Category: International

Relations in the European Union have been strained by the recent influx of thousands of asylum seekers from Syria (49%), Afghanistan (12%), Eritrea (9%), Nigeria (4%), and Somalia (3%).  Many Eastern European countries are reticent to accept the immigrants, however Western European countries, led by appeals from Germany, are leaning towards a more hospitable solution.

More than 320,000 refugees have reached shore in Italy or Greece this year in hopes of reaching the protection of the EU.  This number is expected to climb to 400,000 people by the end of 2015, and 450,000 asylum-seekers are expected to enter Europe in 2016.  These are fractional numbers relative to the 4.1 million Syrians who have left their country because of civil war that erupted out of the Arab Spring protests. It should be noted too, that 8 million Syrians are internally displaced (of an original population of 23 million).

Refugees that can afford to do so often entrust their lives to smugglers, paying thousands of dollars in exchange for dangerous passage.  The 71 people found dead in a truck in August, and the photograph of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed ashore are shocking reminders of the risks the migrants face.

Refugees are defined by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) as persons fleeing their home country for fear of persecution or violence.  Refugees have three options once they are granted asylee status; they may choose to integrate into life in their new country, return home if circumstances become favorable, or they may seek to be resettled in a third country.

Since September 1, over 20,000 refugees have entered Hungary on their way to Western Europe. Hungary’s response to the migrants has been less than welcoming, including a 175 km razor-wire fence along its border with Serbia. According to the Dublin regulations of the EU, asylum applications must be processed by whatever state first receives the asylee.  The Dublin regulations are unfortunate because it places the responsibility of registering refugees on some of the economically weaker states like Hungary, Italy and Greece, countries which are necessary stops for refugees heading towards wealthier countries like Germany and Austria.  Hungary’s policy is to register all immigrants before allowing passage to other countries.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, of the nationalist Fidesz party, gave several controversial remarks implying that accepting refugees (many of whom are Muslim) should be deterred from Europe in order to preserve its Christian identity.

Pope Francis seemed to think otherwise in his address to the Vatican this week, encouraging Europe’s religious communities and parishes to embrace refugee families.

On September 4, Austria and Germany opened their borders to receive the asylum-seekers. After being denied train passage in Budapest, thousands of refugees began walking on foot along roadways toward the Austrian Border.

Germany estimated that it is prepared to accept 800,000 asylum-seekers this year, and 500,000 per year after that. Chancellor Angela Merkel has affirmed that Germany would not turn away asylum-seekers on humanitarian grounds, and called for other EU countries to share the burden of resettling refugees.  Merkel has pushed for a quota system to be instated, which would equitably distribute asylees throughout EU nations.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented a plan to manage the refugee crisis, including a quota system, which assigns quotas to EU nations based on GDP and population.  Penalties for not meeting refugee quotas will include funding cuts.

“Winter is approaching, do we really want families sleeping in railway stations?” Juncker said according to NPR, “EU funds could be withheld from countries that don’t take in required numbers. Eastern European nations say they’re opposed.”

France has agreed to settle 24,000 refugees, and has set up humanitarian camps for several thousand immigrants.  International offers to resettle refugees have even come from Latin American countries such as Venezuela and Brazil.

The Unites States has resettled about 1000 refugees from Syria, and promised to take in 8000 more in the coming year.  The White House reports that the US is considering “a range of approaches to be more responsive to the global refugee crisis, including with regard to refugee resettlement.”
Until the stability returns to the Middle East, the Syrian refugee crisis is here to stay.

One dead and over 141 students injured as a result of a false terrorist alarm on the Garissa University College campus last Sunday, April 13.

According to CBS news, an electrical transformer exploded in the school at around 5 a.m., which led students to believe it was yet another attack by Islamic extremist group, al-Shabaab. Earlier that week, al-Shabaab had stormed the halls of the university and murdered students en masse.

Thus, when the students heard the sound of the transformer explode, it immediately sparked a panic and eventual outburst of screams coming from the girl’s wing. These screams quickly escalated and spread to the rest of the building, which ultimately led to a stampede leading out of the building.

The University’s Vice Chancellor, Pete Mbithi, affirmed to the press that the explosion was nothing more than an unforeseen mishap in the electrical system. According to Mbithi, “There was no attack, but because of what happened in Garissa the other day they mistook it for an attack.” He later confirmed with ABC News that this was entirely unrelated to the recent terrorist attacks by al-Shabbab.

But despite the causation, the effects remained the same. After the students heard the explosions of the transformer, they began to take any means of escaping—running, hiding, and in some cases, jumping.

While some students only had to jump a few feet from their window, others went so far as to jump from the fifth floor. Most students executed this jump successfully, however, one was not so fortunate. This third-year male, attempted to jump from his window on the fifth floor, but could not hold up against the strength of the stampede below and was killed by means of trampling.

The stampede also impacted and hurt the crowd below. As a result, 141 students were injured total from this false alarm.

Just a week before the incident, al-Shabaab executed an attack on Garissa University College, which killed a total of 147 people, according to Kenya’s National Disaster Operation Center.

It was said that al-Shabbab showed up before sunrise and began massacring a prayer gathering happening at the college. The gunmen then proceeded to shoot whomever was in their way, with the exception of people of their own faith, Islam.

According to one account, the gunmen separated the hostages based on their religion and then freed those who were Muslim, leaving the rest to face their fate. The attack resulted in a multitude of injuries in addition to the 147 murdered.

According to the Mail & Guardian Africa, it was “obvious that the recent attacks have hurt the students both physically and psychologically.” In other words, the attack was only a minor portrayal of the great fear that still lingered in the hearts and minds of the students.

Garissa University College was established in 2011 near the eastern border of Kenya as the only public university in the region, according to ABC news. Because of the proximity, the school is only ninety miles from the Somalia border. This lays another issue due to the ongoing border issues between Kenya and unrest in Somalia.

Since the event, high relief and security has since been implemented to help cope with this issue.