World Refugee Crises, Terror Grips As Countries Stressed To Maximum
Countries of the world not suffering from lawlessness, extreme laws or failed regimes are taking on their full capacity of spaces available to accommodate a desperate flood of refugees, whose choices are to either remain in their home country or run as fast as they can toward countries they believe will take them in.
Amnesty International is urging nations to do more to help Syrian Refugees, specifically.
“The shortfall in the number of resettlement places for refugees offered by the international community is truly shocking. Nearly 380,000 people have been identified as in need of resettlement by the UN refugee agency, yet just a tiny fraction of these people have been offered sanctuary abroad.”
Of all the European Union countries, the UK, Germany and France take on the greatest number of refugees.
Annual Number of Refugees Received By the EU-3.
UK: 125,991
Germany: 187,505
France: 232,487
Although the numbers above may appear startling at first glance, they are not huge when compared to each respective country’s total population.
Even Britain’s UKIP party, with its reputation for anti-immigration, is differentiating between Syrian asylum seekers versus “students” and “unskilled workers” from the EU-27 countries, saying the number of refugees allowed into Britain is “pitifully small” and should — under a better regulated system — be higher to accommodate the crises.
UKIP MP @DouglasCarswell says the number of Syrian refugees allowed into Britain has been “pitifully small” https://t.co/z7gA02Z37E
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 27, 2015
Germany is leading the way in the relief efforts by accepting all Syrian refugees seeking asylum from the civil-war-scale violence and poor conditions at home.
When Will Europe Learn: Germany Set to Accept ALL Syrian Refugees who Arrive There http://t.co/KrYurzSKDS via @@anongalactic
— joan (@snodley) August 26, 2015
The problem, however, is not the capacity of the EU-3 to accept refugees, it is the political pressure of a “red tape” legislation that is slowing down efforts to process legitimate human rights protected claims to asylum.
At least 137,000 men, women and children crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe in the first half of this year. http://t.co/tmcujbgQzS
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) August 28, 2015
The legacy of Fortress Europe: 50 dead refugees found in the back of Austrian truck http://t.co/dNGYSJXC1E — Ian Birrell (@ianbirrell) August 27, 2015
Who is opposed to an open-arms policy? The UK practices a “resettlement” policy which seeks to return Syrians to their home country under better conditions. These local conditions — according to Amnesty International’s latest figures — have not improved.
“There are some 6.5 million internally displaced Syrians within their own country. The majority are found in the regions of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Deir Ez-Zor and Idlib.”
Critics also argue that the same violence these refugees are escaping could become more regular experiences — such as on the streets of Paris in the Charlie Hebdo attack or the 7/7 bombings in London — if terrorists, posing as Asylum seekers, are inadvertently allowed into the country.
In either case, a long-term decision will have to be made. The lack of any immediate political or military solution in the region means Syrian refugees will not be able to return to their home country until well beyond 2020, according to the most optimistic of projections.
[Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]