An estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war, according to the EU. Many European countries are trying to close their borders by installing barbed wire, border patrols and digging ditches. Fear of the growing number of Syrian refugees reaching the EU borders is being fed by the European media, and the fear puts a horrific stigma on people in need.
The media is showing us what is happening. Pictures of drowned children that look like they are sleeping, videos of mothers pushing their toddlers through barbed wire and old people trying to run into the safety of Europe while being beaten by batons of the Macedonian border patrol. The EU is installing sets of barbed wire around the borders in order to protect a politically divided EU from an obligation they need to fulfill: helping those in need.
In a good turn of events, not all of Europe seems to feel so unwelcoming. Germany has shown the world that they are ready to help by welcoming the asylum seekers in a heartwarming way. The Icelandic population has started an online action pressuring the government to help more. Sweden has granted Syrian asylum seekers immediate permanent residence permits.
Humanity cannot shut its eyes to what the Syrian refugees are going through. The world cannot turn its back to this desperation. Global citizens must never ignore a call for help when we know that it is only us who can give it.
Syria has been seen as a tragedy that was far away from Europe for a long time. This is no longer the case; the Syrian suffering is knocking on the door of the EU and it is now a crisis within European borders. Migration has become a crisis so great for Europe that, earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called it an even bigger challenge for the EU than the Greek debt crisis.
Last week, two boats filled with would-be migrants sank off the coast of Libya, leaving hundreds feared dead. The same week, a truck filled with dozens of decomposing corpses, including young children, was found by the side of a highway in Austria. The Syrian war has come to the beaches of the touristy parts of Greece and a roadside in the heart of Austria.
The world must act now. The barbed wire being strung across borders will not keep the refugees out of Europe. The only thing this barbed wire will do is sting us all and leave scars that will not be forgotten. Global citizens cannot let history repeat itself, we must take the necessary steps that this serious situation requires. The countries of the EU must be more willing to share the responsibility for the crisis in order to save more people.
It’s time that the world acts. Syria’s tragedy is our collective tragedy. These deaths cannot just be statistics, the world has the means to end this.The barbed wire is slowly coming closer to all of us, and it may sting us all unless we act now.
Go toTAKE ACTION NOWand urge President Obama to commit to ending the bloodshed in Syria.