By Harsh Mahaseth:
With the advent of the 21st century, there has been a rise in the influx of migrants in various countries. Numerous people have been shifting from their native land to other nations for a better settlement. Everyone deserves to live a peaceful and prosperous life where equality prevails, and people enjoy political, economic and social freedom. However, due to political instability in the world, these diaspora dreams seem to be failing steadily as increasing number of families risk their lives to flee from the suffering that their dream nation piles onto them.
The news and image of the little Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi, who was found dead on a Turkish beach in September 2015 shook the world. Just like this unfortunate three-year-old, there are thousands of other innocent civilians suffering.
People think of one question, which is “What can I do to help?” This can range from creating awareness via social media sites or print media, donating to refugee assistance funds or just talking about it and showing some compassion. However, this seems like a problem to me as I feel people need to go beyond this emotional response and look at the bigger picture. Will the migrants be willing to integrate into another country where their beliefs may be challenged? Most of the migrants arriving are not skilled or educated, and so they could become a burden on the country and its economy. Can the European countries, such as Greece and Italy, which are already facing an economic crisis, increase the number of dependents further leading them into financial depression?
While there are questions that would make us think that it is right to deny asylum to refugees we should also look at the statistics. In the fiscal year of 2015, a total of 200,000 migrants had arrived on the European continent, which is just 0.027% of Europe’s total population. Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan have already taken over 4.5 million refugees while the entire European Union has allowed in over 500 million inhabitants (a mere drop in the ocean if one looks at the real issue at hand). Apart from the moral obligation on states to provide asylum to people who have suffered because of a repressive government and generalized violence, Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to seek asylum in any other country. However, once the migrants reach their target destination a new, large and persistent underclass is formed within that society. It is rather tough to create a long-term strategy which would help ease the situation. Should nations at first take in the refugees and accept their humanitarian responsibility and once peace is restored, urge the refugees to return? While this sounds like a viable option there are various problems that might render such suggestions impractical. While so much is happening around us, there really is no need to ask the question of why we should care about the migrants.While it would be cruel to reject humanity and not give abode to refugees, it also poses a question of national financial security. Clearly, this is an issue which currently has no perfect answer.