylum Seeking in Europe, Australia, the U.S., and Middle East” on November 30th,  

What drives international migration?  Why are some countries more hostile and others more accepting?  Those are some of the compelling questions posed by David FitzGerald, Co-Director of CCIS and Professor of Sociology. These are fascinating questions to consider when unpacking the asylum-seeking diaspora. Here are some highlights from the event.

Update Nov. 20, 2015:  Here is how San Diego's Congressional members voted:  Representatives Duncan Hunter, Scott Peters and Darrell Issa voted for banning refugees from Iraq and Syria, while Representatives Juan Vargas and Susan Davis voted against the broad-based ban.

East County News Service

Photo: Iraqi Christians in El Cajon at a 2014 rally pleaded for help to save persecuted Christians in Iraq

November 19,2015 (San Diego’s East County) –The House of Representatives has passed a bill to suspend admission of refugees from both Syria and Iraq into the U.S., until national security agencies certify that they pose no security risk.

The measure passed by 289 to 137, a wide enough majority to override President Barack Obama’s threatened veto, with 47 Democrats joining Republicans to push the bill through.  But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has pledged to block the bill in the Senate.

East County News Service

July 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reaching out to refugees, asylum seekers and other immigrants in the U.S. to help identify and prosecute those committing human rights violations in other countries.

Event is part of massive roll-out to educate local refugees on new healthcare laws and more

By Miriam Raftery

June 24, 2013 (City Heights) – “This is the largest refugee resettlement community in California and one of the largest in the United States,” Councilmember Marti Emerald said at Somali Family Service Community Healthcare Fair held on World Refugee Day event Saturday in City Heights Community Park, in collaboration with East African Collaborative.

May 13, 2013  (Geneva) – A new report released today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reveals that 32.4 million people were forced to flee their homes in 2012 by disasters such as floods, storms and earthquakes.  While Asia and west and central Africa bore the brunt, 1.3 million were displaced in rich countries, with the USA particularly affected.

Nearly all (98%) of displacement in 2012 was linked to climate- and weather-related events.

By Janis Mork

February 25, 2013 (El Cajon)- Last Saturday was a celebration of community gardens in El Cajon where the public was invited to different garden events around El Cajon. At the IRC-Kaiser community garden at 203 Travelodge Drive, Anne Barron, community garden coordinator from the International Rescue Committee, gave the public a complete tour of the garden.  Still in the production stage, the garden is set to open in mid-March.

September 20, 2012 (San Diego) -- Join SAME and The "Centro Cultural De La Raza" as we Co-Host this important subject on  September 29th, 2012 from 6 –9p.m. at Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2004 Park Blvd., San Diego, 92101.

Experienced attorneys will speak about issues impacting LGBT immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, including the progress made in adjudicating claims by same-sex  bi-national couples, the impact of DOMA litigation or repeal of DOMA on LGBT immigrants and much more.

 March 31, 2012 (Rancho San Diego) -- A pilot program for recent Iraqi immigrants that teaches English in the context of office work is being offered at Cuyamaca College through a partnership between the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and San Diego County.

 December 17, 2011 (San Diego) –This holiday season, the International Rescue Committee offers options for socially conscious, eco-friendly and financially prudent shoppers – Rescue Gifts that save and improve lives of refugees and others hit by war and natural disaster.  

San Diego County last year welcomed more refugees than any other U.S. county, making this especially meaningful here. At Rescue.org/Gifts, holiday shoppers can choose Rescue Gifts to dedicate to friends or family members, including:

February 1, 2011 (El Cajon) -- The El Cajon Police Department is hosting a community forum for the City of El Cajon’s Middle Eastern population. The event was organized for people who recently immigrated to the U.S. to help familiarize these new members of the community with local laws and services available to them in the city.

The forum will be held this evening, February 1st, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Community Center in El Cajon at 195 E. Douglas in El Cajon.