Refugees, Migrants and Terrorists

At the moment, there is a crisis in many European countries, particularly those with a Mediterranean coast and their neighbours.  What the crisis is depends on how you interpret the mass of humanity that is making its way from North Africa across this stretch of water to seek asylum/sanctuary in Europe.  But what are these people? Are they refugees or are they migrants?  Well that depends on which news channel you listen to and the prevailing political opinion of the country in which the news is being broadcast.  But it is also important because the status of the two types is completely different.

A refugee is a person who has fled their country of origin because they are in fear of their life for whatever reason, and many of those fleeing across the Mediterranean are doing so because they are attempting to escape conflict in their own countries, such as Syria and many other African countries.

A migrant, on the other hand, is someone who has moved from their country of origin to another country in order to improve their circumstances, but not necessarily because they are imminently in danger.  And if you are in a situation where you realise that a move to a more prosperous country can improve your lot, how can blame the person from migrating.  But many of these migrants are not following the rules, obtaining visas etc., but they will travel alongside the refugees.

So, how do we tell who is a refugee, with a real need for asylum, and who is migrating to improve their position in life.  And this is the difficulty, because we often can’t.  A refugee fleeing for their life doesn't have time to pick up their passport, sort out travellers cheques and pack what they need.  They will often arrive with a small bundle that represents all of their worldly goods.  But then so will the migrants.

The European Union (EU) asylum rules state that the refugee must register for asylum in the first EU country that they reach.  That does not mean that they will then have to settle in that country, but they must register.  This often does not happen, the person moving from country to country through the EU’s open borders in an effort to find a country that, in the case of the migrants, they believe will serve them better.  And two of the most popular countries at the present time seem to be Germany and the United Kingdom.  However, to enter either Germany or the UK, or in fact pretty much any other EU country other than Greece, Italy or Spain, then that person has to have passed through a safe third country.

In the UK we are well aware that there are many people trying to enter the country, and living where I do, in the county that is the closest point to Europe, there is rarely a day that goes past when there is not a local news report about the migrants that are living rough in Calais attempting to stowaway on lorries coming from the continent or breaking through the security fencing and trying to enter the UK via the Channel Tunnel.

Whilst I agree that we must provide assistance to refugees, as this country has done for countless centuries for all types of displaced persons, be they Huguenots in the 16^th and 17^th Centuries or Jews in the 1930s, I also believe that there needs to be some controls to ensure that those seeking asylum are genuine asylum seekers.  I believe that this is more important now because of the security risk to all of the European countries from the numerous terrorist organisations, but particularly ISIS/Daesh, an organisation that has already threatened to flood Europe with “fighters” by secreting their “operatives” within the flood of refugees/migrants already making their way into Europe.  So how do we control the people who are attempting to enter the various countries?  It is a very difficult thing to do. 

In the UK those who are seeking asylum are free to move about whilst there application is considered, often having to report on a regular basis.  Once their application is granted, all restrictions are lifted and there are no conditions.  But what about those whose applications are rejected?  Last month, it was reported that “failed asylum seekers” would be re-branded as illegal immigrants and given a period of 28 days in which to leave the country.  In theory, this seems like a good idea, but what about in practice?

As I have already said, refugees don’t have time to collect things like passports when they flee, and a person cannot be transported from one country to another without appropriate travel documents.  So whilst waiting for the passport to arrive, what happens is that the person continues to have to report regularly.  But at this stage, they are aware that they are to be returned to their country of origin (or to the country where they first registered for asylum if the Dublin Regulation is invoked) and many will just disappear, hoping to continue living here until eventually caught.

There are a dozen or so Immigration Removal Centres located in the UK, but even these don’t provide sufficient accommodation for the estimated 25.000 asylum seekers registered in the UK (this figure doesn't include the migrants who have never registered), which means that there are many who are living freely throughout the country.  And whilst I have no doubt at all that the vast majority mean no harm to the people of the UK, there are bound to be a minority who do.

Since the rise of ISIS/Daesh in about 2012, there have been approximately 750 misguided British citizens who have left the safety of the UK to go and fight alongside these backward zealots in the Middle East.  The risk is that, if they haven’t been killed already, they will be facilitating the entry of the threatened flood into the UK, as I find it difficult that they have broken all social media links with their friends and family.  How many of those that are living in Calais are there under the orders of al-Baghdadi, and how can we tell?

To counter the extremism of the Middle East, the UK has developed its own extremists, such as the English Defence League, who, on the surface seem to be mostly Islamophobic, but actually seem to be intolerant of almost every race or religion other than their own, and would probably be happiest if no-one “foreign” was permitted to enter the country.  They have even made a released a video that suggests that in twenty years the UK will be having daily bombings and subject to Sharia Law.

So, at the end of this ramble, what is the solution?  I don’t think that there is simple one.  I firmly believe that displaced persons, refugees, need to have a place where they can go to be safe, be that the UK or another peaceful EU country, but I also believe that there has to be controls to ensure that only those who are genuine refugees, rather than merely migrants, are granted entry.  I am aware that there are measures in place, but I also don’t think that these measures go far enough to protect this country from those who would take advantage of our generosity or who would wish us harm.