A Journey to........

"MaMa, Where we go?"

Thousands of refugees are fleeing their homelands as destruction, torture, and kidnappings  more brutal than atrocities of WW2  force inhabitants to escape the horrors as the Syrian Civil War continues into a fifth year. Their escape route is long and uncertain.

 They may  find countries that welcome them while other countries are not so friendly.

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Imagine  Christopher Columbus landing the Mayflower on our shore in 1492. As he rows to shore, he is met by the council of local Indians who ask for his papers and intentions. Hearing Chris’s request for a landing,

he is told that his papers are not recognized, he doesn’t speak “Indian”, dresses funny and doesn’t have any sponsors. Columbus is told “No!     You and your people are not welcome. Go away!”

Where would we be today?

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Ludicrous as that may sound, some countries are discouraging immigrants, herding them into camps and forcing the the travelers to find other routes- somewhere else.

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The exodus from Syria has caused hundreds of thousands of broken families to find safer homes. For doubters, one immigrant informed officials that ”In Syria, the soldiers had warned me that if my husband did not appear soon and pay his dues, the children would be kidnapped. I’m terrified abut what is happening."

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In an earlier chapter, I noted the migratory paths of our early ancestors as they moved throughout Europe. The current travel migrant routes are strangely similar today.

Migrants path from Syria

French and German leaders have reminded other European countries of their shared responsibility toward

Chancellor Merkel

refugees. "Europe as a whole must share the responsibility for refugees seeking asylum" said Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, whose country is expected to see 800,000 asylum applications this year.

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Prime Minister Orban

In Hungary, strains were beginning to show as plans were made for the construction of  border fences. Mr. Orban had asked that it be completed by the end
of August, but only a first stage, a line of razor wire along the ground had been completed by then with the bulk of the 13-foot barrier still being built. This year alone, more than 150,000 migrants have requested asylum in Hungary.

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The exodus from war-torn Syria has led to an influx of asylum seekers in distant Sweden. a country that has acquired a reputation among Syrian refugees as a welcoming haven, the biggest host country for Syrians

Swedish Foreign Minister

outside the Middle East. Sweden now routinely offers permanent residency to Syrian refugees.Up to 30,000 Syrians have come to Sweden since the unrest started.The arrivals receive bed sheets,  allocated a dorm room, meals are served at set hours and  arrivals  are given a time slot for their asylum interview. Sweden's foreign minister, Margot Wallström, recently told The Local: “What if WE lived in a war zone? We would also want to flee somewhere safe with our children, or try to secure a future elsewhere. It has to do with whether or not we are serious in the EU about our guiding principles – this will affect our credibility.”

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Minister of CESI Thorkildsen

Norway will take in 1,000 Syrian refugees for resettlement to Norway. The further quota of 1000 refugees from Syria will come in addition to Norway’s annual  resettlement quota of approximately 1200 refugees. 

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“Norway has a tradition of doing what it can in response to major international refugee crises and of providing a safe haven for refugees. This time is no exception As a country, we can be proud of this and we will do everything we can to support the municipalities in this process.” said Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion Inga Marte Thorkildsen.

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Denmark has exhibited a strong resistance to the horde of migrants seeking help and asylum.

In the words of Refugee Khaled al-Habash : "We are not come here to as tourism. We are coming from wars. And I think who don't like that, he must — they must go to Syria and see what happened in Syria. We are — our — my children now under the bombs. I am very — my — they don’t have water for one week, one week without water. In Sweden, you can get a residence permit for a long time and you can get citizenship after four years, unlike — not like Danish."

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The two Scandinavian neighbors, Sweden and Denmark, are handling the European migrant crisis in vastly different ways. While Sweden has taken in the largest number of  refugees in relation to its population of all EU nations, Denmark is implementing policies to discourage asylum seekers. Sweden, the nation which has taken in the most refugees in relation to its population size, is calling for every EU nation to take its fair share and to be more civilized. But its neighbor, Denmark, has just introduced new welfare benefit restrictions aimed at discouraging asylum-seekers from heading there

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The center-right minority government introduced a law to dissuade refugees and economic migrants from heading to Denmark.Denmark has sought to reduce the influx by issuing temporary residence permits, delaying family reunifications and slashing benefits for newly arrived immigrants. Martin Henrikson, of the Danish People’s Party has stated: "In the past, we have taken a lot of refugees in Denmark and we have come to a point where we have to say enough is enough. We can’t take any more. We can’t handle this type of immigration crisis. Simply, it’s too heavy a burden on a small country like Denmark. So let’s just step on the brakes."

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However, immigrants have been welcomed in other countries.President François Hollande of France announced  that his country would take in 24,000 asylum seekers over two years.In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron said his country would accept 20,000 refugees from Syria. 

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 Hundreds of Germans hold up “Welcome Refugees” signs as, Alalie, a 37-year-old from Damascus said “Germany is the only country that is welcoming us.” Alalie is one of the thousands of refugees who arrived at the main train station in Munich.The reasons for the German welcome are many, but the one that stands out: is that Germany has a  rapidly aging population, and the country is becoming  aware of the need to welcome foreigners. Other countries, where  population numbers  are increasing, have fewer

incentives to welcome newcomers. Germany will be accepting 800,000 immigrants this year.

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The Syrian civil war continues as homes and families are destroyed and survivors  migrate to safety. At the present time,an estimated half-million people  have applied for asylum in Europe.

          332,000 people have reached Europe this year.

There appears to be no end in sight.