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[Kurdel]

From the look of that map (which may or may not be accurate), Lebanon is Israel's smaller neighbor and they took in 1.2 million.

I don't think Israel has excuses really.

How many Syrians do you think chose Israel as a first choice as a place to take refuge?

Lebanon was ovetaken by the population displacement of 1.2 million people. Do you think they would have volontarily accepted 1/4 of their population as refugees? If they had the power to stop the flow of refugees, they would have done it before this crisis baloooned into this mess.

 

[Foutrologue]

How many Syrians do you think chose Israel as a first choice as a place to take refuge?

Lebanon was ovetaken by the population displacement of 1.2 million people. Do you think they would have volontarily accepted 1/4 of their population as refugees? If they had the power to stop the flow of refugees, they would have done it before this crisis baloooned into this mess.

Yup Lebanon got royally fucked

 

[Principate]

Why is this even a shock to some people a major relatively well off country close to Syria is receiving lots of Syrian refugee's. Whether they wanted those refugees or not it's going to be pretty difficult to keep them out. The previous numbers always seemed a bit suspect.

 

[gutter_trash]

need more credible news sources.

Al Jazeerais is based in Qatar, and Qatar has been complicit with Saudi Arabia and Turkey at funding anti-Assad rebels (some of who fall into extreme groups)

so anything Al Jazeera says should be taken with a grain of salt until other news sources verify those claims coming from Qatar biased news.

Al Jazeera is as credible as Russian based RT

 

[reckless]

A lot of people seem to be discrediting the Saudi PR, but blindly believe the original image in the OP?

I wonder why this is...

Well the numbers in the image line up with what UNHCR says...
http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php

 

[Rocket Scientist]

need more credible news sources.

Al Jazeerais is based in Qatar, and Qatar has been complicit with Saudi Arabia and Turkey at funding anti-Assad rebels (some of who fall into extreme groups)

so anything Al Jazeera says should be taken with a grain of salt until other news sources verify those claims coming from Qatar biased news.

Al Jazeera is as credible as Russian based RT

This is hilarious. You clearly never watch or read Al Jazeera.

 

[NoblesseOblige]

I'd have maybe believed them if they said 100,000. But 2.5 million has me way too skeptical on the given source alone. Of course I'll be happy to be proven wrong in the future, assuming those refugees are given a decent chance at a better life that is. I'm pretty ignorant to how Saudi Arabia treats its population, let alone refugees. Also if they did accept 2.5 million (or any number really) then they need to do a better job reporting and working with other efforts because that's a lot of people to take in without others knowing.

 

[xbhaskarx]

If they have taken in 2.5 million Syrian refugees, you'd think people would have noticed before today. I mean we live in the internet age, where everyone is connected and news spreads in seconds not months...

If this is true, obviously Saudi Arabia needs to hire better PR people considering basically the entire world believed they had taken zero refugees for months and months.... which is odd because the Saudi regime cares a hell of a lot about their image and hires some of the top lobbyists and PR people... so why did they let this story build up for so long, with tons of negative news coverage, before saying anything?

Of course Al Jazeera is Qatari and (supposedly) they have taken in zero Syrian refugees as well... we already saw how biased they were when a Sunny mostly Saudi army went into Bahrain and violently crushed the protests by the Shia majority there, propping up the minority Sunni regime... almost no coverage while they focused on countries like Syria, Egypt, Libya, etc. that better fit the narrative they were pushing. The Syrian conflict is also in large part a Sunni vs Shia thing, so I'm guessing their coverage is pretty much entirely anti-Assad... are they at all critical of the Saudis bombing (majority Shia) Yemen?

Questions:
Is Saudi Arabia taking in Shia muslim refugees from Syria?
Is Saudi Arabia taking in Yazidi, Assyrian (Christian), Druze, etc. refugees from Syria?
Can these people freely practice their religion in Saudi Arabia?

 

[jorma]

A lot of people seem to be discrediting the Saudi PR, but blindly believe the original image in the OP?

I wonder why this is...

Just a case of confirmation bias.

 

[nOoblet16]

need more credible news sources.

Al Jazeerais is based in Qatar, and Qatar has been complicit with Saudi Arabia and Turkey at funding anti-Assad rebels (some of who fall into extreme groups)

so anything Al Jazeera says should be taken with a grain of salt until other news sources verify those claims coming from Qatar biased news.

Al Jazeera is as credible as Russian based RT

Lol...you are doubting one of the most credible news source in the world.

 

[Purkake4]

Well the numbers in the image line up with what UNHCR says...
http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php

Yeah, I'd like to hear UNHCR comment on this. Also maybe a third party could find a few of the refugees and interview them?

The excuses for not publicizing this seem kind of weak.

 

[MonorailCat]

There are multiple sources that say, SA is doing shit all to help refugees.
And now there is ONE source, that says it isn't true. In fact, it's the opposite. SA received millions of refugees, and 100.000+ are already studying there for free. And nobody noticed. Integration politics in Saudi Arabia must be outstanding if no one noticed millions of refugees.
Or its just not true. The only source is a saudi minister.

One of these scenarios is more likely than the other ...

 

[gutter_trash]

Lol...you are doubting one of the most credible news source in the world.

bankrolled by a dictatorship that confiscates migrant workers' passport and treat them like shit to build soccer stadiums and buildings.

Migrant arrives to work, boss goes "hand over passport", migrant hands it over then boss goes "you are not getting your passport back until you finish building my soccer stadium!"

nice country

 

[nitewulf]

I don't think they took in refugees as such, they took in migrant workers yes, but not fleeing refugees.

 

[genjiZERO]

Yeah, I'm very sceptical about this claim. Lots of Western media saying the opposite.

 

[xbhaskarx]

I don't think they took in refugees as such, they took in migrant workers yes, but not fleeing refugees.

We know they took in a couple hundred thousand migrant workers... this 2.5 million refugees claim is certainly new and different from that.

I'm not going to go out on a limb either way as to whether their claims are true or not... either way we'll find out eventually. Either way certain news outlets are going to look pretty stupid by the end of it...

 

[Kurdel]

"We have accepted refugees but our country is so efficient, no one noticed our population increased by 10%"

Sounds like total unverifiable bullshit.

 

[ElTorro]

Because we're more charitable to people trying to enhance human dignity and freedom around the world than a dynastic theocratic autocratic regime with secret police.

"We have accepted refugees but our country is so efficient, no one noticed our population increased by 10%"

Sounds like total unverifiable bullshit.

That's my initial impression as well. I would need more evidence than official statements to comfortably believe these figures.

 

[nitewulf]

We know they took in a couple hundred thousand migrant workers... this 2.5 million refugees claim is certainly new and different from that.

I'm not going to go out on a limb either way as to whether their claims are true or not... either way we'll find out eventually. Either way certain news outlets are going to look pretty stupid by the end of it...

no way is it true. saudis....well, they just arent very nice. i come from a nation where the poor migrate there, and the way they are treated, what i saw with my own eyes as i flew in emirates or etihad en-route to my native country...hell you can youtube videos of bangladeshi taxi drivers dragged out of cars in the middle of the streets by saudis and slapped around. they dont consider others humans.

 

[jerry1594]

Don't Saudi nationalists fund ISIS,making them directly or indirectly responsible for the refugee crisis to begin with? Or is my sense of geopolitics off base.

The destruction started with Assad fighting the Syrian National Coalition

 

[cameron]

There are independent humanitarian agencies with a large number of aid workers in the region who would know if this was true. It would be hard to not notice 2.5 million refugees crossing the Iraqi and Jordanian borders into SA.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Profoundly unmoved by one of the worst regimes on earth complaining that they're unfairly getting a bum rap on this.



Well, not saying Israel shouldn't take refugees, because they should, but Israel is geographically a little more constrained than some of the other countries being talked about.

If lebanon can take so many refugees, so can Israel.

 

[funkypie]

I don't believe a single word this pos country says.

 

[Piecake]

How many Syrians are actually in Syria at the moment? It seems like every country and their mother is taking in a million refugees

 

[KTOOOOOOM]

There are independent humanitarian agencies with a large number of aid workers in the region who would know if this was true. It would be hard to not notice 2.5 million refugees crossing the Iraqi and Jordanian borders into SA.

you mean UNHCR the same one who said there are zero refugees and in less than a day retracted the error and reported :

There are 500,000 Syrians in Saudi Arabia, according to Nabil Othman, acting regional representative to the Gulf region at the UNHCR. In official documentation they are referred to as “Arab brothers and sisters in distress,” he said.
it is all a retarded error

 

[IdreamofHIME]

I need proof, not the words from the spokesman for a corrupt regime.


That's a lot of people to have been taken in and then never reported by any NGO or news agency.

 

[Purkake4]

If they have taken in 2.5 million Syrian refugees, you'd think people would have noticed before today. I mean we live in the internet age, where everyone is connected and news spreads in seconds not months...

If this is true, obviously Saudi Arabia needs to hire better PR people considering basically the entire world believed they had taken zero refugees for months and months.... which is odd because the Saudi regime cares a hell of a lot about their image and hires some of the top lobbyists and PR people... so why did they let this story build up for so long, with tons of negative news coverage, before saying anything?

Of course Al Jazeera is Qatari and (supposedly) they have taken in zero Syrian refugees as well... we already saw how biased they were when a Sunny mostly Saudi army went into Bahrain and violently crushed the protests by the Shia majority there, propping up the minority Sunni regime... almost no coverage while they focused on countries like Syria, Egypt, Libya, etc. that better fit the narrative they were pushing. The Syrian conflict is also in large part a Sunni vs Shia thing, so I'm guessing their coverage is pretty much entirely anti-Assad... are they at all critical of the Saudis bombing (majority Shia) Yemen?

Questions:
Is Saudi Arabia taking in Shia muslim refugees from Syria?
Is Saudi Arabia taking in Yazidi, Assyrian (Christian), Druze, etc. refugees from Syria?
Can these people freely practice their religion in Saudi Arabia?

Maybe Saud has been sharing best practices with Putin and all the PR effort is going towards internet trolls?

 

[ibyea]

If they have taken in 2.5 million Syrian refugees, you'd think people would have noticed before today. I mean we live in the internet age, where everyone is connected and news spreads in seconds not months...

If this is true, obviously Saudi Arabia needs to hire better PR people considering basically the entire world believed they had taken zero refugees for months and months.... which is odd because the Saudi regime cares a hell of a lot about their image and hires some of the top lobbyists and PR people... so why did they let this story build up for so long, with tons of negative news coverage, before saying anything?

Of course Al Jazeera is Qatari and (supposedly) they have taken in zero Syrian refugees as well... we already saw how biased they were when a Sunny mostly Saudi army went into Bahrain and violently crushed the protests by the Shia majority there, propping up the minority Sunni regime... almost no coverage while they focused on countries like Syria, Egypt, Libya, etc. that better fit the narrative they were pushing. The Syrian conflict is also in large part a Sunni vs Shia thing, so I'm guessing their coverage is pretty much entirely anti-Assad... are they at all critical of the Saudis bombing (majority Shia) Yemen?

Questions:
Is Saudi Arabia taking in Shia muslim refugees from Syria?
Is Saudi Arabia taking in Yazidi, Assyrian (Christian), Druze, etc. refugees from Syria?
Can these people freely practice their religion in Saudi Arabia?

Um, I have seen a ton of coverage of Bahrain from Al Jazeera, and they were not positive ones for the monarchy. That said in this case, I am skeptical of Saudi Arabia's claims. How could everyone else have missed such huge numbers? That brings the number of refugees up to 6.5 million people, a quarter of pre war Syria! Last I remembered, the figure was 4 millions refugees and 7 million internally displaced.

 

[shintoki]

Why the fuck you lying, why you always lying.

So some how a country took in 1/4 of the refugees and no one noticed. Nor did they ask for aid.

 

[Yagharek]

Well the numbers in the image line up with what UNHCR says...
http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php

I'll go with what UNHCR says, they have a trustworthy reputation.

I'd be more likely to believe Kim Jong Un's golfing record than Saudi Arabia's refugee intake claims.

 

[reckless]

you mean UNHCR the same one who said there are zero refugees and in less than a day retracted the error and reported :

There are 500,000 Syrians in Saudi Arabia, according to Nabil Othman, acting regional representative to the Gulf region at the UNHCR. In official documentation they are referred to as “Arab brothers and sisters in distress,” he said.
it is all a retarded error

There can be 500,000 Syrians in Saudi Arabia without Saudi Arabia taking in any refugees.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Profoundly unmoved by one of the worst regimes on earth complaining that they're unfairly getting a bum rap on this.

Regardless of what you think of Saudi Arabia this is very important information to have (if it checks out).

There's plenty of right-wingers/islam criticists using "bu-bu-but the Arab countries aren't accepting anyone" as an argument against accepting refugees into Europe.

 

[Aceofspades]

Saudi Arabia will never do good to some people no matter what. this thread is just the proof.


I said it before but I'll say it again:

Saudi Arabia has suspended all immigration laws
regarding Syrians, regardless of how they entered
the country (Umrah, Hajj, Visit or Business visa)
they shall stay.

ALL Syrian lqamahs (residency permits) & visas
are valid & renewed until the war in Syria ends.
This is not a new rule, it was enacted during
Prince Naif's lifetime, the late Crown Prince.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Immigration
enacted laws treating all Syrian children the same
as their Saudi counterparts.

All Syrian children receive free healthcare along
with their parents and enjoy a free education.

Syrian parents are allowed to work as they
please without the fear of Labor Law violation/
penalty.

Saudi Arabia has also established or funded
multiple refugee camps in Jordan, Turkey
elsewhere


Saudi Arabia has been doing this for five years now, I just dont understand why internet are eager to spread any negative information regarding Saudi Arabia without checking facts, not just internet the western media in general. Its just baffling to me.

 

[aeolist]

Regardless of what you think of Saudi Arabia this is very important information to have (if it checks out).

There's plenty of right-wingers/islam criticists using "bu-bu-but the Arab countries aren't accepting anyone" as an argument against accepting refugees into their own European country.

who cares? the answer to that argument is that you shouldn't measure your human rights responsibilities against a country like saudi arabia

 

[crazy monkey]

Saudi Arabia will never do good to some people no matter what. this thread is just the proof.


I said it before but I'll say it again:

Saudi Arabia has suspended all immigration laws
regarding Syrians, regardless of how they entered
the country (Umrah, Hajj, Visit or Business visa)
they shall stay.

ALL Syrian lqamahs (residency permits) & visas
are valid & renewed until the war in Syria ends.
This is not a new rule, it was enacted during
Prince Naif's lifetime, the late Crown Prince.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Immigration
enacted laws treating all Syrian children the same
as their Saudi counterparts.

All Syrian children receive free healthcare along
with their parents and enjoy a free education.

Syrian parents are allowed to work as they
please without the fear of Labor Law violation/
penalty.

Saudi Arabia has also established or funded
multiple refugee camps in Jordan, Turkey
elsewhere


Saudi Arabia has been doing this for five years now, I just dont understand why internet are eager to spread any negative information regarding Saudi Arabia without checking facts, not just internet the western media in general. Its just baffling to me.

it is done to create image. people believe what they are fed through media right or wrong.

 

[ginger ninja]

Smells like bullshit.

 

[RiZ III]

Well this is great to hear. I don't think the Saudis would put out such a bold press statement that's all just a lie. If they have been treating all Syrian as residents, it makes sense why they've been said to have "zero refugees".

 

[spineduke]

I seriously doubt this - none of the NGOs I collaborate with have ever mentioned Saudi as an option for the refugees.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

who cares? the answer to that argument is that you shouldn't measure your human rights responsibilities against a country like saudi arabia

If you are accepting zero (e.g. Israel), and a country like Saudi Arabia is (possibly) accepting millions, surely that should be a cause for reconsideration? If not for nothing else but for how horrendous it looks to the rest of the world?

 

[KTOOOOOOM]

who cares? the answer to that argument is that you shouldn't measure your human rights responsibilities against a country like saudi arabia

that is your definition of human rights ours is different you don't decided our rules or our way of life. you can in your country.

 

[ISOM]

Where are the receipts. They can't expect people to take them at their word.

 

[ibyea]

Well this is great to hear. I don't think the Saudis would put out such a bold press statement that's all just a lie. If they have been treating all Syrian as residents, it makes sense why they've been said to have "zero refugees".

Maybe not zero, but 2.5 millions is a huge number to be unaccounted for. Think about it. Jordan has 600,000, Turkey has 2 million, Lebanon has 1 million, and they have such huge numbers because they are neighboring countries. Saudi Arabia is not a neighbor. How could an extra 2.5 million people have moved across 2 countries unnoticed?

 

[antonz]

Sounds more like the Saudis are cooking the books. Seems more likely Syrians that may have already been in country for work or whatever are now being given the refugee label.

 

[spineduke]

Sounds more like the Saudis are cooking the books. Seems more likely Syrians that may have already been in country for work or whatever are now being given the refugee label.

This is a far more likely reality - it would explain why the numbers don't show up in the UNHCR registers.

 

[reckless]

Saudi Arabia will never do good to some people no matter what. this thread is just the proof.


I said it before but I'll say it again:

Saudi Arabia has suspended all immigration laws
regarding Syrians, regardless of how they entered
the country (Umrah, Hajj, Visit or Business visa)
they shall stay.

ALL Syrian lqamahs (residency permits) & visas
are valid & renewed until the war in Syria ends.
This is not a new rule, it was enacted during
Prince Naif's lifetime, the late Crown Prince.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Immigration
enacted laws treating all Syrian children the same
as their Saudi counterparts.

All Syrian children receive free healthcare along
with their parents and enjoy a free education.

Syrian parents are allowed to work as they
please without the fear of Labor Law violation/
penalty.

Saudi Arabia has also established or funded
multiple refugee camps in Jordan, Turkey
elsewhere


Saudi Arabia has been doing this for five years now, I just dont understand why internet are eager to spread any negative information regarding Saudi Arabia without checking facts, not just internet the western media in general. Its just baffling to me.

Are we supposed to praise Saudi Arabia for not sending people back to Syria when their Visa's expired and treating them equally compared to others? Thats about the least they could do.

They still haven't taken in any registered refugees, and they are one of the biggest causes for what this war turned into not to mention their role in prolonging it.

 

[Lovely Salsa]

Don't we have couple of saudis on this forum? Why not chime in here and tell us the situation over there

 

[FZZ]

And so the issue of the refugees is going to be diminished on a he said she said of if they're not taking refugees neither should I.

 

[KTOOOOOOM]

Sounds more like the Saudis are cooking the books. Seems more likely Syrians that may have already been in country for work or whatever are now being given the refugee label.

because it does not make sense Syrian before crisis in ksa are 150,000 to 200,000

 

[Escape Goat]

Theyre granted work visas, not refugee status.

 

[spineduke]

because it does not make sense Syrian before crisis in ksa are 150,000 to 200,000

There are no refugee programs to relocate Syrians to Saudi Arabia, to make the move you'll need to apply for a job and be accepted beforehand.