Seeds of Hope and Destruction. How Europe's Refugee Inaction Threatens to Undermine its Own Security (PDF)

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Politics - International Politics - General and Theories, , language: English, abstract: This essay presents arguments for and against Europe's handling of the refugee crisis.

Both morality and historical experience require nothing less of us than rendering refugees our full and unrelenting assistance in the most trying stage of their lives. Just as important, however, failure to help them while we still can might also entail dire long-term consequences for our own long-term safety and security, notably by presenting Islamic extremists with the very means, mindsets and social environments necessary for waging war against us on a trans-national scale. Accordingly, this is the time for all of us-citizens and politicians alike-to rise up in a common effort to the arguably most daunting and formidable challenge facing Europe in this day and age. This is the time for giving back to other fellow human beings in need of our support just a little bit of that relative comfort, security and ease which we ourselves have been enjoying for so long now and which we all too often take for granted as being but our own god-given birthright or prerogative.

This is the time to realize that most of the people now seeking shelter and refuge with us from the anguish and unimaginable horrors in their native countries have no intention whatsoever to forcibly wrest away our economic privileges, nor to undercut our established values and modes of living. That instead they merely wish to share in the same basic human rights we all hold so dear-peace, stability and, above all, freedom from fear, want and persecution. And, finally, this is also the time to link the current refugee crisis more closely to distinct geopolitical issues and concerns, notably by more systematically considering the wider strategic setbacks likely to be incurred in the event that national leaders prove unable to devise applicable solutions to the real human suffering endemic to this harrowing tragedy.