In the last few months there’s been a major influx of migrants showing up on the shores of Greece and Italy, along with many being held up in Hungary and Turkey. This development is a part of a long-standing consequence of brutal conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan. This year the total number of refugees exceeded 4 million. Many are desperate enough to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean in homemade boats in the hope that they can seek asylum under the rules established by the European Union (EU) — rules that grant food, health services and shelter to refugees. In the last few weeks, however, the EU has struggled to accommodate the continuing flow of refugees. In order to quell the flow, some countries have begun taking drastic measures. Chief among these considerate countries is Hungary.
Refusing to believe that these people are to be considered refugees, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has openly rebuked the idea of labeling this situation a crisis. While the wave of migrants has been hard on Hungary, as it constitutes a major pathway into other EU countries, this is an inhumane response.
Many refugees have purchased tickets to board trains going to other countries, only to be refused passage at the platform. The government has constructed a barbed wire fence along the country’s border with Serbia, as well as increased troops around the borders, criminalizing immigrants fleeing for their lives. It is unclear why Hungary is choosing to send suffering people to refugee camps, rather than assisting them in leaving the country.
Due to an increase in media coverage of the event, however, the global public is becoming more conscious of the issue. The dead body of a three-year-old refugee child, whose family unsuccessfully attempted to flee Syria by boat, washed ashore on the coasts of a Turkish resort town. Highly publicized images of the boy’s limp body being carried off the beach have been a wake-up call for many. They reveal just how bad the situation is, and have helped inspire a sentimental motivation for neighboring countries to help the masses of migrants.
Germany claims to openly give refugees asylum in their country and urges the fellow members of the EU to help deal with this crisis. Though the number of migrants is in the hundred thousands, that number divided over the combined population of more than a billion is manageable. Germany itself is not prepared for this event, however. They are struggling with just how to deal with the thousands of refugees.
The UN has estimated another 850,000 people are expected to claim asylum in Europe over the next two years. The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, urges the members of the EU to help lighten the burden with a quota plan to help relocate 160,000 refugees. The majority of the burden has fallen on Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Germany expects to accommodate a total of 40,000 refugees. Countries like France and Italy are in support of Juncker’s plan. The governments of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic have indicated opposition to it.
France and Germany have suggested that the EU force member countries to fill obligatory refugee quotas. Countries of the EU do not have to be the only ones to shoulder this burden, however. Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that they are willing to help 12,000 Syrians seeking asylum.
The U.S. also needs to assist in housing a number of these refuges. Our country has been much divided over immigration, with xenophobic attitudes rising — no thanks to efforts put in by Donald Trump. As the 2016 presidential election approaches, many people are choosing sides on the issue of illegal immigration. It is not a very good environment to start talking about housing refugees. It is, however, a question that needs to be answered. If this whole event is called the European Migrant Crisis, why not help provide some relief? When the size of our country is twice the size of the EU, what do we honestly stand to lose by taking in a portion of people fleeing war-torn countries?