This 13-year-old’s heartfelt and simple answer has touched a nerve around the world. Source: Supplied
WHEN 13-year-old Kinan Masalmeh was asked what to do about the migrant crisis in Europe, his answer summed it up perfectly.
“Please help the Syrians. The Syrians need help now,” he said from outside a train station in Budapest, which has been the scene of chaos in recent days after officials blocked trains out of the country. “Just stop the war and we don’t want to stay in Europe. Just stop the war.”
The simple sentiment — that people don’t want to have to leave their home — cuts to the heart of Europe’s “migrant crisis” that has dominated headlines in recent months, prompting extra spending on security and emergency talks between leaders.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called it the “biggest challenge” facing Europe today, while European Commission’s vice-president Frans Timmermans said it’s an “unprecedented humanitarian and political crisis”.
However, human rights and migration experts warn the dramatic images beamed across our screens and heated emotional debate mask a key fact that is often overlooked — that although the number of refugees and migrants is higher than in previous years, it’s still not beyond Europe’s capacity to cope.
“From the images we see and the number of people we see it seems like the whole world is knocking on the door of Europe,” said the International Organisation for Migration’s Brussels communications manager Ryan Schroeder. “But this is not the case.”
“Comparatively the European Union has the size, the population, the wealth and the resources to handle these increased flows. If Turkey and Lebanon are managing, one would think the EU as a whole can do that as well.”
Aylan Kurdi, left, and his brother Galib Kurdi were found dead on a Turkish beach after the boat they were in sank. They drowned along with their mother Rehan. Picture: Tima Kurdi /The Canadian Press via AP. Source: AP
More than 300,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea into Europe this year, with 200,000 landing in Greece and another 110,000 in Italy, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
It’s a significant increase from the 219,000 recorded in the whole of 2014 and is the largest displacement of people since World War II. However Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said Europe’s “migrant crisis” is a problem “of politics, not capacity”.
“This ‘wave of people’ is more like a trickle when considered against the pool that must absorb it. The European Union’s population is roughly 500 million. The latest estimate of the numbers of people using irregular means to enter Europe this year via the Mediterranean or the Balkans is approximately 340,000. In other words, the influx this year is only 0.068 per cent of the EU’s population. Considering the EU’s wealth and advanced economy, it is hard to argue that Europe lacks the means to absorb these newcomers,” he wrote online.
Comparing Europe to the US, where 11 million undocumented migrants make up 3.5 per cent of the population, he said “fear-mongering” over the dilution of culture has led to the rise of right wing parties, but this shouldn’t detract from the facts of the debate.
“Those moving toward Europe, though numerous, are manageable. The real question confronting Europe’s political leadership is what Europe stands for. What are the values that will guide Europe in a world whose people are not standing still?” he said.
Last year, 51 per cent of refugees were under 18 — the highest figure for more than a decade, the UN reports. Above, a child crosses the Greek-Macedonian border. Picture: AFP. Source: AFP
UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced today Britain has a “moral responsibility” to help refugees, saying they would accept “thousands more” Syrians direct from refugee camps and provide an extra $219 million in aid to Syria.
“We will continue with our approach of taking them from the refugee camps. This provides them with a more direct and safe route to the UK, rather than risking the hazardous journey which has tragically cost so many lives,” he said in Portugal, adding the country will act with “head and heart” to provide refuge.
Leaders in Europe have been scrambling to formulate a response to the situation that has prompted an outpouring of public emotion after pictures of the bodies of young children Aylan and Galip Kurdi were found on a Turkish beach and beamed around the world.
UNHCR estimates there are 19.5 million refugees worldwide. One in every four of these is Syrian which has recently overtaken Afghanistan as the largest source of refugees.
Medicines Sans Fronteirs has warned European leaders need to come up with an improved system for accepting and assisting people before more deaths occur.
The organisation recorded their busiest day ever for search and rescue yesterday with 1658 people rescued in six operations in the water including many women and children.
MSF Emergency Coordinator on the Bourbon Argos Lindis Hurum said they included a young woman who was eight months pregnant and went into labour straight after being rescued.
“Like any father to be, excited and nervous about the birth of his first child, her husband Joseph did not leave her side. The young couple was medically evacuated to allow Senait to deliver her baby safely in Italy. Our team is now anxiously awaiting news of the baby’s arrival.”
Source….www.news.com.au
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