WHY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD HELP

Why European Countries Should Do More to Help Syrian Refugees

Naomi K James
University of Arkansas at Little Rock

WHY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD HELP

Why European countries should do more to help Syrian refugees.

A topic that has been widely discussed in Europe over the past couple of months is the
Syrian refugee crisis. With millions of Syrians seeking safety overseas due to fighting within
their country, Europe has seen a massive influx of refugees, desperate to make the continent
their new homes. However, in recent months, the large number of Syrians entering European
countries in hope of gaining asylum has caused a debate. Many European countries such as
Germany and Sweden (CNN, 2015) feel that it is their duty to help the Syrian people, by
opening their gates to thousands of refugees and granting asylum to many. On the other hand,
there are a large number of countries including Hungary and Austria (Vox.com, 2015), as well
as far right political groups in the majority of European countries who argue that Europe
cannot come to the rescue once again and assist these refugees in this way. They argue that
it should be the responsibility of other Gulf Countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia to help
those in need who are fleeing Syria. Other reasons why people are opposed to allowing
Syrian refugees into Europe is because of the apparent threat of terrorism, as well as for
economic reasons. In this essay Im going to explain why I dont agree with these viewpoints,
and why I believe that European countries should be doing more to help the Syrian refugees.
Many of those who oppose European countries taking in Syrian refugees argue that
more should be done by Syrias neighbouring nations in regards to helping the refugees. They
believe that, as Syria isnt a European country, this shouldnt be a European issue. In an ideal
world, there could be a possibility that Syrias neighbours would be able to have the resources
and economic ability to open their borders to all of these Syrian refugees. They would be able
to give these refugees a new, safe home to bring up their families and loved ones. Then again,
in an ideal world we wouldnt be having this discussion. The harsh and unfortunate reality of

WHY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD HELP

this situation is that the countries surrounding Syria are not economically stable enough to
accommodate to the millions of Syrian refugees who are attempting to find safety. Jordan,
Turkey, and Lebanon have a combined population of 86 million and a nominal GDP of
roughly $900 billion. As a point of comparison, the EU boasts a population of half a billion
and a GDP of $18.4 trillion. (Fortune.com, 2015). From reading these figures its
understandable why some countries are unable to help Syria as much as they should be
doing. This being said, Turkey, which has one of the largest wealth gaps in the world (its rich
earn eight times as much as its poor) has sheltered 1.9 million Syrian refugees, almost half of
all Syrian refugees. (Turkstat.gov.tr)
By opening their borders to more Syrian refugees, European countries could possibly
see economic growth, rather than economic decline as many people believe. For example,
Lebanon, a country that has taken in the second highest amount of Syrian refugees, has seen a
2.5 percent growth in real terms this year, the countrys highest growth rate since 2010.
(WorldBank.org, 2015). Although there is no concrete evidence that this is definitely a result
of taking in refugees, it does weaken the argument that refugees are bad for a countrys
economy. Another example is Germany, a country which in 2015 announced that they will
welcome 800,000 refugees (Huffington Post, 2015). An article from the website Deutsche
Welle from 2014 claimed that Germany will soon face a shortage of as many as 1.5 million
skilled workers. Although it is unlikely that all refugees arriving in Germany will be skilled
workers, a portion of them will be, and others can be taught trades. This way, by accepting
refugees into the country, Germany could possibly see a growth in its economy.
The recent terror attacks that occurred in the French city of Paris have further fuelled
the debate into allowing Syrian refugees asylum in Europe. The attacks that took place in
November 2015 were apparently carried out by Islamic State Militants, with a Syrian

WHY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD HELP

passport reportedly being found at the scene of one of the attacks. Many Europeans are now
even more sceptical of the idea of allowing Syrian refugees into their countries. The question
of whether some of these refugees are Islamic State fighters in disguise is on many peoples
minds. The issue with this argument is that, whilst it is possible that Islamic State may be
sending fighters, disguised as refugees into Europe, the chance of this occurring is quite low.
An interesting statistic that should be pointed out is that a dataset was compiled a total of 45
terrorist events from 2000 to 2010 in the United Kingdom. Of these 45 incidents, 76% (34
events) were considered domestic while only 24% (11 events) were considered international
according to the RAND (a non-profit institution that helps improve policy and decision
making through research and analysis) definition. Another study, this time based on the
United States, counted 129 total terror events from 2000 to 2010, of which 97% (125 events)
were domestic and only 3% (4 events) were international. (E-International Relations
Students, 2013). These statistics demonstrate exactly why refugees shouldnt be turned away
from European borders due of the fear of terrorism, because in reality, it is much more likely
that terror attacks occur, they will be carried out by home grown citizens.
The final reason why I believe that European countries should do more to help Syrian
refugees is because it is the right thing to. The atrocities that are occurring in Syria arent
decreasing; in fact they are getting worse. Families are being forced to flee their homes due to
threats and violence from Islamic State, the Syrian army as well as rebel forces. European
countries such as the United Kingdom and France have had opportunities to attempt to put an
end to, or at least help resolve the conflict in Syria but have done nothing. While these
powers watch from the outside, millions of lives are being destroyed by the civil war. The
following is an account of a man, interviewed in Austria, who lived in Syria under the rule of
Islamic State: I lived in Mosul for five months under ISIS. I tried to avoid trouble but one of

WHY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD HELP

my neighbours reported me for shaving my beard. They came to my house while I was
sleeping. My mother answered the door and they pushed her out of the way and dragged me
out of bed. They asked me why Id shaved my beard. I didnt know what to tell them. They
dragged me into the center of the city and made me kneel next to five other men. They called
out on loudspeakers for everyone to come and watch. A large crowd gathered. The faces in the
crowd seemed sad but they had no choice but to watch. These men are atheists, they said.
And they will be punished. They took off my shirt and put a blindfold on me. They said that
anyone who tried to go to the hospital afterward would be killed. I was the fifth one to be
whipped. I could hear the men before me scream out in strange voices. When the first lash hit
me, the pain was so bad that it felt like my soul left my body. They lashed me twelve times. I
lost consciousness before it ended and woke up in bed. (Humans of New York, 2015). This is
just one paragraph of one mans story. Now imagine what else he, along with the other
millions of Syrian refugees have had to encounter.
There is no debate that Syrian refugees need the aid of European countries. The lack
of economic stability in Syrias neighbouring countries means that somebody needs to take
the strain off of them. Its clear that the crisis in Syria shows no signs of improvement,
meaning that the time to act is now. Now its time for European countries to step forward and
offer their support to these refugees in this terrible humanitarian situation.

WHY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD HELP

References
Proctor, K. (2015). Syrias refugees are a golden opportunity for Europe. Fortune. Retrieved
5 November 2015, from http://fortune.com/2015/09/15/syria-refugees-europe/
Michael Martinez, C. (2015). Syrian refugees: Which countries welcome them - CNN.com.
CNN. Retrieved 5 November 2015, from
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/09/world/welcome-syrian-refugees-countries/
Fisher, M., & Taub, A. (2015). The refugee crisis: 9 questions you were too embarrassed to
ask. Vox. Retrieved 5 November 2015, from
http://www.vox.com/2015/9/9/9290985/refugee-crisis-europe-syrian
Turkstat.gov.tr,. (2015). ..::Welcome to Turkish Statistical Institute(TurkStat)'s Web Pages::...
Retrieved 5 November 2015, from
http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/Start.do;jsessionid=XqLWWQwp8VKPVqCdGyymY2Xby
s10hynLy5St7Jh71CLyNwnhnrTL!586102414
WorldBank,. (2015). Lebanon Economic Monitor. Retrieved 5 November 2015, from
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/21761/958590WP00P
UBL0431B0LEM0Spring02015.pdf

WHY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SHOULD HELP

The Huffington Post,. (2015). Why Refugees Are Good For Europe's Economy. Retrieved 5
November 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-refugees-are-goodfor-europes-economy_560da728e4b07681270162db
Welle, D. (2015). Migrants needed in Germany to compensate for aging population |
Germany | DW.COM | 09.01.2014. DW.COM. Retrieved 5 November 2015, from
http://www.dw.com/en/migrants-needed-in-germany-to-compensate-for-agingpopulation/a-17350390
Nowaczynski, J. (2015). Comparing Domestic Terrorist Threats in the US and UK. EInternational Relations. Retrieved 21 November 2015, from http://www.eir.info/2013/11/11/comparing-domestic-terrorist-threats-in-the-us-and-uk/