How Does the Refugee Crisis Affect Europe? Part II

Though much less dramatic than the thousands storming the European border crossings, their stories need to be told. The incredible and prolonged intrusion into the lives of the ordinary folk in European countries, presented in last week’s post, might be justified if every undocumented person sought freedom from the horrors of war in Syria. Here’s the rest of the story: How Does the Refugee Crisis Affect Europe? Part II.

Millions of refugees from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria have received the proper approval for asylum. The average time to process an application for asylum in the States is two years. The processing time varies in Europe, but in every country the primary focus relates to security for their own citizens.

Then, in September everything changed. The processing of official applications for asylum, including legal documents, proper security checks, and interviews simply evaporated. The present crisis centers on hundreds of thousands who have crossed into the European countries illegally. They add to the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have already legally resettled there in the earlier years of the Syrian War.

Legitimate asylum seekers?

The vast majority of asylum seekers who claim to be fleeing the war in Syria aren’t from Syria at all. Four out of five refugees shoving past officials at the border crossings came from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Serbia, Croatia, Lebanon, as well as African countries—Ghana, Senegal, The Gambia, and Libya.

The 100,000 Syrian refugees that are actually Palestinians aren’t interested in going to Palestinian areas any more than those areas are eager to have them settle in Gaza or the West Bank. They’re only interested in getting to Europe.

Wherever desperate need sprouts, organized crime surfaces to meet it. The illegal asylum seekers must prove Syrian citizenship to be considered among the special dispensation that allows foreigners into the country without proper papers.

Officials confiscated thousands and thousands of blank Syrian passports inside Germany, as well as in countries such as Bulgaria with Germany listed as the final destination of the shipment. Refugees, who have no legal right to seek asylum from the Syrian war, buy forged passports.

Why take the risk?

While hundreds of Syrian refugees are fleeing the horrors of war in Syria, you may find the goals given by their countrymen have a familiar ring. Illegal immigrants present the same reasons when trying to get across the borders into any wealthier country.

For those not yet personally caught up in the war, whether from Syria or one of the other countries, the reasons to take the risk of the smugglers’ promises are the following:

• Economic Gain. Some admitted to having a job but knew they could earn more in Europe. Others admitted that they hadn’t worked for a few years but heard that things were good in Germany while they looked for employment.

• Educational Opportunities. Some young men pushed through the border after surviving the rubber boat crossing of the Sea because the war had disrupted their education. The group wanted to study in a university in Europe though their formal education ended for them in middle school four years earlier.

• Free Medical Care. One couple insisted that they be allowed to get citizenship in Sweden because they want free in-vitro fertilization treatments that they cannot get in Syria.

• Family Reunification. Smugglers had been successful with one family member the previous year, but the rest of the family decided to try to get into Europe when word of the mass migration reached them. One family sent their sixteen-year-old son into the smuggler’s boat, hoping that he could get to Germany. He expects to go to university though he hasn’t been in school since the age of eleven. The parents and siblings plan to join him once he finds a place to live.

• Avoid the Draft. A number of young men from Syria and Iraq said their city didn’t have trouble yet, but they heard the draft board had reached the cities not far from their area. They left to keep from being drafted into the army.

And, a personal favorite:

• No Real Reason. The twenty young men from Afghanistan heard on the radio that people were getting through the European borders without any visas so decided to try for the adventure.

Refugee assimilation?

Anyone with a beating heart likely believes that someone should help those fleeing the war. The thousands of European volunteers that have spent countless hours assisting the new arrivals demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice to help the suffering refugees.

Over the weekend, 20,000 Berliners participated in a parade of lights that wound through the city streets to show they cared about those fleeing the war. But, do the asylum seekers want to assimilate into their host countries, becoming contributing members of that society?

In Mid-October, an aggressive delegation from those who received asylum in Norway demanded that Oslo declare Norway an Islamic State, instituting Sharia law. As with many communities of refugees, a parallel culture developed, totally apart from the culture that welcomed them.

A similar crisis is brewing in Sweden, formerly an open country to asylum seekers. The situation has led authorities to begin an ad campaign in the Middle East to deter further attempts to immigrate to Sweden.

When eighty percent of the mob in the present crisis aren’t fleeing the horrors of war but are opportunists, should the local European populations be expected to endure the transformation of their culture? More than one BBC reporter found it a challenge locating any families with children to interview. Over and over they admitted that, while they saw a scattering of small family units, the overwhelming majority of the thousands that made up the crowds trying to cross the borders were young Muslim men.

Overlooking the impact on the small village, government officials in Switzerland assigned ninety Muslim refugees to be settled in a community of only three hundred Swiss residences for the next three years. The one-month trial of twenty young men roaming their streets brought such fear to the citizens that they stayed in their homes. Do they really have anything to be afraid of?

Justified Fear?

In the first part of October, a truck marked as transporting relief supplies for the refugees didn’t make it passed the customs check. Weapons, ammunition, and explosives filled the truck. ISIS claims that four thousand soldiers have infiltrated the refugees and are being dispersed throughout Europe to join those already there.

Many express fear that within the mass migration is a deadly Trojan horse. The concern echoes in international boardrooms and leadership meetings worldwide, not just in Europe.

When Saudi officials responded to the question of why they refused asylum requests from the millions of Syrians, their explanation was that the European migration would spread Islam. The stark reality is that Saudi Arabia has 100,000 fully-equipped, air-conditioned tents already set up that could easily house three million refugees right now. In spite of the many requests for asylum from Syrian families who prefer living closer to home, they remain empty so that Islam can spread throughout the west.

According to a nurse-friend who visited Ireland earlier this month, Saudi Arabia has a sister university in Dublin. She said it resembles an Islamic camp. The Saudi students admit to actively proselytizing and have pulled many students into Islam. In fact, police arrested one Protestant pastor when he spoke against Islam in his sermon.

Gratitude?

You may have wondered what happened to the pregnant nineteen-year-old woman who collapsed at the feet of an NBC newsman during his live broadcast. She and her husband received a blast of pepper spray while they joined the mob pressing to breach the Hungarian-German border without documentation.

She delivered a healthy baby boy in a German hospital in mid-October. While grateful to be in Germany, the husband expressed his disgust at being housed in the large group setting. They’d expected a lot better accommodation.

Maybe you understand his annoyance, under the circumstances; I can. It can’t be easy to live with hundreds of other people.

The report of how a trainload of refugees treated Red Cross volunteers may not evoke the same sympathy. During the long, free transport across their new host country, volunteers passed out water bottles and food packets for each refugee. Imagine the shock when their kindness was rewarded by screaming, angry strangers tossing the unopened food and water from the moving train.

The logo of the Red Cross on the bottles and packets offended them.

While the demonstration of ingratitude on the train may not reflect that of all of the refugees, one might suspect that it might be endemic in the eighty percent who are not fleeing the pain and suffering of the horrible war in Syria.

Christian Refugees?

If you are asking, as many have, where are the Christian refugees, the answer is trapped in the war. While the US government seriously considers the Lutheran’s offer to help care for 100,000 Muslim refugees, President Obama has deported the two dozen Christian asylum seekers who managed to make it to the States.

The families fled Iraq when ISIS took over their church, raping women and killing everyone they caught. After the little group made it to Mexico and over to San Diego where they had family members legally residing, the authorities arrested them. The refugees spent six months in detention before President Obama ordered them to be deported back to Iraq.

It appears that the grotesque videos and reports of ISIS beheading children in front of their parents for refusing to deny Christ don’t move officials to action. Hundreds of Christian families in Syria and Iraq have no one to rescue them.

The eastern German towns agreed to receive Christian refugees only, but the border agents found none.

Conclusion

The intent of this two-part report is to raise awareness of the effect the refugee crisis has on the average European citizen. Knowing a bit of the flip-side of this tragic story, you now have an opportunity to look more closely at each crisis report.

Please feel free to leave your comments. You are welcome to add any tidbits you’ve discovered not already mentioned in these two posts. I’m always glad to have blanks filled in.