As the Syrian Civil continues into its fourth year, the number of refugees reaching Europe from across the Mediterranean Sea in October has almost reached the same amount that was totaled in all of 2014. The total amount for October reached 218,394 mainly from Syria and other conflict affected countries like Afghanistan and the countries of Northern Africa.
“That makes it the highest total for any month to date and roughly the same as the total for 2014” United Nations Refugee agency spokesman, Adrian Edwards said regarding the out flowing of migrants to Europe.
Europe has been struggling to cope with the record number of refugees since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War which started on March 15th, 2014 following a series of protest around the country in support of the downfall of the Syrian President Bashar Al- Assad. The protests erupted in Syria following numerous successful uprisings against Middle Eastern dictators that came to be known as the Arab Spring.
“Certainly in 2016, we have to expect this level of arrivals to continue, and that’s because the facts that are causing people to move aren’t going away” Mr. Edwards continued in his statement, referring to the ongoing violence in Syria and a surge in violence in Afghanistan which has seen the Taliban regain power throughout certain parts of the country. Syria and Afghanistan now make up numbers one and two on the list of the places where refugees are fleeing from.
Many of the refugees who have crossed the sea have made their way to Greece and southern Italy where they use these countries largely as a starting point on their journey to asylum friendly countries like Germany and the northern European countries (ex, Sweden and Norway). An estimated 3,440 refugees have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, many on rafts or largely unseaworthy boats which are overcrowded and sink during the crossing.
“We hope that there will be some reductions in the number of people crossing this year, simply to help with the manageability of the situation, but unfortunately the underlying causes that are making people move across the Mediterranean to Europe are still there” the UN refugee spokesman continued in his remarks.
The manageability issue of the flow of refugees has been dividing the EU as many of the countries have been unwilling to agree upon a plan that would redistribute the number of refugees throughout the continent. Additionally, many countries have begun closing their borders and increasing the number of border guards as the refugees start their path in Southern Europe and make their way through Central Europe and eventually into Germany and Northern Europe.
In the most recent incident which happened Monday, four refugees drowned off the coast of Greece and six were reported missing. “It is the new reality we have to deal with”.
Ultimately, it is a noble thing that the continent of Europe (and soon the United States) is doing by accepting these refugees but the parties involved need to find a solution to end the conflicts that have fed these people’s flight. Chaos in Syria, and the region, is a long-term threat to the countries who have been accepting the refugees. As they try and deal with the record number of migrants fleeing war and unrest, Europe needs to prepare the ground for the future stability of the supercontinent called Afro-Eurasia. A much more profound challenge indeed.
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