(This image of Iraqi refugees heading for the Turkish border is from dw.com.)If war does nothing else, it creates refugees -- people fleeing war-torn areas to save their lives, and to give their families a chance to have a future (which no longer exists in their country of origin). And the endless war in the Middle East is no exception. It has created millions of refugees (at least 7 million from just Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria).
Most of these refugees are now in camps (with Turkey bearing the largest burden), but that is no answer to the refugee problem. There is no future to living in a refugee camp, and as the wars drag on in the Middle East, there seems to be no hope of those people returning to their home countries. Now many thousands of them are fleeing for Europe, where they hope they can make a decent future for their families. This is not a new phenomenon, but it is increasing -- and it is making headlines around the world.
To their shame, some European countries are trying to stop the immigrants from entering (or staying) in their country. Other, to their credit, are stepping up and accepting many refugees. Austria and Germany are to be commended for accepting thousands of refugees.
This brings up a question -- why isn't the United States stepping forward to accept many of these refugees? I know there is a definite anti-immigrant and anti-muslim attitude among many Americans, but we should be a much bigger player in solving the refugee crisis. After all, we have at least as much responsibility (if not more) in creating this crisis than anyone else.
Right-wingers will deny it, but the unnecessary invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by the Busk/Cheney administration is what started the mess that has turned into a refugee crisis. They thought they could quickly depose regimes they didn't like and install an American-style democracy in those countries with military force. They were wrong. All they did was impose a seemingly endless cycle of violence and destabilize the entire area. And their insane action has been the root cause of the many millions of refugees that now exist.
We were not the only nations causing the crisis. Many European nations joined us in those ridiculous wars, but we were the primary architects. Europe is now reaping the "benefit" of their going along with the U.S., and it is my opinion that the United States should now step forward and do its part. We should be accepting many of those refugees and helping them start a new life. And we should be funding more of the cost of relocating refugees to wherever they want to go.
You cannot create a mess, and then turn your back on it. It just isn't decent (or moral).
