UAE- World must do more to halt tide of refugees: paper

12/29/2015 2:12:37 AM

(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))

ABU DHABI 29th December 2015 (WAM) -- A UAE newspaper has said that war sectarian conflict poverty or simply the promise of a prosperous future have driven a million-plus refugees into making a desperate tryst with destiny.

"They came from Syria Iraq Afghanistan; they came from parts of north Africa. Aggressive coast-guard patrols border blockades fences with razor wires or the turbulent depths of the Mediterranean nothing seemed to deter them. And their perilous journeys show no sign of abating despite more than 400 refugees drowning off the Italian coast this year" said Gulf News in an editorial on Tuesday.

"While Europe's borders were initially shut for them it was a welcome change in stance when Germany opened its doors and inspired others to do the same. Chancellor Angela Merkel was hailed globally for her gesture. There were disruptions and bitter wranglings Hungary's xenophobic campaign sticks out prominently but the European Commission's raft of initiatives to tackle the crisis was laudable.

As the number of refugees keep growing the European Union now faces bigger challenges. Brussels has not been particularly successful in goading EU member states into even a semblance of a common approach on refugees. The balancing act between nationalist aspirations security concerns and a pan-European outlook has often resulted in EU states handing out a raw deal to the thousands of desperate souls assembled at their doorsteps. The quota for refugee intake and their subsequent relocation for instance started as a voluntary measure. But due to the failure of many member states to step up some parts of the asylum-seekers' programme were made mandatory to force everyone involved to accept their fair share of refugees.

Contrary to the course advocated by some European countries compassion rather than coercion should be the way forward in tackling this great humanitarian tragedy unfolding before us every day while the root causes of such mass influx should be handled with equal urgency as well.

"The refugee crisis is a global humanitarian disaster and though all roads seem to lead only to Europe for the mass migrants the global community needs to share the burden in equal measure" concluded the Dubai-based daily.

WAM/Esraa/Moran

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