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It’s a holiday today enjoy; Kidnapped and brainwashed teenage refugees; CJ Japan in shady deals; Food safety beefed up; Nuclear power fakes it ’till they make it; The squid says KOSPI up and away; Here’s what you need to know this morning.

1. Happy Memorial Day, news should be light on this holiday.
2. North Korea is alleging that the South kidnapped and brainwashed the group of teenage refugees that were apprehended in Laos.
3. More details are emerging about shady property deals with the CJ Group’s slush fund and CJ Japan.
4. KB Financial promotes its number 2 to the chairman’s seat.
5. The NDRC has given the green light to SK Group and Sinopec’s petrochemical plant deal in central China.
6. The Park administration is taking preemptive steps to combat food safety. They have proposed new and improved fines and regulations.
7. More fake parts’ certificates were found at two under construction reactors.
8. Goldman thinks things are hunky dory in Korea. They see 22% upside in the KOSPI within one year; target price now 2400. The analyst ignores the weak yen, and the possible end of QE.

From Yahoo:

The foreign ministry in Seoul rejected the “trafficker” label and said the two were acting as “guides” and trying to secure the refugees’ permanent escape from the North.

For the next days leading up to the event, we will be spotlighting the sponsors of 2013 Houston World Refugee Day.

First up, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston!

Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM), Houston’s oldest Interfaith organization, welcomes refugees to Houston through the United States Refugee Program. IM is an affiliate office of Episcopal Migration Ministries, a part of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Service of the Episcopal Church (EMM) and Church World Service (CWS). Every year, IM resettles over 600 refugees, from more than a dozen countries,  fleeing persecution in their home country and seeking new lives in America. Services provided by IM Refugee Services include:

• Housing & Rental Assistance
• Cash & Food Assistance
• Intensive Case Management
• Cultural & Community Orientation
• School & ESL Enrollment
• Language Interpretation
• Employment Services
• Employment Readiness Training
• Career Counseling
• Job Development
• Vocational Training
• Support Services (Transportation, Child Care)

For the past eight years Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM) has offered the Cuban Vocational Training program to give Cubans access to the training and certifications they need to achieve their career goals and attain self-sufficiency.  This program will carry on, giving more Cubans better opportunities in the Houston area.

The Cuban Vocational Training program is enabling clients to access a broad spectrum of educational opportunities to meet their individual vocational needs.  This includes traditional vocational trainings such as Commercial Truck Driving (CDL), electrician, plumbing, and A/C technician.  Furthermore, the program serve healthcare professionals who need assistance to obtain recertification and licenses to continue in their respective field of expertise.

To learn more visit https://www.imgh.org/refugee-services

A larger version of the image can be found here.

International Crisis Group has a new report out on Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and it’s not looking good.

Syria’s conflict is dragging down its neighbours, none more perilously than Lebanon. Beirut’s official policy of “dissociation” – seeking, by refraining from taking sides, to keep the war at arm’s length – is right in theory but increasingly dubious in practice. Porous boundaries, weapons smuggling, deepening involvement by anti-Syrian-regime Sunni Islamists on one side and the pro-regime Hizbollah on the other, and cross-border skirmishes, all atop a massive refugee inflow, implicate Lebanon ever more deeply in the conflict next door. It probably is unrealistic to expect Lebanese actors to take a step back; Syria’s fate, they feel, is their own, and stakes are too high for them to keep to the sidelines. But it ought not be unrealistic to expect them – and their international partners – to adopt a more forward-looking approach to a refugee crisis that risks tearing apart their own country’s economic, social and political fabric, igniting a new domestic conflict that a weak Lebanese state and volatile region can ill afford.

This is a story numbers tell best. Over one million Syrians are in Lebanon – registered and unregistered refugees, as well as migrant workers and others. That figure – more than 25 per cent as great as the approximately four-million citizen population million– is rising and likely will soar if and when the battle for Damascus is fully joined. It would be staggering anywhere but is truly frightening when one considers the state’s institutional frailty, meagre resources and, perhaps above all, highly sensitive sectarian balance. Unsurprisingly, the government – divided and polarised, on this issue as on most others – was slow off the mark.

The day-to-day impact is palpable. The demographic change can be felt in virtually all aspects of life, from the omnipresent Syrian dialect, to worsening traffic congestion, mounting housing prices and rising delinquency. Yet, the refugees do not pose a humanitarian problem alone. Their presence also has been politically deeply polarising. The vast majority are Sunnis who back the uprising. Most Lebanese view the conflict through a sectarian prism, and thus their attitude toward refugees from the outset has largely been informed by confessional considerations, as well as by their potential security impact and implications for future domestic politics.

Just stop and really think about those numbers for a second. More than 1 in 5 people in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee now. Try to imagine that. Also try to imagine a government that has a mixed set of competencies—some things they do well, and some things they really don’t—and the things they’re bad at are the things that need to be done to deal with the refugees. The organization that is good at this sort of service provision? Hizballah. They’re busy, and they’re on the Syrian regime’s side, anyway.

As I’ve said over and over, just about any war in this particular part of the Middle East turns into a proxy war sooner or later. Too many different countries—neighbors and patrons, mostly—as well as non-state actors like Hamas, Hizballah, Lebanon’s March 14 alliance, Sunni militias, etc.—have a stake in the outcome, and the involvement of so many countries makes everybody trigger-happy—the U.S. doesn’t want damage to Israel, Israel doesn’t want Iran to gain any influence, Iran doesn’t want the Sunnis to gain any ground, round and round and up and down.

Given all this, Lebanon has done well to remain as stable as it is so far, in my opinion. One reason for it is that their government is, as ICG says, incredibly slow. When you have your parliament specifically organized and sorted by religious affiliation in a country that had a decades-long civil war on the basis of religious affiliation, any and every disagreement in parliament becomes a potential sectarian crisis, which leads to paralysis. So they’ve done a pretty good job of doing nothing, which has worked okay so far.

However, it won’t work forever. This is what happened going into the Lebanese Civil War as well; as the dynamics leading into civil war grew worse, the government fretted and did nothing while the violence started, right up until the army fell apart and there was nothing they could do. The tensions back then (~1975) consisted of sectarian mistrust, a huge population of militarized Palestinian refugees drawing Israeli fire, and disagreements among Lebanese about whether and how to support the Palestinians.

You may notice a parallel here involving refugees, and you’d be right to. Look at the list of problems I just gave, and then look at this:

Refugees generally have moved to hospitable, predominantly Sunni areas. Even there, however, patience is beginning to wear thin. Hatred for the Syrian regime remains acute and tends to dominate other feelings. Still, there is growing anger at the fact that they are attracting Syrian fire by providing succour and cover to anti-regime rebels. Besides, a history of stereotypes is at play: as many Lebanese see them, Syrians fall into broad categories: low-income, poorly uneducated, menial workers, criminals or abusive security officers and soldiers. Complaints go both ways: from Lebanese who fault their guests for introducing greater insecurity, to Syrians who accuse Lebanese of disrespecting, exploiting or even assaulting them. Street fights and criminality have trended upwards.

Hostility and suspicion are far more discernible among Shiites and Christians. In predominantly Shiite areas now witnessing refugee arrivals, many local residents express concern that the numbers could grow, while Hizbollah fears that refugees’ anti-regime sentiment could be a prelude to activism against the movement itself. Many Christians feel even more vulnerable, alarmed at a demographic balance that continuously tilts against them. The current human wave harkens back to the community’s experience with Palestinian refugees whose initial, theoretically short-term resettlement turned into a massive, largely Sunni, long-lasting, militarised presence.And it feeds into a more general belief that Lebanon’s Sunni community – more specifically, Islamists in its midst – are being empowered, riding an irresistible regional tide.

Syria, you will not be surprised to learn, played an important role in Lebanon’s civil war. That’s one reason there’s so much anti-Syrian sentiment in some parts of Lebanon: even after the war officially ended, Syrian soldiers and influence remained a heavy presence in the country until the Hariri assassination in 2005. However, Syria was able to do this without falling apart itself; they played the part of a traditional player in a proxy war, which is to say they did their best to manipulate Lebanese players, and interfere in the action themselves, in order to protect their interests. Not simple, but pretty straightforward.

Lebanon is not going to be able to pull off a role reversal. The government doesn’t have the necessary cohesion and control. The army…is not an army anyone is worried about, let’s say. (Indeed, until recently Hizballah was more or less filling the role of national defense force (among other things), and I say “until recently” because now they’re pretty busy in Syria.) Lebanon’s fractured constituencies means Lebanon has fractured goals and interests; even if they could all get themselves together, they still want different things in Syria.

What this means is that rather than Lebanon becoming a player in Syria’s war, it’s almost certainly going to get sucked into it, with all the ugliness that entails. It also means, potentially, a second wave of refugees into and then out of Lebanon.

ICG has some excellent recommendations when it comes to what can be done to at least try to ease the strain resulting from the existing influx of refugees at thefull report. Remember, if you want to help Syrians: the refugees outside the country need your help, too.

As victims of violence and persecution, refugees come to the United States to seek safety. But all too often they arrive traumatized, unaware of the complexities of the U.S. legal system including the asylum process, and without capacity to afford legal counsel.

Since 1978, Human Rights First has been matching asylum seekers with pro bono attorneys through our Asylum Legal Representation Program, giving refugees a chance to live their lives free from fear. Human Rights First has helped thousands of refugees gain asylum in the United States. These refugees include torture survivors, victims of religious, political and ethnic persecution, and men and women who are fleeing from bias-motivated violence based on gender or sexual orientation.

Today, we debut a new program in the FirstCast podcast series—Refugee Voices. We want to share with you CJ’s story. CJ is gay and has been a victim of antigay violence in Peru, his home country. He came to the United States to seek safety and create a life freefrom persecution, but he had to face a barrier to asylum: the one-year asylum filing deadline.

Subscribe to FirstCast on iTunes or other platforms.

Reposted from Human Rights First. 

http://v3.itnnews.lk/?p=16921

May 11, 2013 3:15 pm
 In a message, a schoolmate of Velupillai Prabhakaran who actively supported the LTTE in the past, has said that measures should be taken to prevent any sort of terrorist violence from occurring in Sri Lanka in the future.

Prabhakaran’s schoolmate Gunasundaram Jeyasundaram revealed to the world the ignorant acts committed by Prabhakaran during his school days and the brutality of Prabhakaran during terrorism. Gunasundaram Jeyasundaram who had obtained Irish citizenship was arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Division on 5th September 2007. After lengthy investigations it was revealed that he was the schoolmate of Prabhkaran and a powerful leader of the LTTE. Jeyasundaram who was engaged in business in Singapore and Malaysia was found to have sent a stock of warfare equipment to the LTTE terrorists. At the time of his arrest he had been engaged in purchasing a ship for the LTTE. An extensive court hearing was held against him and he voluntarily made a statement before the High Court on the 10th of this month. He revealed about the LTTE activities on the local as well as foreign soil. In an open statement he called on all communities to live harmoniously and not to foster extremism and communalism. He also said that he maintained contact with Prabhakaran from his school days and actively supported him. He voluntarily admitted that he met sea tiger leader Susai, political leader Thamilselvam, Chief of Police Nadesan, International leader Castro, and financial leader Thamilendi. He also revealed about the discussions held with Shammugasundaram and Kangaraj Ravi Shankar who were conducting LTTE activities abroad. He admitted to purchasing maritime warfare equipment for the LTTE and distributing them in Vanni through the LTTE boats. He also admitted to his wrongdoing and expressed his regrets about supporting the violent agenda of Prabhakaran and his terrorist activities. Gunasundaram Jeyasundaram called on the LTTE sympathisers to renounce all forms of violence and support to separatism. He said that LTTE functionaries abroad such as V, Rudrakumaran, Fr. S. I. Emmanuel, Perinpanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyawan should immediately cease their actions as they are doing more harm to the Tamil community living in Sri Lanka. He called on the LTTE activists abroad not to cause the same suffering to the Tamil people who have suffered for 30 years due to the terrorism of Prabhakaran. He also admitted his failure to disclose the facts related to the brutality of Prabhakaran and expressed his willingness to undergo a period of rehabilitation before integrating in to society.

The following is the story of a small, young Iranian church in western Asia that workers with International Teams are walking alongside through a ministry of discipleship, encouragement, training, and teaching.

It was a group of misfits who gathered that Sunday morning in March. As individuals they were outsiders: political dissidents, former drug addicts, illegal immigrants, and religious outcasts. But together in that small apartment, with bowed heads and lifted voices, they were something altogether different: a church.

Few things about that morning’s small gathering of Iranian refugees in western Asia* resembled the conventional notion of a church. There was no church bulletin, no pews, no membership classes or statement of faith. The two-year-old church didn’t even have a name. But none of that seemed to bother the small congregation.

“In Iran it wouldn’t be like this,” said a 32-year-old man named Amir**, sipping traditional Persian tea with his fellow believers after the service. Those around him nodded with a murmur of agreement. ”It would be very dangerous in Iran. But here, we aren’t afraid.”

In reality, each person’s presence that morning was something of a miracle, and those who gathered knew it. Few had made it this far without risking their lives in some way, enduring prison, slipping across borders, or facing threats and persecution. Many had lost everything when they left Iran: family, friends, stability, and status. But if anything in their lives was unassailable, it was their testimonies, stories of captivating hope worth a lifetime of struggle. And stories like that are meant to be shared.

“Come, Amir,” members of the group invited their friend as a fresh round of steaming, mahogany colored tea was brought from the kitchen. “You share first.”

A serious expression spread across the tall Iranian’s typically grinning face as he began to share. Amir is a genuinely jovial man with a handsome face and sharp, dark eyes. But two years ago it was a different story as he lay writhing on the floor with his face contorted and eyes closed by drug-induced convulsions. “I was very addicted to hard drugs,” he explained in a sober tone. “After eight or nine years I was really in a bad situation.”

But that night on the floor, in the midst of excruciating withdrawal pain, Amir had a dream that changed his life. “I dreamed I was walking along a dark street in a foreign city,” Amir said. “A man found me and asked what was wrong. ‘I am addicted to drugs and I want to stop,’ I told him. He looked at me and said, ‘There is someone who can cure you.’”

Amir remembers the light he saw next, a bright, pure beam shining down from the sky. “The closer we drew to the light, the less pain I felt,” Amir said, the corners of his mouth lifting a smile back to its usual place. “And once I reached the middle of the light, my pain was gone. ‘How did you cure me?’ I asked the man. But he just pointed up toward the stars, and when I looked, I saw what I somehow knew was the face of Jesus.” When Amir awoke, the pain that had gripped his body was gone, and in its place was only a deep thirst to know and follow this man named Jesus.

A murmur passed around the group as Amir finished his story. After a moment’s pause, a quiet young man in his late 20’s volunteered to follow. It was the first time he had spoken all day, but Hassan isn’t the kind for unsolicited chatter, especially about himself. But as he began to share, a gentle passion seemed to swell from somewhere inside.

Like Amir, Hassan too had abused drugs for nearly half of his life. “I was addicted for 12 years,” he said. “I tried so many things to quit, but nothing worked.” That is, until the day he decided to attend a Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.) class, which was the day he met Amir. “We became good friends,” Hassan said, tossing a glance and a grin in Amir’s direction. “One day, Amir told me that everything in the N.A. books really comes from the Bible. He showed me and I started to think that if those books could help me, couldn’t the Bible help even more? I began thinking that Jesus could change my life.”

As the two mens’ stories intertwined, their narrative did as well and Amir shared how they began attending a Christian church together in Iran. “One day while we were worshiping the police came and arrested us,” Amir said. “I don’t know why, we had done nothing. But they imprisoned our pastor, charged us, and gave us a day to be in court.” But by then, Amir and Hassan had seen and tasted real hope and there was no turning back. Facing the likelihood of imprisonment and perhaps worse, the two decided to flee from Iran before their day in court. “I have changed so much,” Hassan added with a grateful look at the community gathered freely that day. “I used to be an angry and aggressive person. But when I come to church I feel relaxed and I forget my past.”

As Amir and Hassan talked of prison, a 26-year-old girl at the front of the room began to nod, her eyes closed in reflection. Lila is all too familiar with Iranian prisons, but her “crimes” were not religious. “I was a political girl and my family was political too,” she shared. “When I was 14, I wrote a paper criticizing the government and read it in class. They told my family I had to change schools after that.”

Lila isn’t one to mince words and it doesn’t take long to recognize the fierce determination that made her a well-known political dissident in Iran. Several years ago, Lila became a central figure in the opposition movement in Tehran, helping to organize protests against the government. Even after being thrown in prison for a period and fleeing to Malaysia for two years, she continued writing and protesting against what she calls the “Iranian regime.” “On the day they arrested me in Tehran, a group of men threw me in a car, and took me to a house where they said they would kill me.” She paused for a moment, caught in the memory. “They didn’t. They just said it to scare me. But I was terrified.”

Lila always believed it was the world around her that needed change, but after she left Malaysia and met the believers that surrounded her that morning, the greatest change of all began inside of her. “In the Bible, I discovered so many things that had always been important to me, like people’s rights,” she said. “I saw the Bible was always talking about being kind to all people…I think that’s when I started giving my heart to Jesus.” Looking out the window and spinning the tea in her glass, Lila added, “I used to be so proud. I think the best thing Jesus has changed in my life is me. I love it, and I needed it.”

For another hour, the stories continued: stories of oppression and deliverance, of healing, miraculous dreams, and irrepressible conviction. Theirs were stories with an unmistakable author and together they traced His careful pen strokes across the pages of their lives. In that small apartment, each person truly belonged, and as night fell and the tea grew cold, there wasn’t a soul that wanted to leave.

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Please pray for the believers in this Iranian church, that the Lord would bless them as they seek to follow him in a land that is not their own. Pray that they would grow in maturity, understanding, and grace and that the Lord would guide workers with International Teams as they seek to support, disciple, and encourage those like Amir, Lila, and Hassan.

*The specific location in question has intentionally been left out for security reasons.

**The names in this story have been changed to protect the identity of those mentioned, given the sensitive nature of these stories and the cultures they come from.