Refugee crisis in Europe

Humanity is at stake in the Mediterranean and in the borders of some European countries. Boats carrying migrants to Europe were capsized off the coast of Libya where 250 migrants were presumed to have drowned in the fourth week of August. In Austrian border, 71 decomposing bodies, including of four children, were found in an abandoned lorry about the same time. In a series of such tragic events, a picture flashed around the world of the body of a 3-year-old Syrian Kurdish boy, Aylan, being washed up on a Turkish resort beach. Aylan Kurdi, along with his mother and brother were drowned while they were trying to cross the Aegean by a tiny rubber dingy (a small boat) to a Greek Island. The dead body of this boy awakened the world's conscience and piled pressure on European Union (EU) leaders. With Aylan, "humanity washed ashore". Turkish President Edorgan said, "…all of humanity was drowning in the Mediterranean". It is certainly the Mediterranean which witnessed Babylonian civilisation, Greek civilisation, Roman civilisation and Muslim civilisation. There were Roman, Greek and Muslim rules in the whole region in different phases of history.
Amidst world-wide concern, Germany and Austria opened borders for refugees. The former announced to accept 800,000 refugees while the latter agreed with Germany to allow the passage of migrants through it waiving asylum rules that require the asylum seekers to register in the first EU country where they reach. The heavy influx of refugees has been continuing.
The UK has declared to accept 20000 refugees over period of five years. There will be arrangement for 150,000 refugees in different member states of the EU on the basis of quotes. There has been concerns among EU countries about quotas. According to press reports, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on September 06, "It is not 150,000 migrants coming that EU wants to divide, it's not 500,000, a figure that I heard in Brussels, it is millions, then tens of million, because the supply of immigrants is endless". According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), about 367,902 refugees crossed the Mediterranean as of September 08. The refugees are mostly arriving in Greece and Italy. Meanwhile, 244,855 refugees and 121,000 refugees reached Greece and Italy respectively. Majority of them are Syrians but nationalities of other Middle-East, Africa and Asian countries joined this huge caravan. Referring to Bangladeshi immigrants, the German Ambassador in Dhaka said on September 08 that Germany would not accept any Bangladeshi immigrant. In the meantime, both Hungary and Poland hinted that they would not accept Muslim refugees.
Syria is now a war-torn country. It started with the wind of "Arab Spring." The movement was originated in Tunisia in December 2010. Then it spread over other countries like Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. After 4-5 years, the question is ringing how far "Arab Spring" has succeeded. Bahrain ruthlessly crushed it. Jordan and Saudi Arabia tackled it. The forces which ousted President Hosni Mubarak are behind the bar. Absolute chaos has been prevailing in Libya following the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. However, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria is still in power in Syria. He has got support from Russia. Full-scale civil war, amplified by jihadist militants from Islamic State, more than 11 million people were forced out from their homes. According to the UN Commission of Enquiry, war crimes like murder, torture, rape and enforced disappearance have occurred since March 2011. Another UN report, published in March 2015, noted that Syria incurred economic loss of US$202bn due to persisting civil war. Amidst such a situation, more than 4.0 million people have fled Syria, took refuge in different countries and many have been trying to cross the Mediterranean. According to press reports, about 1.8 million took refugee in Turkey, 1.2 million in Lebanon, 625,000 in Jordan, 245,000 in Iraq and 137,000 in Egypt.
Iraq also adds number to refugees to the EU. The US, along with UK and other coalition allies invaded Iraq in March 2003, and toppled down President Saddam Hosein who was later executed. During the first three years after the fall of Saddam two hundred thousand to six hundred thousand people lost their lives in Iraq. In spite of the establishment of an elected civil government killing and suicide bombings remain as the order of the day. Life could not be made normal.
According to a report of UNICEF, 13 million children are deprived of education in six Middle-East countries, including Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, 950,000 school students are being deprived of schooling. People from Iraq are also becoming refugees. The occupation of Afghanistan has also created refugee problem. About 1.6 million Afghan refugees are already living in Pakistan. The Sub-Sahran African countries are facing economic and sectarian troubles. So, the migrants from Afghanistan and Sub-Sahran African countries are tempted to go to EU countries. The present crisis in Yemen between the government forces and Huti rebels and Saudi air attacks has created another window for migration from Yemen.
The situation has been rapidly changing. The EU unveiled a bold refugee plan on September 09, distributing 160,000 refugees among its member-states on quota basis. But mandatory quota has created stiff opposition also. Prime Minister David Cameron defended Britain's decision not to participate in the binding EU system of quotas to resettle refugees. According to the British Prime Minister, this would send a message to the aspiring migrants to get on a boat and make that perilous journey. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban again reiterated that his country did not want more Muslim migrants.
The present unprecedented influx of refugees to EU countries has diverse dimensions. The first one is to give shelter to refugees. Then to decide how and to whom asylum would be granted. The present crisis has its roots and causes in wars, civil wars, political instability, etc. The world will have to respond to those causes. Humanity and human rights should be ensured.

The writer is an economist and columnist.
chowdhuryjafar@ymail.com