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WhySyrianrefugeesarecrossingovertoEuropeLivemint

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14 September 2015 | E-Paper

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Last Modified: Mon, Sep 07 2015. 07 50 PM IST

Why Syrian refugees are crossing over to

Europe
Refugees feel more welcomed in Europe with the promise of a better, more honorable
life as compared to countries around Syria

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Venkat Ananth

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Nearly 800,000 refugees are expected to arrive in Germany in this year alone and as per reports,
the Angela Merkel-led coalition government will spend an extra 6 billion to fund the influx.
Photo: AP

Four years, nearly 4.1 million refugees, and according to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the worlds single-largest driver of
displacement. The displacement stemming out of the ongoing civil war in Syria, has
been described as the worst refugee crisis to hit Europe since the Second World War,
with thousands of asylum seekers lining up in various national borders everyday to
seek entry into Europe.
Why are Syrian refugees looking at Europe?
Because, as this Quartz report says, discrimination on the basis of religion is
specifically prohibited under European law. Importantly, they feel more welcomed in
Europe with the promise of a better, more honorable life as compared to countries
around Syria, or even the Gulf states for that matter. A Bloomberg report cited a Syrian
refugee Yassir Batal as saying, In Europe, I can get treatment for my polio, educate my
children, have shelter and live an honorable life.
While Syrias neighbours, mainly Jordan and Lebanon host a significant refugee
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population since the start of the civil war in 2011, they have been struggling with
domestic issues of their own, which in turn has affected their ability to cope with the
influx of refugees into their borders. Their healthcare systems have been left crippled.
In Lebanons case, the refugees find it harder to access health care, because of its
largely private nature, and thus expensive. There are also growing tensions between
host communities and the refugee populations, primarily over access to public
services, such as hospitals. Food aid to Syrian refugees was recently cut by the World
Food Programme (WPF) owing to shortage of funds.
Turkey, however, is the largest host of displaced Syrians, with over 2.1 million refugees
within its borders.
How many Syrians have tried crossing over to Europe this year?
According to Eurostat data, Syrians were among the highest asylum seekers in Europe
this year, second in a list led by Kosovars. In its quarterly report released in June,
Eurostat said that 29,100 Syrians were among the 202,800 refugees who sought
asylum. A UNHCR report, released in June this year, said that out of the 137,000
refugees who crossed the Mediterranian Sea to Europe in the first half of 2015, 43,900
Syrians came to Europes shoresthe single largest group by a considerable number,
accounting for 34 percent of all arrivals. In 2014, the report says, nearly 69,000 took the
rather hazardous sea route as they fled their strife-torn countrty, making up for 32% of
all arrivals into Europe.
How have the European countries responded thus far?
On the aid front, the European Union and its member states are collectively leading
the international response, according to a European Commission fact-sheet on Syria.
It added, More than 3.9 billion have been mobilised for relief and recovery assistance
to Syrians in their country and to refugees and their host communities in
neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt.
Europes response to the refugee crisis, on the other hand, has been a mixed bag of
sorts. While there has been a larger acknowledgement of the enormity of the refugee
crisis in Syria (and Iraq), many, mainly orthodox Catholic countries in Eastern Europe,
have taken a rather hardline approach over accepting refugees into their borders.
Countries like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary Estonia and Poland,
have come under severe criticism for their Christians only refugee policies, over
fears of a demographic tilt, with a majority Muslim Syrian refugee population. Their
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sentiment was echoed by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban who wrote this in
German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Everything which is now taking place
before our eyes threatens to have explosive consequences for the whole of Europe.
In countries like Greece, Syrian refugees have seen a mixed response upon arrival.
There were reports of a violent attack on refugees in Kos on Thursday night with a
group of 15 to 25 people brandishing bats and shouting Go back to your countries and
other abuse, CNN reported. Britain has currently welcomed 5000 refugees, with PM
David Cameron under severe pressure to do more.
This is in stark contrast to countries like Germany and Sweden, who have opened
their borders to Syrian refugees. Nearly 800,000 refugees are expected to arrive in
Germany in this year alone and as per this Guardian report, the Angela Merkel-led
coalition government will spend an extra 6 billion to fund the influx. Ever since the
civil war broke out and the first signs of a large-scale crisis came to light, Sweden has
been leading the way, unconditionally welcoming refugees into its borders. It became
the first EU country to offer permanent residency to Syrians fleeing the war. Not just
that, it has the largest number of refugees per capita among EU countries.
Why are the Gulf states not accepting refugees?
Interestingly, none of the oil-rich gulf states (the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain
and Qatar) have offered to resettle Syrians displaced by the civil war, opting to donate
aid over accepting refugees. According to a New York Times report, Saudi Arabia has
given $18.4 million to the United Nations Syria response fund so far this year, while
Kuwait has given more than $304 million, making it the worlds third-largest donor.
None of these five states are signatories of the United Nations 1951 Refugee
Convention, which defines a refugee as someone who is unable or unwilling to return
to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons
of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political
opinion. These countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait, were also
indirect participants in the civil war, especially in the early stages, when they
financially aided Syrian rebel groups fighting the Assad regime.
According to Amnesty International, other countries who refused to resettle wardisplaced Syrians includes Japan, South Korea, Russia and Singapore.
Venkat Ananth

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TOPICS: REFUGEES

WhySyrianrefugeesarecrossingovertoEuropeLivemint

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First Published: Mon, Sep 07 2015. 07 50 PM IST

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