Migration and refugees have been very big news in 2015, and today's newspapers across Europe are covered in stories discussing the international movement of desperate people who are fleeing suffering.
Personally, I think that the people of Europe do want their leaders to act with compassion, and for human dignity to be something that every person gets to experience. But there are various reasons why many everyday people in European countries are feeling uncertain about how best to respond to migrants coming to their continent. A common question is whether asylum seekers can integrate into their new communities and contribute to local life. And it's not a horrible question to ask; fleeing a country is tough, and starting again in a new country is tough. Can it result in happy endings for both the refugees and their new communities?
Rather than listening to me philosophising about it, click on the video at the top of this page to meet Mahmoud, a 9 year old Syrian boy whose family fled a war zone and ended up in Egypt. Mahmoud is beaten up by the local kids for being Syrian, he's unable to gain a place in a school, and his father can't see a way for his son to have a future. Mahmoud told his dad that he wanted to board a boat and go to Italy, where he'd have a chance to go to school. But it didn't work out. His boat was shot at shortly after it left the shore, and soon he was back in Egypt.
A safe, normal life seemed like an impossible dream, then Sweden stepped up and offered Mahmoud and his family asylum. Sweden is currently one of Europe's most generous nations in terms of opening its doors to refugees, and promised Mahmoud's family that it would help them to start afresh.
One year later, a camera crew tracked the family down in Sweden, and checked in to see how they were doing. Take a minute to watch the video below!
It's a great story. Mahmoud is in school, doing normal kid stuff with friends, and he's dreaming of being a doctor. As his new school teacher says, he's really just like any other kid in the classroom. Mahmoud's father has been impressed by how quickly his son has embraced his new home, observing that it's as though he's been in Sweden all his life. It may sometimes look like that, but Mahmoud still breaks into tears when he thinks about what he's been through in his ten short years.
For me, these videos give me heart. They remind me that asylum seekers are normal people in horrible situations, and that nobody is more motivated than them to put their lives back together and achieve things in life. Communities that open their arms to people in need do need to offer support in order to smooth the transition, but in return these communities receive talent and enthusiasm. But perhaps most importantly, communities who embrace asylum seekers receive the satisfaction of changing lives and being a local town that is a global citizen.