Europe's turn to agree how to handle refugee crisis
After the wars that took place in the Middle East during the 2011-2012 Arab Spring revolutions, Western Europe has seen the largest migrant crisis since World War II, including 1.5 million people who have crossed the Mediterranean and the Balkans to reach European soil.
Far right parties, such as Marine Le Pen in France, or Nationalists in Austria, have taken advantage of this situation by agitating fears . Scandals such as the mass rape in Germany last Dec. 31, have led many to conclude that migrants represent a threat to Europe.
Even just one year ago, things were different. Images such as that of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean on Sept. 2, 2015, have themselves drowned in a sea of images of refugees, with fewer and fewer making impact.
Europe has become a fortress that won’t accept the consequences of its actions≠≠ taken in the Middle East.
One country that has understood that the solution Europe is not to retreat into itself is Germany, which has decided to welcome and integrate more than one million migrants. Germany understood how to take advantage of the situation and make a compromise.
The German population is getting old, with no growth and a low fertility rate. It literally needs new blood to make its economy more competitive. Migrants would increase the number of young people in the German population. In addition, East Germany is underpopulated and desperately needs more people. The domain in which workers are needed the most in Germany is agriculture, jobs that the Germans often don't accept to do but migrants do. That is why the migrant crisis is for Germany is an opportunity to build the labor force it needs.
On the other hand, to be a migrant is not the same as being a refugee. On this point, the law is clear: According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, refugees are people who are “fleeing conflict or persecution.” The reality is that only 20 percent of the migrants in Europe fall into that precise category. No wonder that when arriving in Europe, many migrants try to hide their identities, so they can’t be deported.
Europe is facing the need for a fast solution. Migration represents a big topic everywhere, not just in Europe. What makes the West strong is democracy. America has recently made its decision by electing Donald J. Trump, who will propose a new set of solutions to face this problem. Now it is Europe’s turn to decide how it will manage its future.
Cartoon and photo selections, by Marianne Sirgy
Photo of refugees in boat: Syrian and Iraqi refugees arrive from Turkey in Skala Sykamias, Lesbos island, Greece. Spanish volunteers (life rescue team - with yellow-red clothes) from "Proactiva open arms" help the refugees. Photo by Ggia/Creative Commons licensed at Wikimedia Commons.
Photo of Aylan Kurdi: A billboard in Frankfurt carried a photo of Kurdi, a Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean in November 2015. Photo by Frank C. Müller/Creative Commons licensed at Wikimedia Commons.
Editorial cartoon: Europe as a castle, surrounded by immigrants and refugees. In an article in the Los Angeles Times, cartoonist David Horsey said that today's refugees "could be the first gush of a human tsunami that will swamp the continent." Cartoon by David Horsey of the Los Angeles Times/Fair Use exemption.
Map: Asylum applicants in Europe between Jan. 1 and June 30 in 2015. Map by Maximilian Dörrbecker/Creative Commons licensed at Wikimedia Commons.
Photo of refugees in boat: Syrian and Iraqi refugees arrive from Turkey in Skala Sykamias, Lesbos island, Greece. Spanish volunteers (life rescue team - with yellow-red clothes) from "Proactiva open arms" help the refugees. Photo by Ggia/Creative Commons licensed at Wikimedia Commons.
