UAE- No end in sight for migrants' woes: paper
Date
11/7/2015 3:39:48 AM
(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
ABU DHABI 7th November 2015 (WAM) -- A United Arab Emirates newspaper has warned about the rising number of refugees arriving in Europe saying that was a matter of serious concern that needs to be addressed by the international community before it is too late.
The English language daily Gulf Today noted in a commentary today that refugees and migrants are likely to keep travelling to Europe at a rate of up to 5000 per day via Turkey this winter meaning that more than a million people will have fled to the continent this year.
"A major cause of worry is the fact that harsh weather conditions in the region are likely to exacerbate the suffering of the thousands of refugees and migrants landing in Greece and travelling through the Balkans and may even result in further loss of life if adequate measures are not taken urgently" the paper said.
Adding to the anxiety the head of the European Investment Bank has warned about the "deep" financial challenges posed by Europe's refugee crisis since World War II.
The refugee emergency is already proving a stern test of European Union border and reception capacities with millions arriving in the 28-nation bloc.
According to indications currently half the population of Syria is at risk of becoming a migrant. For the last six months tens of thousands in Yemen Iraq and Libya have been emigrating every day.
The paper went on to say "Sadly over 3400 migrants have died from either being drowned at sea or from exposure to severe weather conditions. So far this year 570000 people have arrived in the Greek islands from Turkey most of them on small rubber dinghies in which smugglers cram 50 or more people at a cost of between 1100 and 1400 euros each."
Refugees have recently reported that smugglers are offering "discounts" of up to 50 percent to make the voyage aboard the rubber dinghies in bad weather.
Another major challenge is that a stateless child is born every 10 minutes according to UN officials.
In Syria for example children can acquire nationality only through their fathers but the four-year civil war has forced more than four million people to flee the country and left 25 percent of refugee families fatherless.
UN officials have rightly suggested the reform of discriminatory laws that prevent mothers from passing on nationality to their children in order to eliminate the scourge of statelessness.
The paper concluded by saying "With the situation worsening every day the international community needs to step up assistance and find better ways to alleviate the suffering of such a large number of hapless people who pay a price for no mistake of theirs."
WAM/bashir/Moran