To what Extent should Developed Countries Accommodate Refugees Escaping Crisis in Home Situations?

They are not citizens, they are not illegal, they are not residents they are not nomad; they are refugees. _­The refugee problem is one of the greatest problems in the world of international politics and legislation. The crisis has intensified just recently attracting attention from developed countries and international organizations. The United Nations has created the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, which has the responsibility to protect and support refugees worldwide.

Simplifying the definition provided by the 1951 refugee convention, a refugee is any person who is not in his country of citizenship because of a fear of discriminatory persecution or to avoid acts which breach public order, internal or external aggression, or impacts of a natural disaster and cannot or is not willing to return. There are a total of about 19.5 million refugees across the world which include 5.1 million Palestinian refugees and 3.9 million Syrian refugees, however they are many millions other who are not granted refugee status by governments. Only a few developed countries allow refugees and others are forced to live in the life-threatening conditions that cause a number of implications and complications.

Although many believe that refugees should not be allowed into other countries as they are a burden on the country’s economic resources, they are not integrated in the local society, and lead to international and domestic crimes, I believe that they should be allowed as they also are human beings having equal rights, they can mean a more working population for the host country and also, this can help them counter the frustration and depression which often leads to more extreme measures by the victims, however the host country must run social acceptance campaigns, tighten border security, make laws to minimize crime and most importantly, must allow refugees at a scale that a state can bear. 

The Issues: Global and National Perspective

According to articles 3, 5 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, every person has right to life and liberty, no one can be subject to torture or degrading treatment, and everyone has the equal protection of the law without any discrimination respectively. There are many more clauses of the declaration apart from these that are not fulfilled in many circumstances. Without their any fault or act, they are forced to experience persecution, sexual abuse, endless warfare, unemployment, and are stripped off from even basic necessities of life. To ensure that everyone is treated according to the declaration it is necessary that countries allow refugees. Regardless of their caste, religion, nationality, social group, they are all born equal and when a situation arises when their own country is not providing the basic human rights, it becomes not only a moral obligation and protect humanity but also a legal compulsion. Article 14(1) of UDHR states that everyone has the right to seek asylum in other countries from persecution which means that this is part of the international humanitarian law. 

Moving on, many of the asylum seekers have already gone under extremely challenging problems from a long time and now are desperate to migrate recognizing the fact that it is their only chance of survival. If countries do not cooperate with them then their extreme frustration from the long-faced harsh circumstances combined with the need of resources to survive, the people will start taking extreme measures. This is what has happened recently in the Syrian refugee crisis when many of the European countries have sealed their borders for the refugees after the recent Paris attacks. Also 229,000 refugees living in refugee camps had their aid stopped from the World Food Programme due to a lack of international donations. This is what is most suitable for the ISIS as it can easily exploit them for money. Also their mental state means the organization can recruit more people making the organization stronger than ever and the situation worse than ever in future. It is the reason the host countries must accommodate the refugees so that the situation does not further worsen. My country, Pakistan, in a political move had accepted huge amounts of Afghan refugees the number now exceeding 2 million and this eventually led to less deaths in the Afghan-Soviet war which means this can be a way to reduce the impact of the disaster.

However many people argue that refugees should strictly not be allowed into other countries because the immediate impact that most countries face is they are a burden on the economy. The refugees are under the most terrible circumstances and supporting those means that the government has to provide funds for healthcare, shelter, clothing, food, medicine and education. Turkey, which has accepted the largest number of the Syrian refugees have spent an enormous $8 billion for these refugees. However I do not agree to this as according to a review by The Economist, the refugees now are mostly young who are willing to work and share burdens. The spending is temporary and most of them stabilize rather quickly which means that they will now contribute to the economy as they are young and thus form a part of the working population. European Commission figures have suggested that there has actually been an increase in the economic growth of the host countries. They are extremely poor and thus they can also be employed at lower rates overlooking regulations such as the minimum wage legislation and therefore reducing costs for the business. Furthermore, the country can also receive aid from other country to support the refugees. As a precedent, we can see my country. Pakistan received aid during the 1977 Afghan war when Pakistan experienced a huge inflow of Afghanis. One objective of the aid worth $3.2 billion given by the USA to Pakistan was to support and settle the refugees.

In addition to this, people say that refugees lead to higher crime rates and of various types including smuggling, human trafficking, terrorism, drug abuse, murders and thefts. The refugees, who are experiencing all these kinds of problems from their country of origin, take these with them into host countries. Donald Trump, a main contestant for the US presidential elections of 2016 has termed the Mexican refugees in the U.S as “criminals and rapists.” According to a report, the refugees in Germany committed about 200,000 crimes last year which, for a country such as Germany, is huge. In Pakistan too, the drug addicts rose sharply from a meagre 10,000 to 4 million by the end of 90s. The problem known as ‘Kalashnikov Culture’ started and automatic guns became common fueling street crime and tribal warfare causing huge problems for the government and population. Countries worldwide were not eager for diplomatic relations as they believed Pakistan was harboring terrorists. However it is not a problem that fused with migration and can be eliminated. Here, a need arises that governments keep a strict check and maintain their law enforcement agencies that treat the refugees equally. Neither harsh nor lenient. It is what Sweden has done and although they have accepted a considerable number of the Syrian refugees, only 1% of Swedish crime involved asylum seekers. 

Personal Perspective

Personally, this problem can affect me because many of the Afghan refugees have come to my city and taken over many of the jobs and in the future, I may also not find employment as locals are forced out. The Afghanis also commit crimes and I myself, along with my family have been subject to a street robbery which has caused a negative impression about the Afghan refugees in my family.

This Afghanis has caused a lot of problems for us citizens and the biggest of it is terrorism. Suicide bombings, target killings and violence have become common here which is now out of the hands of the local police. Also money has to be spent on them which means that there is less money to be spent on the citizens by the government. But I believe that all of this has taken place because of the carelessness and indifference for them by the government. Had the government provided them with the basic necessities at the start, such a situation would not have been arisen.

Futuristic Scenarios

Now if host countries do not allow refugees in their countries, it will mean that they will start entering illegally into countries.  As they are hiding from the government thus they do not receive any government financial support and are exploited at very low wages. To fulfill their needs crimes are committed and this leads to an increase in the crime rates in the destination country. In contrast to this, if host countries allow vast amounts of refugees into their countries, it will lead to the greatest migrations of mankind. The huge migrations will further mean that at once, there will be a burden on the economic resources and the country may not handle the huge pressure which may lead to problems such as the government may become bankrupt. This shows that a balance needs to be kept.

Another futuristic scenario can be that allowing the refugees can bring in the damaging ideology which is present in their countries of origin for example people may be recruited by the IS from Europe as people can go there and convince them to join them offering them various incentives; which has happened. The refugee problem also may lead to the international community to divert from other important issues that also have global significance for example climate change, terrorism, poverty and diseases. These may be neglected and thus may increase in magnitude creating further difficulties for the people.

Possible Solutions

The need of the day is that countries allow refugees into their countries so that they can live a respectable life according to the clauses of the UDHR but only according to what its economic resources can handle so that it is not an unmanageable burden but at the same time, also should not refuse to accept any refugee. If every country accepts refugees that it can handle, then all the refugees can be easily facilitated without a burden on a single host country. However it may be a problem when judging that was is the number according to the economic resources as they may not be clearly measureable.

 Moreover, the host countries along with the UNCHR must design a proper system whereby only legal migrants can be allowed. There must proper refugee documents which some countries already have coupled with tight, fenced border security and customs preventing smuggling of humans and drugs.  The US President, Barack Obama has said “Our nations can welcome refugees who are desperately seeking safety and ensure our own security, we can and must do both.” Here a problem may arise that protecting the whole border of the country can be costly and an additional burden on government spending but for this the international community must cooperate and can give aid. Moreover a solution to the refugee problem may be that there must be local integration. They must be granted citizenship of the host country or if that is not possible then at least laws must be passed which protect the rights of refugees. The locals must be told about the circumstances they have gone past and how important is it for them to make them feel a part of the nation for the sake of humanity. They must be treated equally under law and must be given employment opportunities. Although there may be resistance at first from the citizens but gradually the citizens will understand the significance of protecting refugees. If the proposed solutions are applied, then surely the refugee crisis can be solved.  

Personal Reflection

As the clauses of UDHR are not being fulfilled, I think that we all should allow refugees in our countries so that they can benefit from human rights which has to be given to everyone. Also as Turkey has spent about $8 billion on refugees, here a need arises that countries should provide aid to help Turkey facilitate Syrian Refugees so that Turkey is able to sustain the refugees. 229,000 refugees in their refugee camps have been stopped given aid due to lack of international donations. We must personally make donations for them so that they are able to live a better life. Moreover I also think that the Syrian problem has been intensified because it was not addressed earlier. If it was, I think the problem would have been dealt with ease. Evidences show that economies have both, negative and positive effect however countries should accept refugees not for their personal benefit but because to save humanity.

I learnt a lot from this study. Previously I had heard the Syrian problem on media channels but never paid attention on it. Know I got to know that what global significance this has and so now I am fully aware of this issue. I also completely did not know that Turkey was harboring this many refugees and only thought of it about a tourist place but now I got to know that turkey is playing the role of a responsible nation. Also I did not know that my country had so many refugees that it is the second-most refugee hosting country in the world which is now a matter of pride for me. Moreover I learnt from this study that although this issue is visibly grave, it is not a problem with no solutions. It is just that thoughtfulness and responsiveness is needed from all countries worldwide.      

We are being extremely selfish and not caring about others and in the future no one knows who will turn into a refugee. I dread putting myself at their place and can feel what they all are going through. We should not take this issue casually at all and take actions on every scale; global, national and personal to deal with this grave problem. Pope Francis said, “Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity.”