Migration Chaos Dividing the World
Migration Chaos is Dividing the World. The Times in Plain English
Europe's Migrant Crisis Explained 3' videoclip
Migration Chaos Dividing the World
Some, such as the Hungarian president, do not want to accept migrants from refugee camps. They believe refugee camps are safe. Refugees flee, not out of fear, but rather for a better life. They believe there is no fundamental right to a better life, only a right to security and human dignity. What do readers think about these beliefs?
Many believe that two parts of the world have been doing too little to address the refugee crisis. What are those two parts of the world?
The United States, a country of 320 million, has recently said it would accept 10,000 refugees. What do readers think about the adequacy of this number?
What do readers think about the willingness of Germany to accept 800,000 refugees?
Many critics blame the U.S. for contributing to the refugee crisis, particularly for actions in which two countries?
Many in Europe and the U.S. fear that the sheer size of the refugee groups will result in two negative outcomes. What are those concerns?
A recent image shown all over the world has focused attention on the plight of the refugees. What is that image?
Migration Chaos Dividing the World
September 13, 2015
Plain English Version
Refugees in Germany.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants are fleeing from refugee camps and war zones. They are trying to get to Europe. This past Saturday, thousands of Europeans marched in support of the migrants.
Europe is divided. Hungary, for example, is hostile to the migrants. The Hungarian president said the migrants do not come from the war zone, but rather from refugee camps where they are safe. They do not flee out of fear for their lives. They flee for a better life. He said he understands this. He says there is no fundamental right to a better life. There is only a right to security and human dignity.
The humanitarian crisis is real. Germany is taking in 800,000 refugees. Other European countries are increasing the number they are willing to receive.
Two parts of the world are said to be doing too little. They are the Arab nations and the United States. Both have the resources to absorb many thousands.
Germany is a country of 80 million. It has said it will accept 800,000 refugees. That number is about one percent of the German population. The United States is a country of 320 million. The U.S. recently said it would accept 10,000. Do the math.
Many have argued that the U.S.did a lot to create the crisis. The war in Iraq ended with repression of the Sunnis. The U.S. failed to manage events in Syria. These failures led to the rise of the Islamic state. The flight of the refugees followed.
Many in Europe and even the United States worry that, with so many Muslims coming in, their culture will change. Some worry that terrorists are going to hide among the refugee crowds. Screening has to be a part of any entry process.
Things are getting worse, not better. The toddler lying dead on the beach in Turkey stunned the world. The world is finally paying attention to the plight of the refugees.
Great leadership has not been forthcoming.
Source: The Wall Street JournalSeptember 12, 2015
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Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Europe in Support of Refugees
Wave of sympathy contrasts with protest in Warsaw against plan to take in migrants
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Several thousand right-wing nationalists wave Polish national flags during a counter-demonstration in Warsaw, Poland.ALIK KEPLICZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Demonstrators in Stockholm join tens of thousands of people who rallied in a Europe-wide day of action in solidarity with refugees and other migrants. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Demonstrators in Lisbon welcome refugees and other migrants. PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
In London, tens of thousands of people march carrying placards that read ’Open the Borders,’ and ‘Be Human.’ JUSTIN TALLIS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Demonstrators take part in a pro-refugee rally in central London. JUSTIN TALLIS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
In Lyon, eastern France, people braved the rain to show their support for migrants. JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
A large crowd turns out for a rally in Copenhagen. SCANPIX DENMARK/REUTERS
A woman holds a handwritten sign in Geneva, Switzerland, welcoming refugees. MARTIAL TREZZINI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A child takes part in the demonstration in support of migrants in Warsaw, Poland. RADEK PIETRUSZKA/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
A woman at a rally in Paris holds a placard urging the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. JOEL SAGET/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
A sign welcomes refugees in Stockholm. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
On Friday, a barefoot procession in solidarity with migrants took place in Rome. ANTONIO MASIELLO/ZUMA PRESS
In Prague, anti-migrant counter-demonstrators hold banners and Czech national flags on Saturday. MICHAL CIZEK/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
An anti-immigration rally in Bratislava, Slovakia. SAMUEL KUBANI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Several thousand right-wing nationalists wave Polish national flags during a counter-demonstration in Warsaw, Poland.ALIK KEPLICZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Demonstrators in Stockholm join tens of thousands of people who rallied in a Europe-wide day of action in solidarity with refugees and other migrants. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
By CHRISTINA ZANDER and ULRIKE DAUER
Updated Sept. 12, 2015 3:48 p.m. ET300 COMMENTS
Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Europe rallied on Saturday to express sympathy toward migrants seeking refuge in the region amid the largest migration of displaced people since the end of World War II.
About 30,000 people converged in Copenhagen, according to city police, carrying banners such as “Refugees Welcome.” The rally, as well as smaller gatherings in other Danish cities, was calm and peaceful, police said.
In Hamburg, Germany, more than 24,000 people demonstrated against xenophobia and racism, said a spokeswoman for the city’s police. She said they were mostly peaceful but police briefly used water cannons after some stones and firecrackers were thrown.
Demonstrators also marched in London to pressure the British government to take in more refugees. Among those in attendance wasJeremy Corbyn, just hours after being elected as leader of the U.K.’s opposition Labour Party.
The rallies further highlight the political rift created by the exploding migrant crisis in Europe. The hundreds of thousands of people seeking refuge this summer have left Europe divided between nations on transit routes on one side and those countries migrants see as preferred destinations on the other.
The president of Hungary, one such transit route, defended his country’s tough migrant policy on Saturday.
“These migrants don’t come from the war zone, but from camps in Syria’s neighboring countries Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, where they were in safety” and thus didn’t flee for fear of their lives, but for wanting a better life, Viktor Orban told German tabloid Bild in an interview. “Personally, I can understand this, but there is no fundamental right to a better life. There’s only a right to security and human dignity.”
Earlier this month, Hungary’s premier courted controversy by saying the country’s borders must be defended as Europe’s identity was rooted in Christianity, while most of the migrants arriving on the continent were Muslims.
Mr. Orban’s tough stance drew criticism from Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann.
“To put refugees on trains in the belief they would go elsewhere reminds me of the darkest time on our continent,” Mr. Faymann told weekly magazine Der Spiegel in an interview, in a reference to Nazi Germany. Mr. Orban “acts irresponsibly when declaring everyone a migrant for economic reasons. He consciously uses a policy of deterrence,” he said.
In the Polish capital, about 7,000 people led by fringe nationalist groups protested on Saturday against the government’s plan to take in more than 2,200 refugees over the next two years.
“It’s a war of two civilizations,” said one of the Warsaw rally’s leaders.
The influx of migrants in Europe is showing few signs of abating. Some 40,000 migrants are expected to arrive in Germany this weekend, twice as many as last week, according to an estimate by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“We are expecting for the next two days alone, for the weekend, about 40,000 new refugees from our southern and southeastern neighbors,” Mr. Steinmeier told a conference in Prague on Friday.
The impact of the political rift has been felt by Germany’s transport system. Trains to and from main station in Hamburg were suspended for 1½ hours on Saturday because demonstrators were on the tracks, a spokesman for the city’s federal police said.
Munich, Germany’s main point of entry, has requested additional support from other regions. Between midnight and 4 p.m. on Saturday, 7,200 migrants had arrived in Munich by train, said Simone Hilgers, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Upper Bavaria, where Munich is located. The number could rise to more than 9,000 in the next 2½ hours, she said.
She echoed comments by Munich mayor Dieter Reiter calling on other German regions to step up their support.
France, which like Germany has been pressing the rest of the EU to do more to resolve the crisis, said it would offer new housing subsidies to cities and towns to accommodate thousands of refugees.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the state would provide a subsidy payment of €1,000 ($1,134) for each dwelling offered to house migrants.
“We need to face this situation and confront it effectively,” he said.
—Martin Sobczyk in Warsaw, and Jason Chow and Noemie Bisserbe contributed to this article.
Write to Christina Zander at christina.zander@wsj.com and Ulrike Dauer atulrike.dauer@wsj.com
Europe is struggling to handle its largest flow of migrants since the aftermath of World War II. Why is the crisis happening now? The WSJ's Niki Blasina explains.
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