Syrian Refugees In European Nations Face Deportation As Restrictions Tighten | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Syrian Refugees In European Nations Face Deportation As Restrictions Tighten

European countries try to limit the amount of refugees entering and staying.

14
Syrian Refugees In European Nations Face Deportation As Restrictions Tighten
BBC News

If you haven't heard about the Syrian refugee crisis by now, you need to crawl out from under that rock you live under and turn on the news. Thousands upon thousands of refugees are fleeing not just Syria, but countries like Morocco and Tunisia, which have also been affected by the conflict. For many fortunate refugees, European nations such as Sweden and Germany have adopted an open-arm policy to those seeking asylum. They take in hundreds of thousands of refugees, while countries like the United States have accepted far fewer.

However, despite their compassion, the reality of providing even a temporary home for refugees is starting to catch up with European countries.

Sweden in particular, with its struggling economy and double-digit youth unemployment rate, faces extreme social backlash. The highly conservative, anti-immigrant Swedish Democrat party won 13 percent of votes in the election that took place in September 2014, doubling the amount of seats they hold in Parliament and giving them more power than ever before. Now, in 2016, Sweden recently declared that they are going to reject up to 80,000 refugees that have applied for asylum in 2015. About half of those are those that have already been living in Sweden and will be forcibly removed. Essentially, Sweden is about to deport tens of thousands of refugees because their economy can no longer sustain it.

Finland and Norway are following suit, though their numbers are fewer than Sweden's. Norway, despite currently being much more economically stable than Sweden, spends most of its humanitarian resources on those actually living in the Middle East in lieu of providing for refugees coming into the nation (the U.S. adopts a similar mindset). These countries are not insensitive or uncaring; rather, they do not believe that they can provide a productive, comfortable space for refugees if they do not have the resources or funds to sustain everyone that seeks entry to the country.

Unlike the Scandinavian nations of Europe, Germany has decided that instead of deporting refugees, they are going to tighten restrictions on who is and is not allowed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently "came under fierce pressure in recent months to reverse her open-arms policy to those fleeing war and persecution." As a result, Germany has taken several measures, such as declaring Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco "safe countries of origin," heavily reducing the chances that refugees from those nations would be granted asylum.

There's no "right way" to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. It would be fantastic if every country could readily accept the now-millions of refugees that need homes, but realistically, that may not be a feasible solution. As the number of refugees rises, questions of where to funnel resources -- to refugees' countries of origin for repatriation or within Western nations to provide for the influx of refugees -- become more and more prominent.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

414
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

403
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1079
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

2345
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less
student thinking about finals in library
StableDiffusion

As this semester wraps up, students can’t help but be stressed about finals. After all, our GPAs depends on these grades! What student isn’t worrying about their finals right now? It’s “goodbye social life, hello library” time from now until the end of finals week.

1. Finals are weeks away, I’m sure I’ll be ready for them when they come.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments