Ruaraidh Gilmour | World Editor
Two weeks after Germany pledged to offer refuge to as many Syrian migrants as possible, there have been great acts of kindness made from Europeans citizens showing their desire to help the migrants from Syria; football fans holding banners with similar phrases to “Refugees welcome”, “Migrants welcome,” to German children handing child migrants sweets as they came off trains to a new beginning.
There, is however, a few EU members staunch on repelling these migrants as they attempt to continue their long journeys to Northern and Western Europe. The best example of European anti-migrantion can be seen in Hungary and how they are dealing with the migrants passing through from Serbia.
Hundreds of miles of fence, frequent altercations between police and migrants, and the threat of arrest if migrants manage to find their way into Hungary, is highlighting an alternative European view on the surge of migration. Moreover, it seems that the Hungarian people share the same views as their government as they are showing instep support for the military and border police.
Even the people employed to be impartial have been seen to blatantly show a similar view to Hungry’s stance on the migrant crisis. This was highlighted shockingly when Hungarian journalist Petra Laszlo was filmed tripping Syrian football coach Osama Abdul Mohsen whilst carrying his son Zaid, as the attempted to enter Hungry.
As much as I feel a great sympathy for the displaced Syrians, I also believe that claiming asylum in places like Germany in such great numbers is unfair on the northern and western regions of Europe as they are travelling such a long way to escape terror that exists in another continent.
This highlights that there is another incentive involved in travelling from Syria, most likely the economic reason, as Germany, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia have some of the most sound economies in the world and, therefore, have many opportunities for jobs and are far more likely to cement a secure fresh start.
These factors have lead the migrants to be labelled as economic migrants by some, as technically they should seek refuge in the nearest country some argue, which consequently for many Syrians is Turkey; whose economy is largely secure, and with the eighth largest economy in the world.
Turkey is also a Muslim nation, which should be preferable to most Syrian migrants as a large majority of them share the same religion as the Turkish. However, Turkey is still overlooked by most as the lure of Europe and possibility of European citizenship is proving to be too strong a factor for most migrants.
Not all Syrians are overlooking neighbouring countries there have been many neighbouring nations accepting refugees. Jordan, for example, a country of six and a half million people, have accepted just under one million refugees from Syria and the figure is climbing.
The fact is so many Syrians have and are still being displaced that surrounding nations cannot cope. This highlights the scale of the problem the Middle East and Europe are facing in the coming years.
The major news media are not doing enough to highlight the fact that it is not simply economic reasons migrants are travelling so far; there is simply not enough room for them in neighbouring countries.
We are now at a crucial stage in the saga of the migrant crisis. European leaders are meeting to decide the fate of the Syrian migrants, the world is waiting to see which direction this long and harrowing saga will take next. Only time will tell.
