Europe is seeing a large surge of migration as
refugees, torn between hostility and peace, flee from war and oppression to
more economically developed and safer countries. Primarily from Syria, these
refugees had high hopes of being welcomed with open arms, but most countries
are accepting only a small portion. Some have even closed their doors
completely.
Much like the Jewish during WWII, things weren’t
working the way they wanted them to, and we all know what eventually happened
soon afterwards. This time around Germany is on the right side of history.
The country is taking in the most refugees in the EU—around 800,000— while the
rest of Europe is refusing to take any more than 20,000.
This influx of refugees puts stress on the
anti-refugee laws in most wealthy European countries, which were
established to prevent situations like this to spill into their country.
These laws are to prevent xenophobes from having to deal with people that are
“different.”
Culture is what makes us human, and humans from
different places have very different cultures. It’s wrong and xenophobic to say
your culture is better and more developed than another’s, and you don’t want
that culture to have a chance in taking over your culture. It’s ridiculous. A
human is a human, and humans should be willing to take care of other humans
that are in need, especially in the refugee crisis we’re facing today. Most of
these human beings are skilled, educated and are ready to work and give to the
society that’ll take them in. All they need is a safe place to call home.
Nathan, an anthropology major, said, “It’s
shameful to think most European countries are refusing to help those poor
people. They need a reality check. What if it were them in that situation? I’d
bet they’d feel very different.”
He’s not wrong. It’s all fun and games when
you’re in the position to make laws, but it is completely different on the
other side. Understandably, having the fear of risking your nation’s
nationality to incoming foreigners have led to these faulty anti-refugee laws,
which have come to question in these dire situations. Europe’s politicians need
to put themselves in the refugees’ shoes and recognize the world isn’t so perfect,
but it’s hard to burst the bubble around more affluent countries.
U of L student Ashkan has refugee family members
in Turkey. He recited a poem regarding this unfortunate situation with much
sorrow in his voice: “Human beings are members of a whole, in creation of one
essence and soul. If one is afflicted with pain, other members uneasy will
remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, the name of human you cannot
retain.”
It’s easy to overlook the needs of others when
situations like these are happening in the present, but it’s easier to look
back and say you could have done something more when you didn’t. Donate and
give whatever you can spare to these people; they need it more than you. It’s
important to recognize the world can feel smaller and restricted when you erect
borders to keep each other out. By Zachary Conatser
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