Europe and the Future of Middle Eastern Migrants

During the past few days, a flood of migrants from the Middle East and North Arica has moved towards Europe. The question that is first raised is, is this movement the result of the existing chaos in the Middle East? The answer is yes. Naturally, since the beginning of the crisis in North Africa and then in the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula and even Afghanistan, migration has existed. But why has this issue been intensified? Now, 4 years after the Arab Spring and when some countries have been under missile attacks, why has such a flood of migrants appeared today? The following reasons are the response to this question:

Hopelessness – The people of countries such as Libya, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq are disappointed and do not have a clear perspective of the resolution of the problems and the challenges of their countries. Since long ago, they have been living in camps and under difficult conditions. They have now reached the conclusion that, even after conferences and regime changes, the situation has become worse. Thus, they have lost hope about the future of their countries and themselves.

Provocation – People become provoked when they see a group of migrants and they follow suit so as not to fall behind. There are also some people, like the people of Afghanistan, whose situation is not as severe as those who are displaced or are threatened by massacre but they add to the number of these migrants.

Turkey and Taking Advantage of an Opportunity – About one million people who have been displaced have entered Turkey. This is related to the road map designed by this country. It could be said that Turkey has prepared the ground for their migration. A considerable number of these migrants have entered Greece and Italy from Turkey and then the Balkans and Hungary and in the end Central Europe. The point that has been ignored by the media is the role played by Turkey in creating this flood of migrants. This issue could, in the long run, be to Turkey’s benefit. The presence of Muslim migrants in Europe will increase their number in this continent. On the other hand, Turkey is interested in becoming a member of the EU. It intends to transfer the weight of the migrants to Europe. Due to the domestic political changes, Turkey had lost hope. In fact, the objectives which were drawn by Erdogan could not be achieved. Turkey is using the issue of the migrants for its own interests. It also uses this issue against the government of Syria. It raises the question of, why should it bear the weight of the migrants? Thus, it has designed a road map through which the migrants are led and directed towards Europe. It is not a difficult task. It could easily reach its objectives through propagation among the immigrants including taking measures against the regime in Syria.

Closeness of Crisis-Stricken Regions to Europe – The present regions experiencing crisis in the Middle East and North Africa are close to Europe. At the same time Europe has its own regulations for accepting refugees and on that basis it provides facilities. Based on this EU law, any migrant who enters one of these countries must be registered and his country of origin should be determined. In fact, the first country of origin must give a residence permit to the migrants. Therefore, the country of entrance should obey this law. On the other hand, the only path for the migrants is Europe. The member countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council which have started the war in the Middle East, do not allow even one of these immigrants to enter their countries despite their financial power and their need for expert and labor forces. Thus, the closest path is Europe.

Differences inside Europe and Opportunities for Migrants – Considering the existing differences between the EU member countries, the migrants have found a great opportunity. These differences during the past few days and the pressure which is exerted on Greece and Hungary to accept these refugees have created an opportunity for these migrants. The countries of Eastern Europe are not prepared to accept them due to their weak economic structure and their lack of experience in these humanitarian issues. They were known as communist countries of the eastern bloc. That is why the immigrants have used the differences between Central Europe, Western Europe and Britain and Eastern Europe to their own benefit. Only Germany was able to have a positive approach regarding this issue due to the following two reasons:

The first reason is that Germany at the present time has a strong reputation in the world. This country intends to lead Europe and is moving closer to achieving this. European countries are accepting this matter. The financial crisis which happened in some European countries including Spain, Italy and Greece was only resolved with the help of Germany. This shows that Germany intends to lead Europe. In order to achieve this objective, Germany needs to gain popularity both inside the country and in the international community. By accepting the refugees, the government of Germany was able to mobilize the people of other European countries against the governments which did not treat the refugees properly.

The second reason is that Germany needed this measure. Germany is an old country. Although in the short term it will have to bear social and economic pressures, it will have long-term benefits. Tens of thousands of refugees are now entering Germany. Based on the numbers presented by the government of Germany, this country can accept 800000 immigrants in one year. These immigrants are from different strata of society and engineers, labors, nurses … could be found among them. These people will help the German economy with their expertise. Then they will pay taxes which will be spent for the welfare of the old people. Therefore, Germany could compete with the economy of Europe and the world. On the other hand, Angela Merkel is spending her last days in power. She is from East Germany. The people of East Germany were considered as racist and poor. Through this measure, Merkel was able to show herself as an international figure from East Germany.