The world is facing the biggest
migration crisis since World War 2, with the borders of Europe being tested to
the limit. A game changing moment has been reached with the publication of a
disturbing picture of a lifeless pre-school boy being washed up on a Turkish
beach, pictures that seem too upsetting to republish. This edition will focus on what more can be done to resolve this
pressing issue.
The UK has faced its own share of
problems with migrants camping on the outskirts of Calais and regularly
attempting to storm the Channel Tunnel terminal at Coquelles and climb aboard
trucks on the motorway close to the terminal. This has caused many delays
through the summer on both sides of the English Channel and has cost a lot of
money in downtime for business. There has been much dialogue between the UK and
French Governments but the centrepiece proposals have been better fencing near
the terminal and an increased police presence. There has to be far quicker
processing of applications with genuine cases of oppression and safely sending
the others back to their countries.
Politicians have been quick to
pass comment on the latest events in the crisis, with Labour leadership
candidates being quick to make demands of an emergency debate on the issue and
that the UK take more migrants. Interestingly, the frontrunner in the Labour
leadership race, Jeremy Corbyn, has said that he would be willing to share his
home with Syrian refugees though he has also come out against the UK taking
further military action in Syria. The leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, also gave
a speech that resonated with many people throughout the UK, speaking of
shedding tears for the drowned infant and challenging the UK Government to take
more refugees immediately. Sturgeon also commented that the Prime Minister had
developed a ‘walk on by’ approach to the crisis.
The political discourse relating
to the crisis brought back memories of a hymn from primary school, Cross over the road, the first verse of
which says:
Would you walk by on the other
side, when someone called for aid?
Would you walk by on the other
side or would you be afraid?
It is perhaps rather unfair to
say that the UK has been walking on by when our Royal Navy flagship, HMS
Bulwark, has been playing a key role in rescuing thousands of migrants in
trouble on the Mediterranean Sea. There have also been 5,000 refugees granted
asylum in the UK since 2012 and £900 million in aid to assist vulnerable people
in Syria and refugees in the wider area. This is a good start in responding to
the crisis but just as the Prime Minister ordered a ‘full spectrum response’ to
the terrorists who carried out the recent massacre of tourists in Tunisia, this
approach must also be adopted for the wider problem of the migrants on the move
and the reasons behind the displacement from their homelands.
The UK has always been a country
where people have been able to seek shelter in times of trouble. Reports in the
press suggest that there is more than 8 million people in the UK who were born
overseas, around 12.5% of the population. Our NHS would be severely diminished
without all its contingent of manpower whose country of origin lies beyond
these shores but any intake must be sustainable and control of the border must
be maintained.
The Government will have to step
up its efforts in taking more of the vulnerable refugees and the Prime Minister has just committed the UK to accepting 20,000 from Syria by 2020, though we can’t forget that there have been
reports of a housing shortage in the UK, therefore numbers of incomers have to
be proportionate to the number of dwellings available .The Government must
ensure that UK citizens who are waiting for benefits, council houses or
specialist treatment at hospitals, are not bumped down the pecking order
otherwise this could lead to other social problems.
Ultimately, the seeds of the
current crisis are in the execution of the War on Terror and a half cocked
response to the rise of the Islamic State movement, known as ISIL. Following
9/11, one of the key objectives was to defeat Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terror
organisation and destroy the Taleban. Although aspects of the mission were
fulfilled in that Bin Laden and his key lieutenants were taken out, terrorist
cells were eradicated and the Taleban were on the run for a time, unfortunately
there was no long term planning in terms of what comes next and that the
coalition of governments did not realise they were fighting a multi-headed
hydra.
In the last few years, ISIL have
emerged as the biggest threat in Islamic extremism. The response has been a
form of “hokey cokey” diplomacy with compromises on how far in the UK should go
in its efforts to bring peace to Syria. The years of coalition government saw
some military action in assisting the efforts in the Lybia civil war but only
limited action on the shocking events in Syria who are establishing an Islamic
Caliphate stretching from Syria into Iraq. Such a development has been
detrimental to human rights in the region. Although the world has been shocked
by the horrible pictures from that Turkish beach, the reality is that there
have been blood curdling pictures of crucifixions, mutilated bodies and
beheaded toddlers doing the rounds on social media for some time, all carried
out by this depraved organisation against minority groups, especially
Christians.
There also needs to be a strong
dealing with those shadowy figures who are responsible for human trafficking,
Europol have identified that there are 30,000 individuals involved with this
abhorrent practice throughout Europe. These are the lowest form of scum and now
that they have been identified, a concerted effort must be made to bring them
to justice for their vile atrocities such as allowing many people to drown in
boats that weren’t seaworthy and the suffocation of over 70 people in a meat
wagon.
In the midst of the crisis, the term
European Union is a complete misnomer, as the organisation has only succeeded
in demonstrating a talent for disunity and bungling. It has been embarrassing
to see European governments indulge in a game of pass the humanitarian parcel,
blaming each other for the crisis. In recent times, there have been concerns
that the Schengen agreement may be under threat. This agreement allowed
passport controls at the internal border of many EU nations to be abolished.
Such a move would be a massive backward step in freedom of movement.
Equally, the response of Arab
nations has looked rather pathetic, especially the Gulf States that appear to
have restricted the opportunity for Syrians to seek refuge there. The UN has
rightly told the EU to take refugees but nations like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and
UAE need to do their share, especially since the Arab nations have closer
cultural links to Syria.
In the mix of the migrant
contingent making its way through Europe are a large number from the countries
around the Horn of Africa. It is known that Islamic extremism is present in
this part of the Africa and it is now time for progressive African nations to
step up in the fight against the extremists who have infiltrated their
continent. On his long weekend visit to the continent in the summer, President
Obama noted that ‘Africa is on the move’, by this he was not talking about its
citizens hiding in the back of trucks or in boats heading to Europe. It would
be fitting for the last year of the Obama presidency to be characterised by
marshalling resources to help drive out Islamic extremism from this part of Africa
and allow people the opportunity to flourish in those nations.
Nations must wake up to the mass
exodus of people making its way to Europe and realise that addressing the
issues at the root of the problem are the only way of ensuring a long term
solution. It is necessary that nations should look after those refugees fleeing
situations where their lives are endangered, but we have to ponder the next
move if the recommended number of 200,000 migrants are shared among the 28 EU
nations.
The UN has to acknowledge that if
this happens without any new resolutions to deal with ISIL and people
trafficking, it will be far larger numbers making hazardous journeys to Europe
in the near future. We must be left in no doubt that we are facing the biggest
challenge to our values and way of life since WW2 in facing down the terrorists
who have brought chaos to millions of lives.
There is no longer an option to
dither and defer the need for action, the world has to wake up and brace itself
for the largest military campaign and humanitarian effort of the current
generation to defeat ISIL and its vile ideology. In addition, it is well within
the capabilities of our national intelligence agencies and specialist forces to
smash the trafficking gangs who have been responsible for the death of
thousands over the last year.
All developed countries including the UK should be providing a safe haven for those in need whilst maintaining the needs of their own citizens. Overcoming evil to give self
determination to millions of people in troubled parts of the world, rather than
allowing them to be at the mercy of events is the best way forward in this
crisis. This will be the best tribute to a young life cruelly snuffed out
before it has really started and be to the benefit of humanity as a whole.
