The Director of European Union (EU) border agency Frontex has cautioned against the arrival of more migrants from the Middle East through Belarus. Recent months have shown that the pressure of migration is not letting up. It is actually rising again. A disagreement among 27 EU members on how to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants is a major cause of the crisis. Questions mainly revolve around who will fund border infrastructure like fencing, use of drones etc to stop an increasing influx of migrants. In October alone, over 17,000 illegal attempts to cross the border were made, more than double the number of attempts in September, and thousands of migrants are still camping out near Belarus’ border with Poland.
The refugee crisis in Europe has unleashed the unsavoury side of the continent to the fore. More than half a million refugees, braving perilous conditions and travel arrangements, have escaped their torn apart countries and have their way towards ‘Fortress Europe’ in search of a better life. This influx of refugees has been ascribed the ominous descriptor of a ‘wave’ and a significant portion of Europe populations feels threatened or angered enough to demand a ‘reversal of tides’. The crisis has been exacerbated by the failure of the EU to come up with a unified response to the problem as its member states bicker amongst each other over the best course forward and are making a mockery of the avowed humanitarian aims of the EU in a very public manner. Eastern European states, led primarily by the existing far right government of Hungary, have been most loudly resisting attempts of Germany and France to have an equitable distribution of refugees across the continent based on each country’s population and relative wealth, and have thrown many roadblocks in the passage of refugees within their borders by erecting walls and fences and encamping refugees in inhumane camps in a flagrant disregard for the traumatized psyche of desperate refugees as well as basic human dignity. It is high time for EU member states to sit together and find a unified solution to the problem that is creating a divide between Europe and Asia.
