A Sea of Refugees

Almost five years since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, millions of refugees have fled their homes in hopes of finding safety and asylum in different global countries. From Turkey to Germany to the U.S., Syrians are seeking asylum across the globe. Yet as the dust settles surrounding the Syrian Civil War, countries have come to approach the effects of taking in so many refugees in a long-term outlook.

   Five months after Canada has agreed to take in refugees, it has hit its goal of taking in 25,000 refugees. This positive initiative by the newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau comes late; this milestone was planned to be hit by the end of 2015, but medical examination and security screening slowed the process. Yet these 25,000 refugees is a large increase compared to Canada’s previous involvement, only 1,500. What’s more surprising however, is the willingness to help by the Canadian people along with the government. Of the 25,000 new Canadian citizens, 10,000 are being resettled by private organizations; church groups, neighborhood groups, and other organizations finding houses, jobs, and covering expenses for one year for each family (NPR).

   John McCallum, Canada’s immigration minister, says “[Phase 2 is] helping settled refugees find permanent living arrangements, jobs and to get them enrolled into language training for either French or English.”

   Refugees have not found the same success in the U.S., where the country is split on the issue. As mainly Republican politicians state opposition against the resettling of Syrians in the U.S., some have even taken gone to take action. The state of Indiana, for example, attempted to withhold federal funds to assist the relocation of 19 Syrians. Yet Governor Mike Pence of Indiana was only one of 31 to vow not to let any refugees resettle in their states (AllGov). On a national level, only 2,647 have found asylum in the U.S., and President Obama promises to bring in another 10,000 by October. Alas, this number pales in comparison to the part other countries are taking: the 25,000 in Canada, the 93,000 in Germany only last fall, and the 30,000 President Francois Hollande of France promises to bring in over the next two years.

   German Chancellor Angela Merkel instituted an open-door policy for all influxing Syrian refugees in 2015, not informing the Christian Democratic Union party nor the European Commissioner. Merkel did however, include her neighboring Chancellor Werner Feymann of Austria, who joined Germany and Sweden in taking in staggering numbers of refugees.

   Merkel says “If Europe fails on the question of refugees, then it won’t be the Europe we wished for.”

However, Austria has recently been implementing border controls, as the war continues to ravage the country and refugees flood in uncontrollably, so a new limit has been set to the number of refugees permitted. However, this hasn’t deterred refugees from seeping into Germany through the unclosed half of Austria’s borders. In the first two months of this year alone, over 11,000 immigrants have arrived in Greece and Italy, in addition to the million who arrived at the EU (most of whom settled in Germany) in 2015. Greece’s financial troubles and political strife don’t help the 12,000 stranded Syrians currently stuck in the country (Newsweek).