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14 September 2015 | E-Paper

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

Venkat Ananth

Why Syrian refugees are crossing over toEuropeRefugees feel more welcomed in Europe with the promiseof a better, more honorable

life as compared to countries around Syria

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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 ofdisplacement. 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 Bloombergreportcited 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

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-04/syria-s-refugees-feel-more-welcome-in-europe-than-in-the-gulfhttp://qz.com/490973/these-european-countries-are-willing-to-accept-some-syrian-migrants-but-only-if-theyre-christian/

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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 saidthat 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-sheeton 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

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/syria_en.pdfhttps://s3.amazonaws.com/unhcrsharedmedia/2015/sea-routes-to-europe/The_Sea_Route_to_Europe.pdfhttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_quarterly_report

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Venkat Ananth

sentiment was echoed by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban who wrote thisin

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 andother 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 thisGuardian 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 hasbeen 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 alsoindirect 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 war-

displaced Syrians includes Japan, South Korea, Russia and Singapore.

http://www.unhcr.org/4ca34be29.pdfhttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/world/gulf-monarchies-bristle-at-criticism-over-response-to-syrian-refugee-crisis.htmlhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/germany-to-spend-an-extra-6bn-to-fund-record-influx-of-800000-refugeeshttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/03/migration-crisis-hungary-pm-victor-orban-europe-response-madnessmailto:venkat.a@livemint.com?subject=Why%20Syrian%20refugees%20are%20crossing%20over%20to%20Europehttp://www.livemint.com/Search/Link/Author/Venkat%20Ananth

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

TOPICS: REFUGEES SYRIA EUROPE GERMANY REFUGEE CRISIS

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