EU Must Open Doors to Avoid Syrian Refugee Catastrophe, Says UN

The United Nations is calling on Europe to accept more refugees from Syria’s civil war. More than 2 million refugees live in temporary camps with substandard conditions in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey, and more are displaced inside the country or live outside without aid or registration. Relocation for the most vulnerable refugees is only a temporary solution. “The UK government has refused to take part in the resettlement scheme, calling the idea tokenistic and stressing the importance of the £500m of aid it has sent to the region,” report Martin Chulov and Harriet Grant for the Guardian. “Refugees – Afghanis and Somalis as well as Syrians – fleeing some of the most violent conflicts of our aged are simply being pushed into dangerous, illegal journeys to find safety.” European governments have devised bureaucratic procedures that block refugees’ mobility and separate families. Government leaders worry about unemployment, security and potential extremists slipping in with refugees. – YaleGlobal