The refugee crisis in Europe is a stark reminder of human suffering. The picture of the young boy, Aylan Kurdi was startling not because he was not the first one to have died like that- infact over 2000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean fleeing the oppression of ISIS from Syria. However unfortunate it is, the world community would need to clearly define as to how it would take care of refugee problem, anytime it occurs in the world.
Refugees are a byproduct of calamity-man-made or natural. In today’s 21st century, nothing about of our lives can be said for certain. Whether it is being slaughtered by ISIS or forest fires burning your house and all your possessions down, calamities can be considered as thieves-they strike you at the worst time in your life and they carry away with them something that you treasure the most. It is a pity the Syrian people had a rough time for a long period in their history-first under a brutal dictatorship and now refugees in an unknown continent.
Everyone will have a perspective on this story-that the Europeans should shed all their prejudices and accept these refugees with loving arms. Except Germany, most of the countries are in a state of decline with the European Union acting as a glue to keep many of these quasi-failed states together. People calling for other developed countries like U.S and Canada to accept more refugees are missing the point that-is it the solution? These countries are already accepting more refugees per year that they can actually do.
What then is the solution? Since religion is the root cause to all these misery, no one would want to talk anything about it as there wouldn’t be no rational argument to be made about anything regarding it. I think the United Nations should urgently meet and discuss a lasting solution with all its member countries. In this 21st century with Internet and social media breaking apart all the barriers that separate us, a unified framework should be developed where people should be allowed to travel anywhere in this world provided they have the basic identification documents. Every human must have the right to apply for and work anywhere in this world. Every human should be allowed to co-exist with each and every one of his kind-peacefully. Nationalism must be defined in such a way where the citizens of each country must learn to accept other humans to their country and work together so that all nations of this world co-exist peacefully.
If you see the countless videos and pictures of these refugees, we can see the despair of having lost everything they had and running with the only thing they have left-their lives. Our sense of having any sense of worth in this world will only be when we can accept any other human being regardless of the colour, caste or creed. It is easier said than done as I am also sometimes susceptible to my own prejudices. But how can we allow a blind eye to this suffering and expect someone to take care of us when a similar calamity of this magnitude strikes us?
In one way we are all or will all be refugees at one time in our lives.
Image courtesy: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/02/us-europe-migrants-turkey-idUSKCN0R20IJ20150902
Tenny Thomas 