Texts of General Interest (link)
James Manos (MD)
June 28, 2018
(Updated: November 15, 2021)
Overview: The real story of the migration crisis in Europe
This text is based on media reports as well as personal research.
Preamble
In May 2021, 8,000 economic migrants from Morocco tried to pass the borders and enter Spain by sea. The government deployed the army to push back all these desperate people who were not refugees but poor people who wished for a better life in Europe. Recently, Denmark has adopted strict migration policies and is trying to prevent the creation of ghettos for migrants. The above are results of uncontrolled migration in Europe during the decade 2000 - 2020, in which migration was massive but without any rules. On the contrary, illegal migration was encouraged!
Migration is profitable for human traffickers and the numerous NGOs that exploit it! Migration in Europe was uncontrolled as most migrants came illegally without documents, as they tore them deliberately before arriving in Europe. Most of them were granted asylum without knowing their real identity, not even their age (many were registered as minors even if they were not), or their criminal record. So, in some cases, along with the migrants came jihadist terrorists as asylum seekers! Also, young guys from Bangladesh and Pakistan arrived as asylum seekers, although economic migrants!
Currently, the typical profile of migrants in Europe is young males from Afghanistan! Europe, especially Germany, sought cheap labor from Asia and exploited the recent Syrian civil war. However, the West was responsible for the civil war, which aimed to control the route of oil and natural gas pipelines. It would be more prudent and humane for Europe and The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCR) to ask migrants to apply for asylum at their local embassy or consulate in their country of origin rather than letting them enter Europe illegally by boat or on foot. Therefore, Europe encouraged illegal migration making the smugglers rich while did not give a damn for the people who drowned while attempting to reach the European mainland!
Overview
In all countries, illegal migration is a criminal offense, at least theoretically! Nevertheless, everyone can seek asylum in his/her homeland by visiting the embassy of the country where he/she wishes to settle instead of risking their life and their children's lives to enter illegally. If this were done, all these deaths in the Mediterranean Sea from desperate people would not occur. All migrants who came to Europe wished to go to Germany, meaning that this country was encouraging European migration chaos. Most of them were economic migrants.
Migration is a profitable business not only for human traffickers but also for the numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that exploit migration and are funded with European Union (EU) public money! Unbelievably, immigration was encouraged by wealthy EU countries, especially Germany, which needed working-age people as the European indigenous population is aging. But they did not give a damn if many of them, including children, would drown in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach the European coast with inflatable boats. It would be more rational and prudent for Germany to use charter flights to Germany so that all the migrants' deaths in the Mediterranean Sea be prevented!
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCR) and the EU subsidize migrants living in Europe, even those who entered illegally and are not refugees but economic migrants. But it is unacceptable for the homeless and the long-term unemployed of the local population to starve while many migrants take subsidized cash from a bank ATM!
It is unbelievable that the identity of most illegal migrants was unknown as they tore their documents when they came to Europe. Terrorists, criminals, deserters, or even spies may be among them. Many claimed they were refugees, for example, from Syria, even if they were not, as they had no document to prove it. So, a Pakistani guy could claim that he is from Afghanistan. But even if he was, there is no war in Afghanistan to excuse asylum, while in Syria, the war has ended. Additionally, the authorities do not know his background, for instance, if he is a Taliban terrorist!
The profits of human trafficking are huge. A migrant usually pays traffickers $2,000 - $3,000 for the journey to Europe, but in some cases, such as sailing from the Turkish coast to Italy, the cost may soar to $9,000. It is weird how starving people whose monthly salary is a few dollars can gather this money! Also, who paid for the myriads of unaccompanied children? Were all these granted by NGOs?
Significantly, as many migrants deliberately tore their documents when they entered Europe, many young migrants claimed they were under 18, i.e., minors, to gain asylum. Consequently, they were treated leniently as minors when they committed a crime! Unacceptably, some migrants used their children to migrate to Europe. These kids were called 'unaccompanied minors.' The usual practice was to send their child alone or with a friend or relative to go to Europe as a refugee, and then parents or relatives used the humanitarian parents-children reunion directive to also come to Europe.
But no one asked how these kids came to Europe and who paid the 2,000 - 3,000 dollars that human smugglers asked. It is also a question of how migrants afford to pay cash, although living in meager conditions in their poor countries. Remarkably, many Westerners do not have the money to pay this amount at any time.
Irrationally, the authorities and the media regard economic migrants as refugees. Most so-called refugees are young guys from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Iraq, Syria, and Africa! Another concern is their assimilation into the European culture, as a significant percentage of the migrants are young Muslim men. The question is not only why Muslim migrants do not choose a wealthy Muslim country to migrate to, such as Saudi Arabia?
Analysis of the problem
It was unfair for Europe to treat genuine refugees from Syria the same as economic migrants (such as from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, India, Bangladesh, Morocco, and Algeria). It is a widespread practice for economic migrants to deliberately tear their documents and seek asylum along with refugees before they arrive on the Mediterranean shore! So, they could claim to the police that they lost them in the sea (although they did not lose their smartphones) and that they came (without evidence) from Syria or another combat region.
So, with genuine refugees came asylum seekers who were economic migrants from Asia and Africa and wished for a better life in Europe, i.e., the European dream! Most of them aimed at working in Germany. It is reckoned that a significant percent of 'refugees' who arrive in Europe, 40 percent, are economic migrants from Afghanistan. In contrast, the genuine refugees, namely only those from Syria, are merely 25 percent! Some may add to refugees from Libya because of the ongoing civil war. Additionally, today, most migrants are young male Muslims from various countries in Asia and Africa, and some speak about the Islamization of Europe.
The primary responsibility for the migration crisis in Europe goes to the West, which is responsible for the turmoil in the Middle East with its interventions and the creation of the Syrian civil war (in fact, an insurgency primarily by mercenary jihadists). Germany should also be held accountable for the chaos as it encouraged (illegal) migration because it needed cheap labor, as the European population was aging. Germany has obtained the number of cheap laborers it needs and, to avoid a further political cost left myriads of migrants trapped in Greece and, to a lesser extent, in Italy and other Mediterranean countries. Turkey now blackmails Europe to let nearly 4 million migrants there go to Europe unless it receives more money from Europe and the EU consent for its insane brutal offensive against Kurds (that previously fought the jihadist terrorists in Syria) in an intended attack-freezone in Syria.
Another issue of concern is the exploitation of migration by numerous NGOs. The European Union and the UN fund most of them with public money, although, as their name says, they should not rely on public money but be funded only by donations and be non-profit. However, even subsidized with public EU money, the NGOs are not accountable for any penny they spend! It should be mentioned that, according to a Greek journalist in Lesvos, some NGOs have as members convicts who served there as ''social workers''! Another issue is that anyone can create a social media profile and request donations for treating migrants.
In Europe, often, the terms 'refugees' and 'economic migrants' are used interchangeably by the media and the EU governments. Consequently, the EU and the UN subsidize economic migrants. This tactic has encouraged illegal migration towards Europe as everyone is eligible for benefits! Indeed, it is evident that migration is a hugely profitable business for human smugglers and some NGOs!
The ‘clash of the civilizations’ (and religions) theory of Samuel Huntington
The foreign and migration policy of the West, including Europe, is based on the ‘clash of the civilizations’ (and religions) theory of the political scientist Samuel Huntington. For further information on this theory, you may visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clash_of_Civilizations
This theory may explain the ‘war on terror (WoT)’ that President George W. Bush began in 2001, after the 9/11 attack. The ''war on terror'' is the reason for the massive migration surges towards Europe as it is the West that destabilized the Muslim nations with the attack and occupation of Iran and Afghanistan and later the ''Arab Spring'' that expanded to Syria, causing a bloody civil war in which the US participated.
Some claim that the migration surge toward Europe allowed the EU countries and companies to find cheap labor. But Huntington's theory may also be a reason as uncontrolled migration from people of different religions that are difficult to integrate and assimilate renders Europe susceptible to social and financial conflict. The only one who wins from this is the US which has already started a trade war against Europe and the rest of the world. The fact that most migrants were Muslims raised questions about their integration into the European culture, for example, when they treat women like res (= thing), when women wear a headscarf or niqab or burqa, and when homosexuals are poorly treated. It should be noted that in many large European cities, not even the 2nd and 3rd migrant generations have been assimilated, while in the Syrian civil war, jihadists from all over Europe took part!
Notably, the migration policy in the US is the opposite, as it is building a wall at the US-Mexico border to hamper migration. At the same time, it was recently revealed that refugees in the US were kept in detention, and mothers were separated from their children!
The role of Turkey and Belarus in the 'hybrid war' of manipulating migration for political reasons
During the Spring of 2020, Turkey transferred migrants to the Greek borders of the Evros River, demanding to enter immediately. For weeks, gangs of migrants tried to enter illegally, and some used their kids as a shield against the Greek police. Unbelievably, they hurled stones, Molotov cocktails, tear gases, and flashbangs against the Greek police while Turkey deployed special forces to aid the migrants' attempt!
The Evros migration crisis was a ''hybrid war'' against Greece, a peaceful country. Turkey wants to cause trouble for Greece as it aims at the Aegean Sea's high oil and gas reserves, especially southeast of Crete. Many migrants tried to cut or pull down the border fence. In many cases, the migrants' crafts were escorted by the Turkish coastguard to the Greek islands! When some boats sunk, they left their rescue to the Greek coastguard to ensure the migrants would be transferred to Greek land! It should be mentioned that along with the Evros borders, Turkish smugglers made money from the trafficking of illegal migrants at the Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios, and Samos.
Most so-called refugees gathered at Evros were economic migrants from various places, including Morocco and Afghanistan. They settled for a long time in Turkey and were unrelated to Syrian war refugees. Among the migrants were troublemakers that the Turkish government used to blackmail Europe to give them more money for hosting the migrants. Turkey is currently threatening to release 3 - 4 million migrants to Europe.
Another question is how migrants worldwide come to the Turkish coast to enter the Greek coast with inflatable boats? There were migrants, even from South America, who tried illegally to go to Europe! Regarding how they came to Europe, the real story is that they exploit the cheap air tickets of Turkish airlines and the effortless way to receive a Turkish Visa. This way, a migrant from Morocco or Congo travels to Turkey and the Greek coast, entering European land! The straightforward way a migrant can travel to Europe means that people with meager finances came to Europe but could not afford the expensive life there. Consequently, in Europe now, many migrants live homeless on the street!
In November 2021, Belarus tried to do the same that Turkey did on the Greek borders. Similarly, it transferred myriads of migrants to the borders with Polland, demanding to enter illegally. They were not all peaceful, but some hurled stones at the Polish police. Among the migrants were instigators that the Belarus government used to blackmail Europe. They even had tents to host the 'refugees.' Some claimed that the migrants were transferred to Belarus with Turkish Airlines! Behind the migrant crisis is Belarus's far-right and pro-Russian president, who wants to undermine Europe and cause trouble. As with Turkey against Greece, Belarus uses migrants as part of a ''hybrid war'' against the European Union!
Focusing on the incidents and the causes
The open-to-everyone European borders had consequently led myriad people to come to Europe, many even without documents, as they tore them deliberately when they entered European land. So, without a criminal record, the authorities are not aware of the criminal record of the migrants, while it has been revealed that jihadist terrorists passed to Europe as migrants! Undoubtedly, most refugees are economic migrants from Asia and Africa. Uncontrolled migration has increased racism, and far-right political parties have gained power. Significantly, the latest terror attacks in France and the UK showed that along with migrants came jihadist fanatic Islamists whose agenda was to blood-shed Europe.
In August 2018, there was an incidence of massive car arson in Sweden, which followed repeated cases of arson to a lesser extent. There was a universal coverup by the mainstream media about who was responsible for the fires. The Russian news channel broadcasting RT revealed that the state called ''no-go'' zones in Sweden with the politically correct terms ''vulnerable areas''! A similar coverup by the media occurred in the 2015-2016 New Year's Eve in Cologne when migrants sexually harassed many German women.
At the end of August 2018, the police in Greece accused an NGO (non-governmental organization) of migrant trafficking from Turkey to the Greek islands! The first case of human smuggling confirmed the allegations of the Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of the Interior, who simultaneously claimed that various NGOs carry migrants from Africa to Italy. In October 2018, a Deutsche Welle (DW) report in the Moria refugee camp in Mytilene, Greece, revealed that among the migrants were many jihadists (fanatic Islamists) who exploited the camp, sold drugs, practiced usury, forced women into prostitution, etc. DW also revealed cases of rape and child abuse, as well as suicide attempts from children. In October 2019, the Greek minister of citizen protection said that uncontrolled migration is a national security threat, as jihadists or spies have entered the country along with the refugees. He announced that 7 jihadists who came as refugees were arrested. In October 2020, the Greek authorities, after a thorough investigation, accused several NGOs of human trafficking. Ironically, Europe subsidized these NGOs!
Another consideration is that public EU funds are dispersed to host migrants at hotels and private apartments. Ironically. The local population in Greece lived in meager conditions after the bankruptcy of 2010. Interestingly, catering supplied meals to migrants, while international and EU organizations subsidized most. Their integration, however, was only sometimes peaceful. There were many scuffles between migrants as there were disputes between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Also, in Greece, some migrants (such as from Morocco, Algeria, and Afghanistan) found drug dealing and smuggling effortless ways to make money.
Notably, among the millions of migrants, the genuine refugees were the ones from Syria, despite the persistence of the media to call them all ''refugees''. But even referring to the Syrian refugees, some argue that men from Syria chose the effortless way of abandoning their country instead of fighting the jihadist insurgents. Some find it unacceptable that the ones who fought the Islamic State guerillas and defeated them were the US and Russian troops. In any case, those who could be characterized as genuine refugees were those from Syria and Libya that were in a civil war.
But the civil war in Syria has ended, while in Libya, the civil war is a rivalry between hostile tribes that want to rule the area. The rest of the migrants are economic migrants. A more politically correct term is 'economic refugees.' In fact, most of the so-called refugees were economic migrants from Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Morocco, Algeria, and some even South America! Those were all economic migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Recently, citizens from Turkey trying to reach Europe entered the Greek borders of the Evros region. These were also economic migrants, many of whom may have been anti-regime political migrants trying to escape from the authoritarian regime of the Turk president.
All the above shows that things with migration are uncontrolled unless Europe ceases the 'open border' policy. Noteworthy, most of the European funds for migration go to NGOs. Some say that the subsidies reach even 60 percent of the total while the remaining is given to the countries with refugee camps, such as Greece and Italy. Unbelievably, the funded NGOs are usually not accountable for where they spend the public money of the European Union (EU) citizens. It is still a matter of controversy where all this money was spent, while there needed to be more transparency since everyone could post a request on social media asking for donations to aid refugees!
Some NGOs even encourage migration, such as in cases of NGO ships that 'rescued' boats piled with migrants from Africa! Some NGOs that amass donations and EU grants are transferring migrants. For instance, recently, a female German captain was arrested in Italy for disobeying the Italian coastguard that refused the docking of her NGO ship that intended to carry migrants to the Italian coast! Having an NGO related to migrants may be profitable, although these organizations should be humanitarian and, therefore, non-profitable! Some accuse the NGOs belonging to the investor George Soros, especially 'Open Society Foundations,' of participating in the media 'promotion' of migration.
Recently, Germany announced it would dump the surplus of migrants to Greece. According to the unacceptable Dublin 2 agreement, can abandon in Greece, Italy, and Spain, the migrants belonging to the non-working population of migrants, among them the elderly and people with a disability, which would be an extra burden for the healthcare system. Interestingly, Germany kept the migrants that would be useful for its economy, which needed labor (as the European population was aging), technicians, and scientists.
On June 28, 2018, a European Union (EU) summit concerning migration was held because of the pressure of the German Minister of the Interior, who threatened the coalition government's tenacity and gave the German chancellor an ultimatum to deal with uncontrolled immigration. This summit did not solve any problem, and the unacceptable Dublin 2 agreement must still be revoked. But Germany is responsible for the situation as it encouraged uncontrolled migration towards Europe not for humanitarian reasons but to have cheap labor and technicians. The reason is the European population is aging, and European labor is shrinking. The summit also agreed to subsidize North Africa to build detention camps for migrants. The number of migrants who entered Europe is unknown, but it may be a few million. Some investors, such as the investor George Soros, find that filling this gap is mandatory because of the aging European population. This may be reasonable and acceptable when migration follows some rules, as in the US and Australia.
Unfortunately, the ''open border'' policy, where migration was chaotically increased far-right political parties and chauvinism in Europe, especially in the Visegrad group composed of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, along with Austria. Those countries and others, such as Bulgaria, strongly opposed uncontrolled migration. Those migrants were eventually hosted by other European countries. Most were African economic migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Italy's coalition government recently did not allow them to dock at Italian ports.
The way migration towards Europe occurred over the last years was inhuman as many, including children, drowned trying to reach Greece from the Turkish coast. Moreover, there is no control over the medical condition of the migrants who enter Europe, and recently there was an epidemic of measles. At the same time, tropical diseases, including malaria, are common in Europe.
Significantly, as many migrants deliberately tore their documents when they entered Europe, many young migrants claimed they were under eighteen, i.e., minors, to gain asylum. Consequently, they were treated leniently as minors when they committed a crime! For example, on the Greek island of Paros, a young Pakistani man tried to steal the cell phone of a woman he saw alone at the beach. When she resisted, he raped her and threw her down to the rocks of the bay. The court treated the Pakistani mercifully as he claimed he was a minor and had no documents to prove he was not! As a result, she suffered a severe brain injury with a permanent disability.
Another example from Greece is a migrant from Afghanistan who, in his attempt to steal the purse of a female student in Corfu, threw her deliberately from a cliff! The police arrested him, but later at the court, he claimed he was a minor and was treated leniently. Consequently, approximately nine months later, he was released from prison. Then, this man traveled to Germany, where he raped, killed a 19-year-old woman, and dumped her body into a river. When arrested, he claimed again that he was under 18 years old!
Along with pretending to be minors to ensure they will be given asylum, some migrants pretend to be vulnerable groups, including homosexuals. However, as most migrants are Muslims, in Islam, homosexuality does not exist as it is prohibited. At the same time, some Islamic fanatic groups execute gays by throwing them from the roof of buildings.
Unacceptably, some migrants used their children to migrate to Europe. The usual practice was to send their child alone or with a friend or relative to go to Europe as a refugee, and then parents or relatives used the humanitarian parents-children reunion directive to also come to Europe. In this way, thousands of children risked their lives to go to Europe walking together with an adult they called, e.g., 'uncle'! In Europe, according to Europol, ten thousand unaccompanied refugee children live. Most live alone or are forced to beg on the street, while others are forced into prostitution! This is a problem if it becomes a deliberate practice.
Many parents also risked their children's lives carrying them on an inflatable boat or a wooden 'tub' that easily sank when it reached the open sea. Many pregnant women and children died this way, even wearing a life jacket, as these were often cheap and defective! In some cases, when migrants met a Coast Guard ship, some fell into the water to make coastguards save them, while other times, for the same reason, they even stabbed their inflatable boat to sink with a knife, forcing the coastguard to save them! That means even if the coastguard pushed them back, they would all drop into the water, making the coastguard have no other option than to rescue them and carry them to the European islands. Regarding the EU coastguard, Frontex, in fact, its job was just to bring migrants to the European shore! NGOs with their ships did the same! It should also be mentioned that the coastguard's cost, including boats and helicopters, to rescue the migrants from sinking or being left stranded is enormous. It may rise to 5,000 $ for a single mission! But these missions should not take place if migrants did not put themselves and their children at risk of reaching the European coast by any means, even with inflatable boats!
Remarkably, hundreds of Africans who tried to reach Europe by sea drowned when the ship on which they were piled capsized from their weight or when they all suddenly moved to one side of the boat when the coastguard approached. There were also allegations that some migrants were dumped into the sea by fanatic Islamists because of being Christians. Another remarkable issue was that, as most migrants were Muslims, even if they starved, they did not eat meat unless it was ''halal'' (meat blessed by a Muslim priest) or had the red cross emblem. Regarding this, in Greece, some journalists noticed outside refugee camps piles of dumped food in the bins that migrants did not like or were not halal. All the above may sound absurd, but they are based on media reports. Some migrants complained they were tired of eating the same food and asked for a better menu, although they starved in their poor countries!
Undoubtedly, the whole migration surge has turned into a hugely profitable business for the smugglers of human trafficking. Moreover, countries such as Turkey are happy with the ‘Islamization’ of Europe. At the same time, colossal amounts from the European budget are spent on migrants, such as for refugee camps, accommodation, facilities, food, house renting vouchers, access to health (even uninsured) and education services, etc. Regarding public health services, it is apparent that they cannot sustain the cost of uninsured migrants. Hospital care and lab and imaging tests are often costly, and the EU should decide who will pay the fee for non-insured migrants. Will the insured indigenous population spend this cost?
Two worrying facts that Islamization is already an issue are the terror attacks in France, the UK, and elsewhere by fanatic Islamists, most of whom second-generation migrants, and the myriads of fanatic Islamists living in Europe who voluntarily joined the jihadist terrorists in the Syrian civil war!
Many believe that it is unacceptable for migrants to be given benefits and free apartments to stay the time that a substantial number of people of the local population are homeless (20,000 in Greece) or under the limit of poverty (20 percent of the population in Greece) and cannot afford to cover even their basic needs. The same is true for destitute pensioners in the EU, even in Germany, who are frustrated with this situation. In Central and Southern Europe, migrants were often hosted in great facilities, including hotels. At the same time, issues such as poverty and homelessness of the local population were evident.
Migrants' benefits and subsidized accommodation, meals, and vouchers for goods are usually paid with European public money or UN funds. Finally, referendums are held in European countries even for insignificant reasons. At this point, no referendum was held for a standard European migration policy for such a serious matter as massive migration towards Europe.
Suggestions to deal with the issue of massive migration
Unless Europe wishes far-right political parties to thrive, it is essential to impose some rules on migration. One strict decision is the deportation of migrants who have deliberately torn their documents. No one knows their criminal record or if they are criminals, deserters, jihadist terrorists, spies, etc. A recent legal decision in Madrid allowed the massive deportation of migrants for security reasons.
Noteworthy is also the separation of refugees from economic migrants. The former should be treated leniently, while the latter should be treated according to each country's capacity for the maximum number of legal migrants it can afford. The media should not use the words 'migrant' and 'refugee' interchangeably. The EU and the media should also distinguish between the phrase 'an economic migrant deserves asylum' and 'an economic migrant has the right to apply for asylum.' Each case of asylum-seeking should be judged in isolation, but the right to appeal has no sense as it is not a court.
On the other hand, since the West is partly responsible for the chaos in Syria (where the real cause of the civil war was the control of the pipelines and the oil and natural gas of the region), it should take care of the refugees that are victims of the civil war and the western interference.
Especially noteworthy is the identification check of refugees, as many deliberately tear their documents when they enter European land. A better ID check should prevent criminals and terrorists from entering Europe and should at least include a criminal record document! A medical examination is also essential, as European tropical diseases are now more common than before. Those migrants who are not eligible for asylum should be returned to their countries, i.e., deported.
How can refugees assimilate into European culture?
Europe was unready to welcome and provide economic refugees with essential needs. Of crucial importance is their incorporation into the education system. The state should cover the expenses for education and health care, at least for migrants who cannot afford to pay the cost of these. Refugees can also use vouchers, for instance, to buy supermarket goods. Migrants need to find a job to avoid turning to illegal ways of earning money. Care should be given to fighting racism, such as with public-funded anti-racist media spots and cross-cultural events, including art performances and games.
Epilogue
Everything considered, it is prudent for Europe to adopt a migration policy that will not encourage all the population of Africa and Asia to migrate to Europe but to prioritize who will be given asylum. Asylum should be granted as a priority to genuine refugees as today's economic migrants are considered as 'refugees' when in fact are economic migrants who migrate for a better life, wishing to live the ‘European dream.’ An EU migration policy must follow some rules, such as in the US and Australia.
Thanks for reading!
