It is all for show. The EU plan to limit migrants flowing into Europe might cut numbers by a few thousand. Subsidising Turkey’s refugee camps might hold a few back. David Cameron’s “Australia” plan to seize and return migrant boats might cut a few more. News of horrors on the Macedonian border might deter some from making the desperate bid to escape present danger in hope of a safer future. But it won’t make much difference. One force greater than all the state power in the world is that of human beings fleeing for their lives. So what is the point of yet another “ EU summit “ on refugees?
It is done to pretend to people back home that “something is being done”. It is to allay fear with an appearance of tough measures, that in turn might deter the marginal refugee, the economic migrant, the hanger-on. But it is hard to see any meaningful change when it comes to separating Syrians and Iraqis from Afghans and Pakistanis on a Greek island , and manhandling them into a ferry back to Turkey or Libya. It is all for show.
The reality is that once a refugee has established a foothold in a particular country, he or she is that country’s problem. It is both humanity and the law. We can build fences and fortresses to keep people out, but even the sophisticated regimes of western Europe can only watch as a tide of wretchedness ebbs back and forth. Sooner or later desperate people get through. Look at America’s Mexican population. Australia’s draconian policy of turning back boats and imprisoning migrants has slackened its flow, but these are not refugees, and neighbouring Indonesia is not Libya or Syria.
The current wave of newcomers to Europe’s shores is a tiny addition to the continent’s stagnant populations. That was one reason why Germany initially welcomed half a million well-qualified Syrians. As the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula and even Africa grow and prosper, the outflow should ease. The west’s dreadful interventions in the Middle East — the prime cause of the present anarchy — must surely end.
When order returns to Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, these once-stable countries will be repopulated. But other conflicts will take their place.
While economists love to chart the impact of globalisation on trade flows, no one charts its impact on flow of people. Come what may, migration will be a theme of the 21st century. No one can underestimate the stress that inflows from Asia and Africa will place on European societies. America is still wrestling to absorb its one-time black and Hispanic migrations. But absorb we must. Migration is a fact of history. We should learn to handle it, not pretend to stop it.
— Guardian News & Media Ltd
Simon Jenkins is a journalist and author. He writes for the Guardian as well as broadcasting for the BBC.
