Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/571192
6 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 SEptEmbEr 2015 News As Europe dithers, refugees' JurgEn BAlzAn This week European leaders once again failed to reach an agreement on a common re- sponse to the humanitarian cri- sis which is seeing thousands of refugees seeking refuge in Europe. MaltaToday has asked two specialist activists whether solutions to the current impasse exist and what effect this is hav- ing on refugees. Maria Pisani Integra Foundation director W hy has the EU immigration policy failed? EU immigration and asylum policy never worked! This is just accelerated implosion. it goes without saying that this is a complex and multifaceted is- sue, however, at a basic level it comes down to sovereignty, bor- ders and who controls them, and this cannot be divorced from the historical context. The founding principle of what we know today as the EU was es- sentially aimed to prevent the horrors of W Wii from ever oc- curring again. The EU project of free f low of capital, workers and information within the re- gion was a shift towards recog- nising this project, however the nation state borders remained, and once again we are witness- ing disputes over who controls them, and who can cross them. Ultimately we have 28 na- tion states looking out for their own interests – the CEAs never achieved what it set out to do – and now member states are also reinstating their borders, rather than working in solidarity, in the interests of all. Now throw racism and islamo- phobia into the mix and the re- sults can be toxic – history has taught us a lot. W hy has Europe never react- ed the way it has reacted now to the plight of sub-Saharan asylum seekers who have been seeking refuge in Europe for years? Again, i think we need to take a step back. The principle of free movement within the EU came at the expense of strengthening the external borders. For more than a decade we have spoken about how existing EU policy (such as the Dublin) puts a dis- proportionate responsibility on the external border states – in essence, asylum seekers and ref- ugees were forced to remain in the first country of arrival, and the principle of solidarity has never been realised. Today we are witnessing the biggest humanitarian crisis of our generation – the syrian crisis has led to millions f leeing their homes – let's make no mis- take, the vast vast majority of them have remained in the region. h o w e v e r , this sum- mer we have seen a s i g n i f i c a n t i n c r e a s e in arrivals to the EU – more than ever before. in the ab- sence of legal and safe access to protec- tion, refugees have been forced to turn to smuggling networks in their attempts to reach safety. We also need to understand how contemporary refugees are able to move within this globalised world – transna- tional networks, social media and so on, provide access to in- formation and facilitate move- ments like never before – this goes some way to explain the increase in numbers... the Com- mon European Asylum system – that never was – simply im- ploded. W hat are the short-term solu- tions to the current humanitar- ian crisis, especially in regard to Syrian refugees? Is there a saturation point as some poli- ticians maintain? The short term solutions re- main what we have always called for – access to protection and legal modes of migration from the region so that refugees and other forced migrants will not be forced to get on a boat in the first place; solidarity and coop- eration between the members states. Knee jerk reactions, the securi- tisation of borders, and building walls is not the answer – it nev- er was. i don't think it's about reaching a saturation point – much of the chaos is simply down to political failure. The EU is the richest region in the world and there is 'space'. it is not an issue of 'numbers' – and again, i do not want to simplif y. it is an issue of borders, of identity, of belonging, 'race' and ethnicity, and of living in a glo- balised world. As long as there are wars, and conf licts, there will be refugees. As long as there is global inequality, people will search for a better life. history has taught us this, and as Mal- tese we know this... Karl Schembri Regional media advisor Norwegian Refugee Council (Middle East Regional Office) Is Europe the main destination for Syrian refugees? What is the situa- tion in Jordan, Lebanon and other neigbouring countries? Five years into the syria crisis, thousands of refugees have started reaching Europe, but the absolute majority of refugees are in countries neighbouring syria. Earlier this year, the fourth million refugee to flee syria made it through to Lebanon, another milestone of shame in this long protracted crisis. in Lebanon alone there are more than one million refugees among a population of just over four million. One out of every four people living in Lebanon is a syrian refugee. Tur- key has 1.9 million refugees and Jor- dan is hosting almost 630,000. iraq has 250,000 syrian refugees and 3.2 million internally displaced people. So why are they now heading to Europe? The living conditions for many of the syrian refugees and displaced iraqis are deteriorating every day. so many of them have run out of their savings, leaving them entirely de- pendent on humanitarian aid. Aid itself is drying up. Only a few days ago the World Food Pro- gramme struck off 229,000 refugees in Jordan alone from its food aid programme. They were simply told by sMs that their food aid will stop. Those still receiving aid are getting Us$14 a month per person in food. The situation is desperate. Many are unable to work: they either re- quire expensive work permits that make it impossible or they work ille- gally, making very little income and at risk of being forcefully returned to syria. We see a lot of child labour, millions of children missing out on school and doing dangerous jobs just to be able to buy some bread for their families. The majority live outside refu- gee camps (Lebanon has no official camps) in very poor housing, in makeshift tents or abandoned build- ings, and many are further displaced as they can't keep up with the rent and are evicted by the landlords. i've heard it from so many refugees across the region that if only they could give a future to their children, they would do anything it takes, in- cluding taking the treacherous trip by boat that might kill them. The countries neighbour- ing syria have been very generous and have shouldered the im- mense pressure on their com- munities by themselves, but they are also now at break- ing point and they have been forced to ef- fectively close the borders for those fleeing from syria. Aid is not enough and that is why the Nor- wegian Refugee Council (NRC) and other humanitarian agencies have been asking wealthy countries to take on their fair share of the most vulnerable refugees for resettlement from the region while supporting host countries finan- cially. Are Arab Gulf states doing enough? Is the rest of the world do- ing enough? Gulf countries have contributed aid generously for refugees in the region and built camps for them but they are not granting asylum to refugees. Nor are other wealthy countries like Russia, Japan and south Korea. We have seen a very unequal burden sharing of this cri- sis on a global level, both in terms of funding and humanitarian pro- tection. The UK, for example, has been one of the most generous in providing funding but humanitar- ian admissions have been extremely low. Germany, Norway and sweden, on the other hand, have taken in the highest numbers of people in need of protection. The crisis we're facing is one of staggering proportions and the scale continues to deepen. Aid agencies are stretched to the limit, and so are host countries neighbouring syria. in syria, more than half the pre-war population of 23 million is in need of humanitarian aid and thousands are trapped in besieged areas where they are running out of food and dying of hunger. Clearly the world has been failing syria on all levels: in reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict, stepping up aid to meet the extent of the needs, and in granting asylum to civilians seeking protection. What aspirations do these refu- gees have? Only three years ago, the majority of refugees i met in Lebanon, Jordan and iraq were adamant on wanting to go back home as soon as the fight- ing stopped. Their consistent mes- sage, irrespective of their economic background, was that they wanted to go back home and continue living their lives in peace. Now that prospect is looking bleaker than ever and they are look- ing elsewhere. since the crisis start- ed their lives have been put on hold: millions of children have missed out on their education, families have been separated and the condi- tions of people requiring specialised treatment have worsened. All they ask for is to be able to continue living their lives in safety and security. They don't want aid, they want to live dignified lives, find work and be able to send their chil- dren to school. What does Europe mean to them? Europe is a haven of safety and se- curity where people are protected, living full and dignified lives. Every syrian i spoke to never imagined they would have to flee their coun- try and become refugees. it was unthinkable until it happened, and now they look to Europe for help in this moment of desperation. What can Europe do for them? solutions need to tackle the prob- lem at its source: in the context of syria, it's the conflict that is forcing mass displacement of millions of ci- vilians and influential governments need to stop fuelling the conflict and focus on political solutions. The permanent members of the UN se- curity Council have a moral obliga- tion to focus on political solutions to end the fighting. We call on European countries to share responsibility for all refugees in Europe no matter where they first entered the continent. The so-called Dublin Regulation specifies that the first country which asylum seekers reach is responsible for them, but it has exceptions, and Germany is us- ing the exception. Today a large majority of refugees go to Germany while some countries in Europe hardly receive any refu- gees at all, so there must be sharing of responsibility for the processing and hosting of refugees who need protection and all European coun- tries need to participate. Migrants who do not need interna- tional protection should be returned quickly and efficiently to their coun- try of origin, but with dignity. From our observations we can say that the earlier the refugees are inte- grated into normal life in host coun- tries, the better. This is particularly true when it comes to work, and that is why Germany is giving syrian ref- ugees temporary work permits im- mediately upon their arrival, as op- posed to Norway where it can take up to two years. Germany has set a very good ex- ample. integration through work is one of the most effective ways to achieve social cohesion among refu- gees and the host communities. it is also the best way to learn a language and culture of the host community, as opposed to segregated, special- ised language classes with little in- teraction. Language can be a huge barrier in the beginning and work can help overcome that in very prac- tical ways. The same goes for regular school- ing for children: having refugee children in mainstream education is paramount to ensuring that chil- dren feel at home with each other. All European countries should also increase their aid to syria and in the region. NRC has proposed that Nor- way triples its aid to syria. if all Eu- ropean countries did that we could have funded the entire UN appeal, but since not all European countries will do this we need more funding from other wealthy countries such as China and Russia and other large economies which are currently con- tributing very little and are also ac- cepting no refugees.