Refugee Crisis in Europe

I found this week’s topic of the migrant crisis that Europe is facing very interesting and also one that the United States is having a similar issue with. While the United States has not taken on as many refugees as Europe, it is beginning to look into how it can expand accepting refugees.

Specifically, in this topic of a refugee crisis is the problem of anti-immigrant views among people in these countries. In the reading from the Guardian, by Kate Connolly, we are informed of a group that holds those views, Pegida. Pegida represents a growing percentage of the population that is frustrated from Europe accepting immigrants. “when virtually every town and community is gripped by the question of how to house its share of the refugees that have been arriving in their thousands every day, with no sign of a let-up”. These people are worried about losing their identities and also their way of life. The movement has substantially grown over the past two years, showing that this is a growing issue.

Personally, I find the rhetoric of groups such as Pegida hard to stand behind. What I find confusing about groups such as these is that they often contradict themselves when speaking in public and issuing manifestos. They say that they do not stand for hate of any kind, while they stand on stage and say they do not want Muslims because they are all terrorists.

But I do find myself sympathizing with people in these countries because they are going through something that is scary to them. People are stubborn, and often they do not accept change gracefully. When events such as this happen and threaten to shake things up in someone’s day to day operations, they go on the defensive. While I am not justifying the hate speech or acts of these groups, I do believe that people do have a right to voice their concerns. It cannot simply be said that everything will be fine, because we do not know what will happen. But as human beings I believe that we owe it to society to help out others when we are able to do so. While no one wants change, if the change is to provide someone with a safe and stable environment I think that we should be able to suck it up.

I personally find myself torn on the issue of allowing refugees into our country. One aspect that I tend to look at is the homeless population in the United States. We currently have an abysmal number of men, women, and children who do not have a stable home to live in and do not know when their next meal will come. I believe that if we are actually going to be able to help out people outside of our country, we must start taking care of those hear. What kind of message does it send that the US cannot even provide steady meals for all of its citizens, but wants to accept refugees? I believe that it does not send a good message to those outside of the country, because it shows that we might not be able to fully help them. But I also believe it sends a message to those inside our country that we do not care.