Columnist Brian Fogel discusses refugees fleeing to Europe, particularly countries bordering Greece.
While all eyes are on the responses of governors and Congress members to the Syrian refugee crisis, few domestic media outlets are covering the ongoing struggle for the majority of people fleeing to Europe.
Currently only 10,000 Syrians will be accepted by the United States, and later the Obama Administration plans on pushing for tens of thousands more. Numbers like those are dwarfed by the total number of refugees from not only Syria, but also Iraq, Afghanistan and various North African countries.
The borders of the Balkan countries may become the bane of Greece and the influx of refugees arriving at the edge of the European Union. A country stricken with debt and economic collapse is the least likely candidate for the harbour of millions of refugees, but nations bordering Greece seem to be turning a blind eye.
Although countries like Macedonia have shut their borders to anyone who is not seemingly from a war-torn country, there are still almost 4,000 migrants waiting near the northern Greek border, according to the The Guardian.
Several Iranian refugees protested at the Greece-Macedonia border Tuesday. Many of the Balkan countries have recently decided to screen refugees based on which country they originate from, rather than their degree of need. If a family’s home is destroyed in Iran from bombings, it won’t matter if the family has lost everything because Iran is less of a priority.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="fd7d963a-8d85-11e5-a94f-478b77d3982b"}}
A few of the protesters have sewn their mouths shut along with the hunger strike, and some even attempted public suicide by hanging, according to Al Jazeera.
Though not all of the migrants at the borders are refugees fleeing devastation, the policy of bordering countries of Greece are far too general to effectively aid those who need the most help.
As students go out on Friday to shop for “Black Friday” deals, they need to keep in mind that people their age have been uprooted from their homes. Americans have the luxury of going to stores to buy more and more, but if that capital was focused toward refugee relief in Europe, there could be some real good.
Mic.com wrote a story detailing the reality of the Thanksgiving origin recently, and as we celebrate a time when we were migrants who killed our hosts, the least we could do is support refugees that need help around the world.
Brian Fogel is a freshman studying journalism and a photographer for The Post. What do you think about European Union countries' response to refugees? Tweet him @FrianBogel or email him at bf111514@ohio.edu.
