In line with the increase in mass movement of people, there has also been an increase in expressions of unwelcome coupled with hostility and a cry of overpopulation in some of the countries in Europe. Moreover, there have also been increases in hate crimes with terrorist attacks during this period of time, which has again been linked to incoming migrants. Including all of this, mass migration has also opened avenues for smuggling of humans into Europe via illegal channels. Thousands of people have already died en route, mainly by drowning in the Mediterranean. In September 2015, the body of a three-year old Syrian boy washed up dead on a beach in Turkey which garnered attention from around the world to an important issue which is the refugee crisis.
Initially, a lot of people welcomed the refugees in many of the major EU cities such as Madrid, Milan, Athens, and Berlin. To demonstrate the same, they hung banners and messages welcoming refugees at various landmarks. However, with time this take changed into hate and fear and gave rise to other expressions of racism and xenophobia.
Some people never wanted refugees in the first place because they were not open to the idea of sharing their land and other resources with them. The notion of racism spread after major attacks in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Nice, Istanbul and recently in Barcelona, which were all claimed by the IS. It is believed that the perpetrators of these attacks were people who initially entered as refugees. Meanwhile, the attacks on IS base in Syria and Iraq intensified by different coalition forces formed by the USA, Russia, France, Italy and others with support of the anti IS forces. These strikes were successful in the sense that they reduced the power of IS considerably and most of the areas of Iraq and Syria have been recaptured, including vital cities such as Mosul and Raqqa. The adverse impact of this, however, is that more instability has been caused due to the air strikes and ground troop infiltration that led to internal displacements as well as more people fleeing to Europe to save their lives and in search of better livelihoods. It has also increased the trafficking of women to be sold to the prostitution cartel in countries such as Jordan and the Lebanon. Some women, even those who are underage had to take up ‘survival sex’ as it was their only way of making it alive.
The route from Libya to Italy was not in use after the supposed ‘deal’ between Gaddafi and Berlusconi in 2008. Any refugee ships suspected to be docking in Europe would be stopped or even shot on the way without any investigation. This route only resumed popularity after the assassination of Gaddafi in 2011. In 2015, a shooting incident killed about 700 immigrants when a ship was shot, suspected to have been conducted by the Italian mafia. They apparently control the routes of migration and also indulge in their own smuggling of people.
Other measures had been also taken, like the Turkey-EU deal in March 2016. The refugees would be inspected upon arrival and would be sent back to Turkey in case of any suspicion. In case of these refugees being sent back, the EU would provide a home to them along with increasing the grants to €6 billion. According to the law in the EU a country can be safe only if it can guarantee no individual can be prosecuted on the account of nationality, religion, race, political opinion or being a member of a particular social group. This questions the entire fact if Turkey is a safe country where 17,740 people were arrested for voicing opinions against the government. This also puts into question the entire practice of sending back refugees to Turkey.
The EU developed its first asylum policy in 1999 but the rules in place are today not sufficient to control mass migration. This reflects on how the EU was never prepared for a large scale migration. After dealing with the huge inflow of asylum seekers, the European Union has reformed its immigration policies and refugee laws.
While the basic fundamental foundation remains the same, the immigration policies have become stricter to combat abuse. The new laws have altered the reception of asylums and it is now uniform and harmonised throughout the EU. Earlier, migration to countries like Greece and Italy was significantly easier than migrating to, say, Germany or Switzerland. Now, the EU has set up offices at every border which looks into the entry of asylum seekers with each EU country following the same sets of rules.
A large number of people have entered Europe in the last two years with a desperate need of an asylum. These vulnerable people require international protection and the EU is in the position to do the same. It becomes a moral and a legal responsibility of the European Union to provide the same. The member nations need to examine the application and decide as to who needs protection. However, not all individuals that dock in Europe may require real protection since some of them enter Europe merely as ‘economic migrants’ with the agenda of improving their lives as resources and opportunities available in Europe are not available in their country of origin. Moreover, a lot of resources are provided to those who seek asylum and as a result of this people are attracted more and more to Europe. This may lead to draining of EU resources on one hand and adversely impact the job opportunities for the native Europeans on the other, especially in countries, such as Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain on the other.
In the Schengen area, since people are allowed to roam freely within the borders, this has put the security at further risk. For example, the perpetrators that were involved in the Paris and Brussels attacks had entered the continent as illegal immigrants through Turkey and Greece. This poses a huge threat not only to the national security ensured by the European Union but also to the peace of mind that has been assured by the same body.
Therefore, it can be said that there is an abundance of obstacles in the path to neutralize this crisis by the European Union and other concerned parties. However, these obstacles can be overcome by taking the correct steps gradually. Channeling funding by the EU and Germany for the support of the refugees in Turkey, Jordan, the Lebanon, and Greece is definitely a major action, however this does not solve the real problem.
There have been indications of the refugee problem finding a solution in a way which seems suitable for both the refugees and the authorities. Although this may take some time to channelize and be implemented, with the right amount of efforts and mutual understanding, this goal will be met in due course provided all major parties agree to find an amicable solution.
