The humanitarian crisis in Europe continues to grow each day. I believe these people are more than migrants. They aren’t moving for jobs or education or even new cultural experiences. They are moving to save their lives. The longer these people are denied refugee status, the longer Europe can put off accepting the inevitable.
The pictures we see now on TV must be the modern day version of what it looked like (see picture above) some 75 year ago, give or take, when Europeans, many of them Jews, left their homes and headed to anywhere they presumed they would be safe. How many of those people were turned away? How many people were not given sanctuary? How many of those people and their descendants would be alive today if some town or country had give them safe harbor.
We sit back on our high-horse, post Holocaust, and disparage those who did nothing. We castigate those who wouldn’t let the fleeing Jews on the St. Louis into our ports. We wring our hands over the plight of those who tried to escape three-quarters of a century ago as we cry out about human rights. We cringe over those who stayed just ahead of starvation and death and who got little help from those who were in a position to help.
What are we, as civilized people, doing about the plight of these middle eastern people? Surely Americans bear some culpability for their condition. After all, we did issue a pre-emptive strike on Iraq which has ultimately contributed to the instability of the region. What are Europeans doing about those attempting to enter their countries? The Hungarians have the refugees blocked. The British have taken in just under 300. The Germans have vowed to take in many. The Germans have made a generous offer and have long memories. Many Germans were themselves refugees.
What is the United Nations doing to help resolve this problem. It is understandable that most of Europe feels overburdened with immigrants already. Each country has its own tale of woe. Many Europeans also fear a Muslim majority within their country. That is also a legitimate fear for any democracy to have.
So what is do be done? The situation is heart-breaking. These refugees appear to be middle class people, not Bedouins. Bedouins seem to now how to blend into the desert. These refugees want to live and escape their war-torn circumstances. Syria has been in Civil War for 5 years. Civilians have been displaced and many have been living in bordering Middle East countries. Now the masses are moving into Europe as IS(IS) and other warring factions further disrupt peace and normal every day life.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke
I hope I never find out what it’s like to be in a boat that capsizes and then to pick up my son’s lifeless body off the beach
I heard on TV that only the man survived. He lost his wife, another child and perhaps some other family member. Those people are so desperate. Most of us cannot imagine what it’s like to have to uproot and flee like they have.
Hungary has buses lined up to take the refugees to Germany. However, they are scared they will end up in interment camps. I guess history is still fresh on everyone’s mind.
Apparently the image of the little drowned boy on the Turkish beach has caused Europeans to spring into action. Even if their governments aren’t doing much, the people sure are:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/toddlers-drowning-sparks-surge-of-donations/ar-AAdXi5x?ocid=spartanntp
Hungarian citizens came out of their homes to bring food to the refugees.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/toddlers-drowning-sparks-surge-of-donations/ar-AAdXi5x?ocid=spartanntp
Germany and Austria have done the right thing and are letting the refugees in. Hungarian buses are supposed to take them to the border. We shall see. This story is just heart-breaking.
Are there American relief efforts?
While sad…that man that lost his children did so because he was trying to immigrate illegally to the EU from Turkey for economic reasons. He failed to get permission to immigrate to Canada. He was not a refugee from the war.
This is not to downplay the crisis….but to illustrate that the press is lying to you.
You know what would help these refugees the most?
Destroy ISIS. Utterly and completely. Hunt them down, kill them all, and salt the earth.
My other question is why are the refugees going to Europe? Where are the refugees heading to Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc? Why aren’t they opening the doors to their fellow muslims?
Elena and I discussed that last night. They aren’t. Perhaps there are so many factions in these countries that the refugees find them unsafe. Who knows.
Not sure you can ever destroy evil. I have no problem with the notion of hunting them down and killing them.
I think until the middle east countries are prosperous and young men have decent jobs, there will always be these groups. Young men with nothing to do always seem to cause problems like this, regardless of location.
I feel sorry for these refugees.
And I don’t have a solution. Its bad choices all around.
But I guarantee that among those refugees are hundreds, if not thousands, of Islamist activists, jihadists, and terrorists.
So how do you screen them all out. WaPo says it would take 18-24 months for us to take them because of vetting. It also says that we only take in 70,000 refugees per year. Do these people even have refugee status yet? The terminology is very confusing. I didn’t realize that refugee-hood had to be decreed by definition.
What a difference 75 years makes. Oh the irony:
Latest statistics I could find:
Turkey / 1.8 million
Lebanon/ 1.2 million
Jordan/ 630,000
Iraq/ 250,000
Egypt/ 133,00
Qatar, UAR, Saudi Arabia/ NONE
Do those numbers represent the number of refugees taken in?
@Moon-howler
Yes!