European Refugee Crisis Essay

In the final draft I will expand on each of the issues, by looking into more specific examples of both what different European countries are doing policy wise, as well as what the sentiment is among the refugees in the different areas of Europe. To fully be able to understand the conditions the refugees are facing I will be using other scholars ethnography work; One of those works being Katerina Rozakou’s piece regarding the management of refugees in Greece. As a result of that knowledge I will be able to come to an accurate conclusion as to what course of action should be taken in Europe as a whole, to deal with this ongoing

The current world refugee crisis is the worst since World War II with currently over 59.9 million forcibly displaced people, which equivalates to a 40% increase in 3 years. This influx of refugees can be seen as a crisis, many countries are under intense strain trying to taking in the large amounts who are fleeing from danger, with Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt taking in 95% of fleeing Syrian refugees. Turkey taking in the most people with an estimated figure 1.9 million. However, countries in the Persian gulf, closer to Syria, have taken in no refugees. With nowhere to go, 1 in 4 refugees were forced resettle in poor countries such as Ethiopia. Europe has also been under much strain with small facilities for refugees and large numbers affecting the border states such as Italy, Greece and Bulgaria. Germany has resettled over 800 000 refugees, more than the whole of Europe in 2014.

The video “Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, and around the World,” was published on September 8th, 2015 on to Youtube by John Green. John Green is one half of the international phenomenon known as Vlog Brothers. They started on January 1st, 2007, as two brothers sending each other a video blog about their week every Tuesday, and has since gained 2,665,330 followers. John Green is also an award winning author of several best selling novels, which have since been made into movies, such as Paper Towns, and The Fault in our Stars.

Accepting refugees in Europe has become a highly controversial problem in the past few months. Without a doubt, a large number of lives could be saved due to this ethical action; however, there has been a significant rise in protesting refugees. We should consider carefully the advantages and disadvantages of such a substantial

Throughout human history there have been many wars that caused chaos for the people that lived around the battlefields. Loved ones can die, property can be destroyed, and all order can be lost. In the past few years, war in the Middle East has caused a massive amount of refugees to seek a place to live in Europe. The effect that the migrants have had on European countries (mostly syrian refugees) is negative because of their impact on the daily lives of the locals, the countless amount of funds that countries have spent to try to integrate them into society, and the increased risk of terrorism in countries that harbor a large amount of migrants.

The refugee crisis is a hotly debated and controversial topic all over the globe relevant to today. The rising number of refugees arriving in the European Union has significantly increased throughout the past few years. The controversy comes from not the refugees themselves, but from where they are emigrating from. Coming from extremely hostile and dangerous countries operated by the Islamic State militants, there is a sense of hysteria from the opposing side saying that there are risks that need to be factored in when accepting such a large amount of people from places where there are high concentrations of terrorism into their home countries. On the other side of the argument, the advocates for refugees are proclaiming that as humans we have moral obligations to give the quintessential helping hand to humans whenever one is in need, regardless of their situation or circumstances. Through social activism these proponents are seeking to

The first immigrants to the United States were European Quakers that came over on The Mayflower with a quest for freedom from the restraints of Great Britain and the Catholic Church. They were seeking freedom from oppression and the opportunity to build a better life. These people - by definition - are immigrants or refugees. We are all essentially foreigners in the United States, but some of us claim this land as our own - more so than others - and feel that people are intruding upon our “Americanized” country. This phenomenon has turned into a full-fledged political debate that has been coined as a “Refugee Crisis” or “Immigration Issue”. This is not just in the United States. Many European countries are dealing with the same issues and their refugees are seeking asylum from the torturous acts of ISIS. The history of immigration, the difference between immigrants and refugees, how immigration and refugees can be viewed as a social issue, and specific refugee and immigration conflicts and resolutions are all important factors of deciding how The Immigration Issue and Refugee Crisis are categorized as a social issue.

According to MigrationPolicy.org (2004) the number of asylum applications grew from 10s of thousands in the millions within 20 years. To respond to today’s current refugee crisis, Germany has begun resettling refugees within its border, and in record numbers. Germany is the leading country with refugee resettlement in the world. Germany offers many laws, policies, and programs to address the crisis. Germany offers various assistance for refugees depending on their

The 2015 Middle Eastern refugee crisis is becoming a serious security concern throughout Europe. 380,000 asylum seekers are fleeing their countries, mainly from Syria which counts 49% of the total immigrant population, but among them, there are many of Iraqis and Afghans too that are looking for a safe place to live (Amnesty). Many are entering the European Union through Serbia, Hungary, and Greece. Most of the families left their war-torn country in a hurry without any money, but most importantly without any identifications, which is causing a serious security concern (Feher). Terrorist affiliated groups can easily travel through countries to a predetermined destination to perform terrorist attacks against its residents. The European Union is taking some controversial measures to solve this increasing problem within the member states with the intent to accommodate all asylum seekers’ needs while forcing each member country to take in a set number of refugees that is predetermined by the leaders of the EU. As the European Union moves forward with its refugee gathered propaganda, Hungary and other Easter European nations should continue to fight against its aggressive policy to keep their people safe and protect their traditions while still threatened to pay millions of Euros in fines for not willing to collaborate with the EU.

A refugee is defined as an individual who has been forced to leave their country due to political or religious reasons, or due to threat of war or violence. There were 19.5 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2014, 14.4 million under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 2.9 million more than in 2013. The other 5.1 million Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). With the displacement of so many people, it is difficult to find countries willing to accept all the refugees. There are over 125 different countries that currently host refugees, and with this commitment comes the responsibility of ensuring these refugees have access to

Since 2011, Syria has been engaged in a Civil War with protestors against the government and members of the extremist group ISIS, and approximately 7.6 million people have been displaced from their homes (usnews.com 2015). As the conflict destroys more homes and livelihoods each year, an increasing number of civilians have been forced to leave Syria and try to find safety elsewhere. Already a contentious issue, the Syrian refugee crisis has awakened tensions, both economic and social as debate erupts over what to do with the refugees.In response to the crisis, while some countries like Germany have pledged to help the refugees, (New Statesman 2015 1) only 2,340 have been admitted. Clearly, more needs to be done in order to help the refugees. Although there are economic and population concerns to be considered, the humanitarian conflict that faces the refugees and solutions already available are reason enough for Europe to increase the numbers of Syrian refugees allowed in.

The situation of war in the countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq has led thousands of people moving to the European Countries. The people leaving their war-torn countries and fleeing to Europe are known as refugees as they have been forced to leave their countries because of war. The number of refugees leaving the middle-eastern countries due to war has been rising tremendously and this has been pressurizing the neighboring countries, such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. However millions of refugees are now moving towards the European Countries at the rate of more

Sweden has served as one of the leading countries in terms of humanitarian efforts as sees both asylum and enlargement policy as a tool within the EU to promote human rights. Sweden maintains a quota of 1,900 refugees annually, higher than any other member state, and calls for other EU member states to increase their quotas to match based on national population and economic capability (“Major Issues”). New programs to modify and attempt to coordinate immigration policy have been supported by Sweden. The Stockholm Program refocuses EU efforts to combat illegal immigration and provide greater support and assistance of the external border nations such as Italy and Greece (Collett).

According to the intelligence estimates , it is expected that Europe will face approximately 15 million migrants from North and Central Africa, as well as from Middle East and Asia in next three to five years. Currently, only in Turkey there are approximately 3 million of refugees and displaced persons, mostly from Syria and Iraq. Migrants will continue to use three Mediterranean Sea routes (Eastern, Central, and Western), as well as the Western Balkans route, because these are also the shortest routes towards the Western Europe.

The continuous conflict and seemingly unending civil war in Syria has made the refugee settlement mission a difficult task. The persistent state of fear has given rise to security controls across the border, and the incessant displacement of people from Syria has increased vulnerability amongst refugees seeking asylum. The number of refugees has grown steadily and has reached a disturbing number of 235,000 according to UNHCR. In addition, many immigrants remain unregistered and vulnerable in the neighbouring regions simply because the countries hosting them are also incapable to make available adequate resources due to economic constraints. Turkey, due to its financial status, has been able to cope positively with the 80,000 refugees in the country. Iraq is trying to cope with the incursion of immigrants into the country, fearing a reaction from al Qaeda who might use the refugee issue to settle in Iraq. Iraq has taken in only about 16,000 refugees so far, according to the United Nations. On the other hand, Lebanon is hosting about 100,000 refugees and in spite of the latest conflict in the country; the number of immigrants crossing over has not decreased. In fact, it has steadily increased.