Mario Lubetkin, Uruguay’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, announced on September 9 that the government is considering accepting refugees from Gaza into the country.
On the prospect of welcoming Gazans into the country, he said: “It’s true, and I recognize it, that there is a long list of families in Gaza desperately asking to leave,” news agency Mercopress reported.
However, he explained the difficulties associated with facilitating their escape: “To leave where they are, they need Israel’s authorization, they need the Red Cross; in short, there are many actors involved.”
The minister continued, “We are working to understand the actual conditions, not to make promises we can’t keep. Because if we promise something, we have to fulfill it,” according to la diaria.
Lubetkin emphasized: “We are not messing around. This is not a joke. This is an issue of utmost importance in the context of the drastic despair caused by the current tragedy in drama.”
“We are addressing and monitoring [the issue],” he added.
This is not the first time the Uruguayan government has addressed the possibility of accepting Palestinian refugees into the country.
In June, Lubetkin said that the government was hoping to facilitate the arrival of young Palestinians from the West Bank, with plans to help them secure jobs in the agricultural sector.
There are no indications to suggest that this plan has been implemented yet.
However, Uruguay has accepted refugees from war-torn regions in the past.
In 2014, the South American nation welcomed 120 Syrians amid a civil war that left hundreds of thousands dead.
The refugees were housed in a Catholic retreat centre in Montevideo; they received healthcare and Spanish classes, while children were provided with an education.
Alejandro Jorysz, a member of Uruguayan group Jews Against the Genocide in Palestine, suggested that the government needs to do more in response to the violence in Gaza.
He told Latin America Reports: “Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin does not recognize the genocide; President Yamandú Orsi maintains diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel, and the Ministry of National Defense considers Israel to be a friendly country to Uruguay.
“Lubetkin, attempting to obscure his disastrous role of not condemning the genocide and acting accordingly, vaguely speaks of considering the possibility of receiving Palestinian refugees. Under these conditions, the Foreign Minister is doing nothing but helping to create the conditions and legitimize the forced displacement of the Gazans from their land, deepening the complicity of the Uruguayan government with the genocide.”
Jews Against the Genocide in Palestine has launched an online petition, comprising over 300 signatures from Jewish Uruguayans, condemning Israeli violence against Palestinians.
The petition, which rejects the “genocidal policy of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government,” will be presented to the Presidential Office on Thursday 25 September.
Jorysz called upon the government to “take a stand and adopt measures commensurate with the magnitude of these events, condemn the genocide, and sever all forms of relations with Israel – commercial, diplomatic, and military.”
All relevant parties were contacted for comment.
Featured image credit:
Image: Carrasco airport, Uruguay
Photographer: Andrés Franchi Ugartemen
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aeropuerto_Internacional_de_Carrasco_-panoramio%2840%29.jpg
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
