6 ms·

A 21st-Century Migrant’s Essentials: Food, Shelter, Smartphone

47 points by phodo 11y ago

iamcurious 11y ago
“If you didn’t give the soldiers your Facebook password, they would beat you, destroy your phone or worse,” Mr. Aljasem said. xkcd was right https://xkcd.com/538/ https://xkcd.com/538/
- elros 11y ago
  But did anyone at any point doubt it?
- venomsnake 11y ago
  Thermorectal crypto analysis - breaks arbitrary lenght passwords in constant time.
_nedR 11y ago
The article mentions one Mohammad Salmoni, 21 who travelled from Kabul, Afghanisthan through Iran to Belgrade, possibly on foot most of the way, with little else other than his smartphone ( and probably without any id, let alone a passport). >"It was Very Dangerous" Not to trivialize the hell he must have gone through, but that sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. Gives fresh perspective on the word 'adventure'.
- thfuran 11y ago
  It sounds like the adventure of the lifetime if you know that at any point you could take your credit card out of your pocket and buy something you needed, or a plane ticket home. If not, it sounds terrible.
- nols 11y ago
  I have a feeling he was a little too hungry, tired, thirsty, or terrified to appreciate the adventure.
- mdpopescu 11y ago
  "Adventure" is something bad happening to someone else, in another time and / or place.
jkot 11y ago
There is other side of this. Most migrants do not apply for asylum, but hide their identity, so they can not be deported. In that case my country (Czech republic) usually confiscates their possessions to cover their living expenses.
- dodyg 11y ago
  I do some work for IOM. The majority of people crossing Europe right now comes from countries where refugee status is granted (Syria, Somalia, Eritrea).
  - jkot 11y ago
    Yes, but according to Dublin treaty asylum should be granted in state where refugee enters EU. And Greece is not so sexy. Most people want into Germany because benefits are much higher in there.
    - danharaj 11y ago
      I think using the term 'not sexy' to describe a nation that is undergoing internal conflict and massive economic contraction is using the wrong connotations. Refugees flee a terrible life to find stability. Not even native Greeks have stability. Clearly the EU refugee rules are not fair to border nations. It seems that yet again the rules of the EU benefit the richest, most powerful countries most.
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
      - chvid 11y ago
        These rules are in practice ignored by the receiving countries and the northern european countries accept this. That is why Germany will receive nearly a million refugees this year and probably more next year. The political (and economic) implications are massive and in many ways this is more disrupting for the european project than the crisis in Greece.
ousta 11y ago
wouldn't it be sane to not put all migrants in the same group. Shouldn't we differentiate people that want to escape a warzone to save their lives, often people without any cellphones, without money, who lost everything and are not necessarly middle class but lower income people who bring their families with them to SURVIVE and people who have fancy cellphones and are now in a safe country (ex:turkey) and want to come to europe only for economic purposes leaving by side their families to make some money and bring them when they get enough $$$? as such the article would focus only on the second part. the first part being the one stuck in syria who can't even afford the thousand dollars trip to europe, who can't even afford to be a fancy cover story of the sacro-saint newyork times
- NoCulturalFit 11y ago
  Not sure why you are down-voted, this actually, somewhat true. My parents were refugees, and were above middle class. The poorer ones never make it, the one who needs your help abroad. Sweden spends more money on hostels in Sweden than they donate to Syria. In fact, they have started to take the money they were supposed to donate to Syria and pay them out here instead to "entrepreneurs" and in welfare (since it's expensive to live in Sweden)
- lewiseason 11y ago
  This is similar to the distinction that the media fail to grasp between "asylum seeker" and "immigrant".
  - Kalium 11y ago
    I'm not sure how much of it is "fails to grasp" so much as a deliberate blurring of lines. Sometimes it's accurate - like a Syrian dentist displaced by violence who cannot find a new job. From listening to coverage, there's a group number of economic migrants who prefer to present themselves as asylum seekers. It's kind of mess, because the ideals on the two not-always-mutually-exclusive groups differ wildly. Generally countries get to pick their economic migrants, but not their asylum seekers...
    - 11y ago
DorothyS 11y ago
No wonder. A cell phone has penetrated into our lives so deeply that it literally hits the list of items people cannot do without. It’s one of a few things that make us come back and take if forgotten at home. However, connecting people in the distance, it at the same time increases this same distance making people feel even more lonely.

47 points by phodo 11y ago

“If you didn’t give the soldiers your Facebook password, they would beat you, destroy your phone or worse,” Mr. Aljasem said. xkcd was right https://xkcd.com/538/ https://xkcd.com/538/

elros 11y ago
But did anyone at any point doubt it?
venomsnake 11y ago
Thermorectal crypto analysis - breaks arbitrary lenght passwords in constant time.

_nedR 11y ago

The article mentions one Mohammad Salmoni, 21 who travelled from Kabul, Afghanisthan through Iran to Belgrade, possibly on foot most of the way, with little else other than his smartphone ( and probably without any id, let alone a passport). >"It was Very Dangerous" Not to trivialize the hell he must have gone through, but that sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. Gives fresh perspective on the word 'adventure'.

thfuran 11y ago
It sounds like the adventure of the lifetime if you know that at any point you could take your credit card out of your pocket and buy something you needed, or a plane ticket home. If not, it sounds terrible.
nols 11y ago
I have a feeling he was a little too hungry, tired, thirsty, or terrified to appreciate the adventure.
mdpopescu 11y ago
"Adventure" is something bad happening to someone else, in another time and / or place.

jkot 11y ago

There is other side of this. Most migrants do not apply for asylum, but hide their identity, so they can not be deported. In that case my country (Czech republic) usually confiscates their possessions to cover their living expenses.

dodyg 11y ago
I do some work for IOM. The majority of people crossing Europe right now comes from countries where refugee status is granted (Syria, Somalia, Eritrea).
- jkot 11y ago
  Yes, but according to Dublin treaty asylum should be granted in state where refugee enters EU. And Greece is not so sexy. Most people want into Germany because benefits are much higher in there.
  - danharaj 11y ago
    I think using the term 'not sexy' to describe a nation that is undergoing internal conflict and massive economic contraction is using the wrong connotations. Refugees flee a terrible life to find stability. Not even native Greeks have stability. Clearly the EU refugee rules are not fair to border nations. It seems that yet again the rules of the EU benefit the richest, most powerful countries most.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - chvid 11y ago
      These rules are in practice ignored by the receiving countries and the northern european countries accept this. That is why Germany will receive nearly a million refugees this year and probably more next year. The political (and economic) implications are massive and in many ways this is more disrupting for the european project than the crisis in Greece.

ousta 11y ago

wouldn't it be sane to not put all migrants in the same group. Shouldn't we differentiate people that want to escape a warzone to save their lives, often people without any cellphones, without money, who lost everything and are not necessarly middle class but lower income people who bring their families with them to SURVIVE and people who have fancy cellphones and are now in a safe country (ex:turkey) and want to come to europe only for economic purposes leaving by side their families to make some money and bring them when they get enough $$$? as such the article would focus only on the second part. the first part being the one stuck in syria who can't even afford the thousand dollars trip to europe, who can't even afford to be a fancy cover story of the sacro-saint newyork times

NoCulturalFit 11y ago
Not sure why you are down-voted, this actually, somewhat true. My parents were refugees, and were above middle class. The poorer ones never make it, the one who needs your help abroad. Sweden spends more money on hostels in Sweden than they donate to Syria. In fact, they have started to take the money they were supposed to donate to Syria and pay them out here instead to "entrepreneurs" and in welfare (since it's expensive to live in Sweden)
lewiseason 11y ago
This is similar to the distinction that the media fail to grasp between "asylum seeker" and "immigrant".
- Kalium 11y ago
  I'm not sure how much of it is "fails to grasp" so much as a deliberate blurring of lines. Sometimes it's accurate - like a Syrian dentist displaced by violence who cannot find a new job. From listening to coverage, there's a group number of economic migrants who prefer to present themselves as asylum seekers. It's kind of mess, because the ideals on the two not-always-mutually-exclusive groups differ wildly. Generally countries get to pick their economic migrants, but not their asylum seekers...
  - 11y ago

DorothyS 11y ago

No wonder. A cell phone has penetrated into our lives so deeply that it literally hits the list of items people cannot do without. It’s one of a few things that make us come back and take if forgotten at home. However, connecting people in the distance, it at the same time increases this same distance making people feel even more lonely.