Georgian refugees flee to the Netherlands

This video from Georgia says about itself:

Georgian protesters demand Saakashvili resign

The demonstration was a warm-up for a day of protest on April 9 [2009] planned by opposition groups who blame Saakashvili for the disastrous war with Russia last August and for failing to insulate Georgia against the deepening economic crisis.

One of Georgia’s best known singers, Georgy Gachechiladze, performed protest songs he said he had last sung under Eduard Shevardnadze, who was brought down by the 2003 “Rose Revolution” that brought Saakashvili to power. “These songs I sang when Shevardnadze ruled Georgia. I would never have believed these songs could be sung today,” said Gachechiladze, singing from a mocked-up prison cell on stage.

From Radio 1 in the Netherlands, including a sound file in Dutch; text on the page translated here:

Large group of Georgian asylum seekers looking for refuge in the Netherlands

March 18, 2010

Since the last few months, large numbers of Georgians are asking for asylum in the Netherlands. The figures from January 2010 on even put them at the third spot on the list of countries where asylum seekers are from.

This really says something about bad conditions in Georgia; as Georgia is a country of comparatively few people, far from the Netherlands, and as there are bloody wars and repression in many countries.

In 2009, Somalia was number one on the list of countries where most refugees came from to the Netherlands. Iraq was number two. Afghanistan number three.

Georgia in 2009 was still “only” number nine, but apparently rose from 9 to 3 this year; even “above” Afghanistan.

This is reported by the Radio 1 program Dit Is De Dag [This Is the Day] 1 based on data provided to the program by Dutch immigration authorities.

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