This article paints a picture of what it is like to be a
refugee seeking asylum in Europe. How is
this picture similar or different from what you are used to thinking? Did anything surprise you? How can this problem best be addressed? Through charity work? Through a change in laws? Through a change in attitudes?
Marek
ReplyDeleteAs a son of parents who both have lived through war, I did not find anything surprising but it’s very interesting to see it from a perspective different from my parents’. Just to give a brief background, my parents survived the war and went through very bad, grim times which they refuse to talk about but they did not flee the country.
The article mentions an interesting question: “Why are they fleeing now when they weren’t fleeing the previous wars?” To my knowing, most of the refugees flee to neighbouring countries first. But the latest crisis is different in that the neighbouring countries aren’t as stable as they used to be. A case in point is the invasion of Iraq in 2003. There weren’t many refugees fleeing to Europe because the neighbouring countries were considered safe and stable back then but as after the Arab Spring, the middle east wasn’t safe anymore.
The west simply wasn’t prepared for the influx of refugees and in Greece’s case, the economic crisis didn’t help either.
People don’t naturally hate other people. People also don’t mind paying for the well being of other people, Slovak healthcare system being an example.
So that’s why I think the correct way to address this issue is by changing the attitude towards immigrants, not putting the pressure on citizens to deal with this problem directly.
In my opinion the state should secure a quicker management of asylum requests.
People fear things they don’t know or have understanding of. People also feel threatened when the unknown is close. Slovakia, whilst being the most xenophobic european country, has slowly but surely integrated the Vietnamese people and their culture. Although there is still a negative bias towards asians in the eastern region, Slovakia has adapted and the general notion has improved ever since. That shows the change in attitude is possible but integration should happen in a way that it doesn’t suddenly affect people’s personal lives directly as in the town of Vathy.
And to extinguish the flames of xenophobia, people should be more tolerant and open to accepting and integrating foreigners. In the end why should we try so hard to keep these people out when some countries are trying hard to keep their people in.
Marek,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your contribution to the article as well as you sharing some personal experience with the topic of the article. Your analysis of the problem was quite on point, however I am missing one key factor. You mentioned
"In my opinion the state should secure a quicker management of asylum requests."
This is a very broad answer to a big problem. It's as saying "let's make world peace happen by changing the attitude of people towards racism." This is stating its objective, however you lack details and actual steps to solve the problem.
I suggest to add clearer explanations of how you want to secure a quicker management of asylum requests. What are its obstacles ? Why is it not possible to quicken now ? Maybe you could lower the requirements for getting an asylum, age, living situation, background. Incorporate more institutes for finding jobs, easy jobs for asylum seekers. Create places for asylum seekers to sleep in using funds from the EU.
Overall, I favour the idea of extinguishing flames of xenophobia, but once again, propose specific steps on how to solve the issue at hand.
(Anna)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate what this article points out since it seems to me, that people don’t pay enough attention towards Refugee crisis anymore. About three years ago, this issue was a hot topic discussed in every newspaper. It’s definitely still one of the biggest global problems haunting our society and it needs to be solved as soon as possible, starting with the refugee camps. One of its worst aspects is, that people aren’t treated the way they are supposed to - as humans. Every refugee interviewed by the author of the article, asked the same question : “Why do the people here not recognize that we are human beings? “. This led me to think about two main issues.
Firstly, people live in terrible conditions. As stated, the population often exceeds the intended camp capacity way too many times, which is alarming. It also leads to countless problems, for instance, insufficient health care, lack of hygiene, as well as sleeping only in tents. Some other refugees aren’t even lucky enough to stay in those and have to hide in woods with basically no shelter. To solve some of the mentioned sub-problems, I would suggest starting more charities which would focus not only on people donating money, but rather on real supplies as camping gear, food, clothes, toys or whatever they would find useful. Moreover, I can see health care being improved too. Medical students from around the world could do their practice here. They would earn experience and even improve their critical thinking. It’s just a temporary solution, but it would still make a huge impact on every-day life in camps.
Secondly, even after the refugees survive the hell in form of camps, they have huge troubles integrating into society. They have nobody they could lean on , they don’t speak the language of the country they ended up in and their culture and manners are just completely different. One interviewed camp resident said: “I can be strong, but sometimes I feel so weak. The camp makes me weak. “ Nearly all immigrants are traumatized from their past and have to start right from the bottom. They have lost their families, homes, jobs, everything … It’s very hard for me to imagine how broken these people must be. I think that the refugee camps should provide therapists and regular mental health checks. Maybe it could make the immigrants feel more important, supported and motivate them. If the camps added also education, refugees could be actually ready to start a new chapter of their lives. Companies wouldn’t have any reasons not to hire them and with a proper job and social status, they could finally be accepted as a part of society.