Last Sunday I found myself in a very rare condition; I was sitting in front of my computer, looking at my Facebook News Feed and crying as if I were an emotionally healthy person. Yet, this incident was completely justifiable for I randomly stumbled upon a video of some Syrian refugees being welcomed in Munich by a large German crowd applauding, waving, and smiling at the worn-down refugees.
While European countries such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary refused the joint European Union action of offering asylum to Syrian refugees, it was good news when Germany and Austria welcomed thousands of refugees fleeing the terror and death that is taking place in their homeland. However, Germany and Austria are now in the leading position to prepare the basic living conditions not only for the refugees that have arrived last Saturday, but also for the thousands who are just leaving Greece, Turkey and Syria and heading over to the asylum countries.
The outcome of the Syrian Civil War did not take long to unfold itself. Yet, the international community did little to help; many innocent men, women and children died for no reason as a result of the cruelty of men. It took four years, immense suffering, and the picture of a three-year-old child’s body on the shore to awaken the conscious of the world and get it to act. And some states still oppose offering a hand to those running away from death.
In spite of the few moments of happiness and hope that came along with the asylum offer last week, I could not help but worry about the future of such refugees. Welcoming refugees and offering them a safe place to stay is only temporary; it is a short term solution that was highly needed in this emergency. Yet the international community, with the European Union as a lead, must create a solution, a long term solution to incorporate Syrian refugees in their economic and social systems, for the Syrian Civil War is everything but resolved.