The unsettling Syrian refugee crisis has undoubtedly reached the world in unimaginable ways: Syrians fleeing from their homes by the thousands, photos of children dying by the coast of southern Europe, Western governments announcing either pro or anti-receptiveness towards refugees. One question whatsoever rises to the top as such scenario worsens day by day; how long will this calamity last?
An important contrast made between the timeline of the refugee crisis and the predictions made by government officials, activists, or even civilians themselves is that in a matter of months the percentage of refugees seeking protection outside has disproportionally escalated. The numbers shown in the media reflect Syrians’ rising urge for asylum in other countries, especially in the European Union. According to the International Organization for Migration, 350,000 migrants were registered in Europe in January of 2015; the irony nonetheless is that while numerable European nations have opted to establish short-term solutions to this emerging crisis, few have publicly declared long-term plans to the placement, reinsertion, or integration policies to the growing number of refugees.
Time has become a crucial variable for solving the apparent impasse on whether European nations should provide a temporary aid to arriving Syrians or if government representatives should establish immigrants/refugees’ quotas, a predetermined visa containing their statuses, and a consensual agreement between both parties declaring their return once the crisis is solved. Many believe that imposing such conditions to incoming masses is an unnecessary inconvenience especially given the circumstances they were put into and that the actual bureaucratic process of filing information on each and every refugee is simply unrealistic.
What is alarming in the midst of all such controversy is that timing has not been an ally to some European nations that are now facing a complex duality. An important Spanish newspaper has just recently declared the unsatisfying reaction of Syrians families who face the ‘European economic crisis’. Syrian families who have been granted one year of government support (food, housing, and basic needs) since their arrival are dealing with the termination of such aid, as opposed to refugee families that were sent to Germany, where they rejoice three years of support. The economic instability that has hit Europe since the Greek crisis resonates until present day and refugees are now being impacted by the wave of unemployment that has become a reality to several Europeans.
While one side argues that accepting the refugees is above all a humanitarian act propelled by diplomatic intentions, the other side advocates a realistic timed solution to a short-term problem that is slowly becoming a long-term one. One thing is certain: if the European won’t settle for a programmed solution to the crisis, it won’t certainly be the Syrians who will.
Lucas Costa
http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2015/09/08/55ed7d6d46163f95668b4581.html
http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/11/9311133/europe-refugee-crisis-online-activism-volunteer
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/11843189/EU-refugee-crisis-Migrants-in-Bicske-station-Hungary-siege-continues-overnight-live.html
http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2015/09/150903_migrantes_crisis_siria_golfo_persico_lv
An important contrast made between the timeline of the refugee crisis and the predictions made by government officials, activists, or even civilians themselves is that in a matter of months the percentage of refugees seeking protection outside has disproportionally escalated. The numbers shown in the media reflect Syrians’ rising urge for asylum in other countries, especially in the European Union. According to the International Organization for Migration, 350,000 migrants were registered in Europe in January of 2015; the irony nonetheless is that while numerable European nations have opted to establish short-term solutions to this emerging crisis, few have publicly declared long-term plans to the placement, reinsertion, or integration policies to the growing number of refugees.
Time has become a crucial variable for solving the apparent impasse on whether European nations should provide a temporary aid to arriving Syrians or if government representatives should establish immigrants/refugees’ quotas, a predetermined visa containing their statuses, and a consensual agreement between both parties declaring their return once the crisis is solved. Many believe that imposing such conditions to incoming masses is an unnecessary inconvenience especially given the circumstances they were put into and that the actual bureaucratic process of filing information on each and every refugee is simply unrealistic.
What is alarming in the midst of all such controversy is that timing has not been an ally to some European nations that are now facing a complex duality. An important Spanish newspaper has just recently declared the unsatisfying reaction of Syrians families who face the ‘European economic crisis’. Syrian families who have been granted one year of government support (food, housing, and basic needs) since their arrival are dealing with the termination of such aid, as opposed to refugee families that were sent to Germany, where they rejoice three years of support. The economic instability that has hit Europe since the Greek crisis resonates until present day and refugees are now being impacted by the wave of unemployment that has become a reality to several Europeans.
While one side argues that accepting the refugees is above all a humanitarian act propelled by diplomatic intentions, the other side advocates a realistic timed solution to a short-term problem that is slowly becoming a long-term one. One thing is certain: if the European won’t settle for a programmed solution to the crisis, it won’t certainly be the Syrians who will.
Lucas Costa
http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2015/09/08/55ed7d6d46163f95668b4581.html
http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/11/9311133/europe-refugee-crisis-online-activism-volunteer
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/11843189/EU-refugee-crisis-Migrants-in-Bicske-station-Hungary-siege-continues-overnight-live.html
http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2015/09/150903_migrantes_crisis_siria_golfo_persico_lv