Refugees and a crisis of compassion

This was written before the horrific Paris and Beirut terror attacks - for my thoughts on those events please read my post From Paris, With Terror.

An edited version of this post was also published on The Elenchus.

A topic of alarming regularity and long-running history, the refugee crisis has only just begun to dominate the headlines of a lot of  news outlets. This sudden tidal-wave of press activity has taken form of shocking stories of traffickers dangerously overloading rickety boats with human cargo; accompanied by disturbing images of the consequent drowned bodies. The desperate, vicious and dangerous ordeals of people attempting to make the journey from the most war-torn regions of the world to the ‘safe haven’ of Europe has been endlessly reported on. However, can we really brand this attempt to raise awareness of the refugee crisis as successful? Are we, the British public, now truly aware of the refugee situation, or are we all just a little too late to the party?

Between 2012 and 2014, the number of refugees of concern to UNCHR increased from 10million to 14million - a rising trend which has sadly continued into 2015 (note that this figure does not include the 5million Palestinian refugees who are looked after by UNRWA). A large portion of the increase is due to the vast numbers of people fleeing Syria: a figure of over 4million refugees since the conflicts in that region started. It is more often than not that, when prompted with the thought of the ‘refugee crisis’, we immediately conflate all that we know about it with the current Syrian refugees. However, what we forget in this narrow scope is that there are a huge number of refugees from other parts of the world, including a close-to-3million from Afghanistan and another million from Somalia.

The natural consequence of such a massive outflow of people from these countries is that there will be an equally massive inflow of people into other countries, in particular: neighbouring countries. From Syria, large numbers of refugees have fled to Turkey (1.6million), Lebanon (1.2million) and Jordan (0.6million) to name a few. Displaced Afghans have tended to go to Pakistan (1.5million) and Iran (1million). For some of these countries, the inflow is beyond anything they could possibly prepare for: take Lebanon for example, with its Lebanese population reaching 4.5million and its refugee population contributing a whopping extra 1.7million. Yet, despite this extreme human crowding, Lebanon has taken the refugees in: a commendable act of morality.

Little is heard in Europe of the quantitative figures of the ‘desperately displaced’. I myself had not been so knowledgeable on the topic until I attended a City Circle talk with speakers from Amnesty International, the Refugee Council and the National Zakat Foundation. All of the speakers went to considerable amounts of trouble to deliver eye-opening detail about the depth of the global refugee crisis and the European and UK governmental response.

Sadly, a lot of what was said made for quite depressing comprehension. The refugee numbers just keep on rising: 220,000 people attempted to cross the Mediterranean in 2014 – an increase from 60,000 two years earlier. The estimate for 2015 is 800,000.

To give Europe some credit, however, they acknowledged the need for the establishment of safe routes to Europe way back in 2013 after the Lampedusa shipwreck which saw 500 refugees crammed onto a 20m boat. The boat sank close to the Italian island resulting in over 300 drownings with the survivors saved by Italian search and rescue teams. Immediately after this event, the EU Commission called for increasing the level of sea patrols to make sure this level of tragedy is avoided in the future.

Italy took a leading role in the European contribution by duly increasing its level of patrols. This continued until the EU finally took over after it had decided that the influx of refugees was not just an Italian problem, but a European problem. However, this soon became controversial as the EU began to think that, although running extensive patrols made the crossing safer, it might also be encouraging more refugees to attempt the crossing. Accordingly, it cut back the extent of the patrols but, after a few months, was surprised to find that regardless of the dangers, people were still attempting to cross.

The major barrier towards a progressive solution for the refugee crisis is the problem of NIMBYism. Everyone agrees that something must be done but everyone wants someone else to take the hit. Taking in refugees comes with costs: both financial and political. The UK, for example, has been generous with sending aid to the affected countries but not so generous with taking in refugees. It pledged to take 500 Syrian refugees over 3 years until images of Aylan Kurdi – the toddler who had washed up on a beach in Turkey – went viral and struck a charitable chord with the UK public. This caused an outcry which prompted the government to raise this figure to a further 20,000, which is certainly an improvement but, given the sheer numbers of refugees, it is clear that there is still a long way to go.

Other European countries have done similar: some taking their lead from the UK. At first, Hungary was letting refugees into and through the country but has since moved to close its border and erect a 4m-high fence to keep people out. This has, somewhat perversely, resulted in improved opinion ratings for its prime minister. Nevertheless, even in this shambolic and embarrassing time for Europe, it is not all doom and gloom as a few countries have made an effort to help the refugees in their darkest hours. Germany and Sweden have been taking in around 190,000 refugees this year alone. This is expected to rise to an acceptance of close to 1million refugees in the coming year.

As with most governmental decisions, the varying responses from European countries are largely driven by politics. Issues of NIMBYism, trade, legality and finance all play their part. Some have said taking refugees in is in national interest: a statement based on our need for an influx of younger people in order to maintain society and industry amongst an ever-aging population. However, others reject this stance and simply state that our strained national finances cannot bear the additional cost of housing additional persons. Nonetheless, a restorative mode of thought belittles this by dousing partial responsibility onto the British for the maintenance of wars via the UK’s participation in the manufacturing and supplying of arms.

Moreover, some countries are prioritising help given towards Christian refugees over that of Muslim refugees in a bid to ‘keep the country Christian’ though even these are small in numbers – Poland has taken in only 50 families. And of course, there is always the old “the foreigners will take our jobs” argument which more or less acts as a final resort for want of a better reason. What this is all conclusive of, however, is that politics is a complex beast. Those in positions of responsibility have to make some difficult decisions and sadly, very few political leaders will ever prioritise showing some humanity to those in desperate need to their public opinion ratings..

 It has become all too easy to separate ourselves from the refugee crisis and brand it a regional problem rather than a global problem. To this, I simply state: when a situation in another country is desperate enough that a mother places her child into the hands of a stranger with the intention of smuggling it over the sea in a rickety boat, it becomes clear that levels of desperation have escalated to that which no human being should have to endure.

Given the sudden policy change following Aylan's photo, it is clear that politicians do listen. The UK leadership was lightening-quick to respond and ramp up what could be described as – at the time – its pitiful efforts. Power is still with the people. ‘There, but for the grace of God, go I’ is not a phrase that comes easily to political leaders but it can come easily to us as the individuals in their electorate and we should require our leaders to bend to our charitable will. ‘Change’ requires enough of the right pressure in the right places. It requires sufficient number of people writing to their MPs. It requires our involvement with organisations and actively seeking to help. In short, it requires us to do our bit. Together, we can push political mountains to their disappearance. There is so much that we can do to help: we just need to want it enough.

Next post: Air Strikes and International Politics
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From Paris, with Terror

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only"

I've quoted the above from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities - a masterpiece of sorrow, happiness, sacrifice, oppression and the essence of humanity. It chronicles the 18th Century French Revolution with stories revolving around Paris and London but that opening passage is surreally timeless and after the events in Paris on Friday evening it's meaning is as relevant as it has ever been.

If you're living in Europe you know all about what happened in Paris. You know the fear and uncertainty that followed in the hours afterward. You know the shock and outrage that has poured forth since from all corners of the world. It was a horrible and unholy attack on civilians resulting in mass death and destruction and our hearts go out to those directly and indirectly affected.

In the aftermath I noticed a considerable amount of energy on social media directed at raising awareness of other recent atrocities, for example the bombing in Beirut which saw 43 people killed and scores more wounded. All of a sudden my Facebook newsfeed was overtaken by people saying don't forget this place or that place and sharing photos of candles replacing the 'i' in various city names all with the general theme that Parisians are not the only ones who are suffering. Saturday became a very dark day as the recent troubles of the world - seemingly caused by ISIS - were all brought out all at once and thrust into everyone's view. It was sad to see but understandable as people sought to remind the Western world that this conflict has been somewhat hidden away 'over there' and has in actuality been going on for quite some time.

However,  in some quarters this awareness activity rapidly descended into finger pointing and divisive activity as some people sought to use the understandably extensive media coverage as evidence of institutional racism and western-centricity amongst media outlets and politicians. Others questioned why Facebook turned on its' safety check feature for Paris and not anywhere else and enabled temporary profile photos of the Tricolore but not the Lebanese, Iranian, Syrian or Palestinian flags despite the fact that it was the first time it had been used for a non-natural disaster. Others sought to use the atrocity as a reason to clamp down on refugees fleeing the exact kind of violence that Paris just went through. Others sought to further their prejudices and shift blame onto Muslims regardless of the fact that the Muslims are also being attacked by ISIS.

What was unwittingly happening was the exact purpose of the Paris and other attacks - to divide and breed distrust amongst communities that were previously somewhat cohesive and united. To break down our sense of security and positive disposition towards others and turn it into a sense of fear and hostility. To cause terror.
Pointing fingers and questioning every little detail while things are still settling down and confusion, fear and anger are reigning is playing right into their hands and is the quickest way to break down trust and positive feeling amongst people and turn them against one another. Alienation and ostracism of a minority will make even the most mentally strong person feel some antipathy towards the majority but it's fundamental in the human condition that most people are fragile.

The way out of this darkness is to unite and be strong together. The people to blame are not your neighbours or the man running the corner shop or the young woman in a scarf trying to catch the bus and getting on with her daily life. The people to be angry with are not the engineers at Facebook or the refugees seeking a life free from violence. Most people are just like you and just want to get along and live their life without worry and without causing mayhem and madness. It's imperative that you realise this and live your life with compassion and mercy towards those who are with you.

I'm going to leave you with Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate (Tolkien's Lord of the Rings) where he urges unity, trust and friendship amongst the assortment of men, dwarves and elves that have gathered to fight those that would do them harm even in the face of certain defeat.

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails! But it is not this day! A day may come when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship! But it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand! Men of the World*!


*I've changed the last word "West" to "World"!

Islamophobia

Islamophobia. The fear of Islam. Or as Wikipedia describes it "prejudice against, hatred towards, or fear of the religion of Islam or Muslims". Sounds simple enough on the surface and quite clearly wrong but in recent years there has been an increasing level of Islamophobic activity in the UK and elsewhere. I think Muslims in the UK are actually luckier on this front than their counterparts in a number of other developed countries where religious freedoms are harder to come by. The UK has a long history of openness to new cultures and beliefs - mostly due to it's imperial past but that's a whole other story for another day.

Islamophobia comes in many forms, both hidden and blatant, and all are wrong. Whether it's the ignorant petition campaigns against halal meat or insultingly being called a terrorist by strangers when doing your grocery shopping or having your professional CV discarded because of the foreign-looking name at the top or being 'randomly' stopped at the airport for additional screening or people looking at you funny because you've got a beard/scarf and you're wearing a rucksack on the London Underground. It's all wrong and it all needs to stop. 

It's a big ask though isn't it? How on earth do you persuade the wider majority in society to arrive at a point where Islamophobia is a thing to be fiercely denounced and instantly rejected? I wrote about this previously in my post comparing modern and ancient muslims but this Friday I heard an interesting comment made by a speaker at the City Circle talk titled "Islamophobia: Embrace British Values. Erase Muslim Identity?" The point made by Dr Salman Sayyid was simply that there was once a time that racism was widely acceptable and we're now in a time where racism is widely unacceptable. You could be a racist and a person of good standing in society but over a period of many, many years and with huge amounts of effort and sacrifice the tide slowly shifted. And while racism hasn't been totally eradicated, an open racist would find it impossible to have good standing in society and this is how it should be.

The talk hosted a panel of four - two academics (Dr Chris Allen and Dr Salman Sayyid), an IHRC activist (Raza Karim) and a police officer (Asif Sadiq). The academics went first and explained some of the challenges with defining what Islamophobia is and the difficulties of measuring it as an under-reported activity. Some people confuse disagreeing with Islam as Islamophobic and this does need to be clarified. Disagreement with the religion by itself is fine - it's when it turns into incitement to discrimination and hatred that it becomes a problem. It was very intriguing and disheartening to learn that, from the recorded statistics, the majority of victims of Islamophobia are "visibly muslim" women - presumably as they are seen to be easier targets. 

Part of the prejudice is certainly fuelled by media irresponsibility - when a Muslim does something wrong that gets media attention their defining characteristic becomes their Muslim-ness even if their religion is irrelevant to the story. Every Muslim becomes a media ambassador for Islam and every action by a Muslim becomes an Islamic act even if it goes against Islamic teaching (grooming gangs in Rotherham is a prime example). Muslims are no different to any other community - we have our good apples and our bad apples with the majority falling somewhere in between. But all too often it's only the rogues that get the media coverage along with the Muslim tag and this is dangerously provocative.

The remaining speakers took a more practical approach on raising awareness of Islamophobia and how to go about pushing back against the tide.

Raza had a lot to say about the informant culture that was being insidiously propagated by the government's latest strategies to get teachers to report possible and potentially extremist views from their pupils and how Muslims and non-Muslims needed to become more active in the fight against state monitoring and social engineering. He spoke of the work that MEND are doing to encourage political participation amongst the Muslim community. He proposed disengagement from the established system to avoid giving it a veneer of legitimacy and fight from outside what he saw as an Islamophobic institution.

Asif spoke about some of the changes and education the police force had gone through as a result of the need to have a greater understanding of Islam amongst officers. Social media has a massive role to play in making people aware of what is happening and bring pressure to bear on the police to take action - citing the recent Bus Rant woman and the speed of police action to identify and arrest the culprit. He encouraged getting involved in the established system to fight, educate and change it from within to better fulfil the needs of the people both Muslim and non. 

For me, it was very curious that Raza and Asif were able to sit next to each other and have one saying get involved inside the system and the other say get involved from outside the system. I think both saw each other as possibly undermining their own efforts to bring about change and probably damaging the cause. Who's right is anyone's guess - maybe they're both right or maybe they're both wrong - only the fullness of time will tell. To be honest I don't think it matters who is right - the important take away from all this is their common message of getting involved somehow. 

It's the easiest thing in the world to do nothing and say nothing and think "it'll make no difference so what's the point?" and that it will take far too long for change to happen or have the individualist mindset of "I'm OK so it's not my business". Sitting back and doing nothing will be of no benefit to anyone and will allow those that want to sow mistrust and chaos a free rein to do as they will leading to ever more dangerous times. 

In this case we should remember the lessons from the fight against racism which has been going on in the West for over two hundred years and anti-semitism which has been going on even longer. It's not going to be quick but that doesn't mean its not worth trying to change. It takes only a few pebbles to start at avalanche so keep throwing pebbles at the mountain. There's a famous Greek proverb that fits very well here - “Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” Let's start planting our trees for our own future and beyond.