Daily Times

Israel’s right wing conservative Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu was the only who, some months ago, labelled the nuclear deal between Iran and the leading six powers of the world as a ‘historic mistake’. Now, he is the one who has again taken a very hard line concerning Syrian and Iraqi refugees who are looking for refuge in different countries around the world, especially in Europe. His statement the other day categorically affirmed that Israel has no plans to provide protection to Syrian and Iraqi refugees. Not only has Israel refused to take in refugees even wealthier Arab countries such as oil rich Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait have no plans to safeguard the refugees who have been displaced due to the military intervention of US-led forces in Syria. When Iraq, in connivance with the US, invaded Kuwait some years ago its citizens fled Kuwait and sought protection in Egypt, Qatar and in leading European countries. Now, the Kuwaiti government has recently remarked that Kuwait has no plan to accept Syrian or Iraqi refugees at all.
The same kind of sentinment has been shown by the Saudis. This constitutes their double and dubious standards. Moreover, none of the Arab countries are signatories to the UN 1951 Refugees Convention, which defines what a refugee is and lays out their rights, as well as the obligations of the states to safeguard them. For a Syrian to enter these countries they first need to secure a visa, which is next to impossible in the current circumstances. A Syrian can travel without a visa to Sudan, Algeria, Yemen and Mauritania, hardly practical destinations. As Bobby Ghosh, the managing editor of the newssite Quartz, points out, the Gulf States in theory have a far greater ability to deal with large numbers of arrivals than Syria’s more immediate and poorer neighbours, Lebanon and Jordan: “The region has the capacity to quickly build housing for these refugees. The giant construction companies that have built the gleaming towers of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh should be contracted to create shelters for the influx. Saudi Arabia has plenty of expertise in managing large numbers of arrivals. It receives an annual surge of millions of Hajj pilgrims to Mecca. There is no reason all this knowhow cannot be put to humanitarian use.”
The six wealthier nations of the Gulf region have a fear of Syrian refugees taking up their jobs and disturbing their economic equilibrium, and may invoke concerns about terrorism, and security issues if refuge is given to the refugees. In the writer’s opinion, it would have been more probable for the Gulf region to accommodate these refugees and extend its support to help them in resettlement on humanitarian grounds despite regional political issues. In the prevailing circumstances, Europe has once again shown its honest stance over humanism, a place where people belonging to all creeds, castes and breeds can be settled in without any hassle. The government in Germany recently announced that it plans to accept about 31,000 refugees over a period of five years, the French authorities plunged in to accept 24,000 and the Spanish government has vowed to safeguard 16,000. Some support has been advanced by the Australian PM, Tony Abott, who has promised to accept about 12,000 Syrian refugees and provide them with safe shelters.
The whole of Europe on humanitarian grounds has planned to accept refugees in their countries and provide them with proper protection. A couple of weeks ago, the British government seemed to be reluctant in accepting the refugees but now it has decided to be more accomodating.
Prima facie, the migrant crisis has been produced by the European countries in partnership with the US. The crisis of migrants in Europe is due to impoverishment and fear of death, which are the products of lot of economic deprivation and war. It is said that the crisis is due to Europe’s involvement with other leading imperialists of the world in the Iraq war, the bombing in Libya and recently in Syria against Assad’s regime. The wealthier countries of the world now have to come up with a proper scheme to safeguard these refugees who have fled to Syria, Iraq and Libya due to military the intervention of Europe and the US. The US and Europe together declared war against these three countries and forced the ordinary citizens to flee to other countries so as to secure their lives. The writer further contends that it is next to impossible to put armed guards across European borders in order to stop refugees from entering Europe. Desperate and poor people cannot be stopped from entering any place they deem they are safer.
In culmination, I submit that refugees should be given safe housing and proper protection despite their caste, creed and beliefs. European states as well as other wealthier countries of the world should all now join hands to let the world know that it is not only a humanitarian issue but also a test for the European Union’s fundamental ability to act in a unified way and in accordance with its values rather than following rhetorical bureaucratic language or practices. I urged the governments of the Gulf nations to join hands with European states in order to help the desperate people who are fleeing conflict zones in search of work and to find a life for themselves away from the fear of death and destruction. The stance of Gulf nations is totally inhumane because, to date, not a single Gulf nation has invited refugees to find freedom and protection within their borders.

The writer is practising advocate of the High Court. He can be reached at greenlaw123@hotmai.com